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Life’s a drag for entertainer Mark

Date Posted: Thursday, February 08, 2007
Author: Christen Pears

Growing up as a young gay man, Mark Anderson was subjected to a constant round of bullying. There was barely a day went by when he wasn’t called names or beaten up. He would come home from school with his clothes covered in dirt from being pushed to the ground and when his mother asked him what had happened, he was punished because he was afraid to tell her the real reason. Today, Mark is best known as drag queen, Sybil Barrington, but despite success in the US, he is still struggling to find acceptance in Bermuda both as an entertainer and a gay man. “The bullies are still there but these days I have the strength to handle it,” he explains.

Mark caused controversy last year when he marched in the Bermuda Day Parade as Sybil, despite being banned by the Government. Initially, the organizers approved his application and gave him a $500 grant towards his costume but reversed their decision when gombey troupes and members of the public complained. He was told his appearance as the Queen of Bermuda did not reflect the island’s heritage and instructed not to march.

“I knew I had to take part or everything I had worked for in my career would have been meaningless. It’s what I do and as a Bermudian I had as much right as anyone else to march in that parade,” he says.

He later filed a complaint about the ban with the Human Rights Commission but was told he didn’t have a case. “For the first time through the whole incident I cried a little bit but then I realized that the whole country was talking about it and this country never talks about the real issues. That made it worth it.”

Last year Government backbencher Renee Webb put forward an amendment to the Human Rights Act, which proposed protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The bill was thrown out of Parliament, leading to huge public demonstrations.

Mark says: “This is typical of what’s happening in Bermuda. People think that if they ignore something it will go away but it won’t. This country is a wonderful country. I am proud to be from Bermuda but it is so far behind when it comes to dealing with human rights issues. Bermuda has to be careful about what it says and does because everyone is watching. If you want tourists to come here and international businesses you have to do something about it because people are very sympathetic to basic human rights.”

Many members of the gay and lesbian community are reluctant to speak out because of the hostility that exists throughout the island. A number of Mark’s friends have moved abroad but he is bucking the trend. He has carved out a successful career in the US, performing at venues as diverse as the Cotton Club and Universal Studios but after 15 years, he decided to come home.

“I’d been performing back to back on the same stages for five years and as a drag queen there was nothing new I could do. I know I could make a phone call and walk straight back on the stage but right now I’m working on my own country. It upsets me that the only recognition I have is in another country. I would like to be accepted and respected as an entertainer.”

He says he was hurt recently when he watched Italian comedian, Ennio, performing at the Bermuda Festival. Ennio uses paper costumes to create different characters, many of which are women. Mark says: “It was awesome, quick and witty and stylish. There wasn’t a single negative comment about it but for a lot of it he was impersonating women. I want to know what the difference is between that and what I do. It can only be because people know that I’m gay and that affects the way they see me as an entertainer.”

Mark may have his detractors but he has fans too. His annual Halloween show at City Hall has become something of a Bermuda institution and he was recently voted second in the Bermuda Sun’s Man of the Year competition behind reggae artist Collie Buddz and ahead of Premier Ewart Brown. He believes many readers voted for him because of the stance he took over the parade.

“I think that showed a lot of people that it was OK to stand up for what you believe in. It was hard at the time. I took three shots of sambucca that morning but I did it and I’m glad I did.

“My mother asked me the other day how I can do the things I do and say the things I say. She asked how I can be so strong. I told her I got my strength growing up in this country as a young boy who was tortured mentally and physically, teased and beaten up. They called me things like faggot and flower and I didn’t get any help from the teachers. Most of them told me I should think about changing my ways.

“Now I’ve been through that, there’s nothing anyone can say to offend me because I’ve been through it all growing up. I just wish I’d known I had that strength when I was growing up.”

He hopes that by speaking out, he can inspire strength in Bermuda’s gay and lesbian teenagers but he’s cautious about getting involved directly and usually advises them to speak to an Anglican minister or school counselor. Ideally, he’d like to see the establishment of a gay and lesbian centre on the island, where youngsters can go for counselling.

He says: “I had so many issues I had to deal with as a youngster but there was no outreach centre I could go to. I had to go to someone else’s country to deal with my issues. That problem still exists and the youth is so angry because they don’t have anyone to talk to. Since I’ve been back home  so many of the gay kids have tried to reach out to me but I can’t talk to them because we still live in a society where people will see me as trying to encourage them to be gay or corrupting them.

“But somebody has to speak out about it. For a long time this country has stuck its head in the sand about issues. If I could just open the door a little bit and get people to listen then maybe it would make a difference for that little boy or girl who is going through what I did when I grew up.”  

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