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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

APRIL 2, 1999

Evenings Out

THE OFFICIAL

Lipsinka

HOME PAGE

UPDATED REGULARLY FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE!

'Welcome, darlings'

Drag diva's new web site offers a generous dose of wit

by Robert DiGiacomo

The Web has suddenly become infinitely more glamorous. Lypsinka, the singeractress of Wigstock fame, has launched her own site—a colorful, backstage look at the goings-on, real and made up, of this drag icon.

"It's the wave of the future-one must have a Web site," explained John Epperson, Lypsinka's maid and real-life alter ego, of the new home page, http:// www.lypsinka.com. "It has to be done. It's great because you can make your own little, colorful magazine and put anything you want in it.

"I also wanted to register the name before someone else did. I was insulted that it was so easy to get it."

The site, which made its debut on March 15, offers a generous dose of Lypsinka's wit and wisdom, with regular features to include "The Lyp in Fashion," "My Favorite Things,” “ExBoyfriends," and an advice column dubbed "The Lyp Gives Lip."

Beyond being amusing, Epperson also sees a serious purpose behind going virtual. He views the Web as a form of outreach to those struggling with their sexual orientation in the real world in places where it's especially difficult to be different.

Epperson who comes from such à place, Hazlehurst, Miss., but now lives in New York City—was recently reminded of what life can be like for a gay teenager in small town America.

He got a message on his answering machine from a 16-year-old fan in a

"crappy little town" near Corpus Christi, Texas, who had seen Lypsinka on the HBO special Drag Time, and in Red Ribbon Blues, a direct-to-cable movie with RuPaul. When Epperson called him back, the teen poured his heart out.

"He said, 'I'm 16 years old and when I was 12, I came out to my family and friends and some of them rejected me. I

wanted to know how you did it,'

Epperson recalled, “The only advice I gave him was to get out of that 'crappy little town' near Corpus Christi, Texas, and to get to a bigger place where you can be somewhere people can accept you."

"People like that need a hero," he contin-

ued, "and I realized that he was looking up to me as a hero. So a Web site is another way to reach people. I never thought I'd be a guidance counselor, but I can be called upon to do so." Whatever kind of guidance you're look-

ing for, Epperson pledges that his site will— at the least be entertaining.

Here's a closer look at some of the site's first features:

My Favorite Things: "One of my favorite things in the whole world is Imitation of Life, starring Lana Turner, and there are a lot of children who don't know anything about it. I give a history of the movie and why it's so important. It's sort of the ultimate movie. It has everything you could ask for mother love, Oscar-nominated performances, musical numbers and race relations. It will make you cry, the first time you see it anyway."

My Secret Diary: The first installment features a fictional short story about the first episode of Lypsinka's TV series on March 15, 1957.

Lyp News: Among the items here will be Lypsinka's live performance schedule, and a real-life anecdote and photos about a recent encounter with Faye Dunaway at a 25th anniversary screening of Chinatown. Epperson promises to set the record straight:

"It was printed in the New York Daily News that I showed up dressed as Joan Crawford, but that wasn't true. The true story is on the Web site."

Her Fayeness, of course, is a role model for Lypsinka, especially for her over-thetop performance as Joan Crawford in: Mommie Dearest.

"It says so on the Web site," according to Epperson. "I think it's one of the most brilliant, experimental, operatic screen performances ever recorded. Even though she says it ruined her career, she also knows it's one of the best things she's ever done in terms of her performance."

One last item of business from the Web site's star herself: “It's important when one goes to the Web site, Lypsinka must be spelled right or you won't get there. It's spelled, L-Y-P-S-I...' ♡

Robert DiGiacomo is a freelance writer in Philadelphia. Send comments to dragnetpgn@aol.com.