Sunday, October 7, 2007

Kenyon 007





One word to describe Kenyon 007 (now Free Agent) is unbothered. One of the best ways to cope with working full time, going to school, and also being a part of the flourishing underground culture known as the Ballroom Scene is to not be bothered. There have been stories of those who allow the ballroom scene and the persona that they have created for themselves to take control and dictate all aspects of who they become, but Kenyon is an exception. Part of the allure of Kenyon is the fact that he is unbothered. The smoldering c'est la vie attitude combined with a great body and a handsome face- he embodies the aesthetics that typify the category known as Butch Queen Perfect 10's.

Kenyon's introduction to the ballroom scene, like so many others, happened when his best friend brought him to a couple of balls in 2002. His friend, a member of the House of Prodigy, introduced Kenyon not only to a world filled with gender fluidity, a celebration of both the masculine and feminine ideals, but also to the leaders of the House of Prodigy. When asked how he got inducted into the house, his reply was "I got voted in, unbeknownst to him (the friend)." Since then Kenyon has been turning heads on the runway to earn the status of Statement for his category…all without letting any of the fame and notoriety associated with status get to him.

The interview with Kenyon soon turns to perceptions. With the ballroom scene being a microcosm of the larger gay culture, perception sets the tone in many cases for how and if people chose to interact with what they see. Walking perfect 10's, sexy siren, or body causes one to be perceived as highly sexual. When Kenyon was asked how he is perceived, his response was: "a lot of people take me as being mean, I stay to myself…I observe a lot."

Having competed and won as a sex siren, (where a lot of people pour various liquids on their body, gyrate, and lick their lips until they're damn near raw) it seemed like a logical question to ask what
Kenyon found sexy. His response was "a nice smile, good body posture, physique, it depends. Being naked is not, leave something to the imagination."




Having competed in both Perfect 10's and the Sex Siren categories, Kenyon was asked what the perceived difference was between the two: "perfect 10's (consists of a) touch of realness, face, and sex appeal. With Sex Siren you don't have to possess all of those things."


With the differences, it would reason to think that to be successful in both you would have to sell it differently. Kenyon's advice for himself and anyone else who competes in both categories: "Keep it simple, if you posses what you posses…you really don't have to do too much."

Having crafted his physique by being active in sports while growing up and staying active to keep it up, Kenyon has not let his body or his accolades create someone who is obnoxious or seedy. For
further proof, when asked what was his ballroom high was so far it was not his awards, but the first ball that he went to when he understood everything that was going on. Being unbothered allows you to weather and to cope with the slings and arrows of life, both inside and outside of the ballroom scene. When anyone gets too wrapped up into one aspect of their life, another of equal or greater importance suffer, luckily for Kenyon this is not the case.









Word Association

Sexy- Its an aura, it varies on people it comes down to
an aura

Love- Unconditional

Friendship- True and Everlasting

Epitome- Nothing Higher

Effeminate- Upbringing; if you're raised around women all
your life, you're going to adapt to what you were
around

Masculine- A façade. It could be taken two different ways: you are or you could be portraying somebody. It all depends on the atmosphere and how you portray yourself.

Balance- Control, to enjoy life- the good, the bad, the worse. Life is unexpected, if we knew what was going to happen.

1 comment:

jeremiah said...

so kenyon are you ruff rider or is he just some lookalike? uhmmm...

jeremiah.