After being marred by a history of racism, sexism, transphobia and homophobia, the Philadelphia Mummers Parade is moving toward more LGBTQ representation on its judging panel.
Ian Morrison, who performs as Philadelphia’s drag sensation Brittany Lynn, will be joining the 2019 Mummers Parade as a judge. Morrison is no stranger to the Mummers, one of the oldest folk festivals in the country held annually on New Year’s Day. He is one of the faces of the Miss Fancy Brigade, the all-LGBTQ drag group of Mummers. The brigade was created in 2012 after then-councilmembers Jim Kenney and Mark Squilla wanted to bring more LGBTQ representation to the parade, Morrison said.
This will be one of two times in the parade’s 118-year history that a drag queen will be a judge.
“There have been a number of controversies regarding the Mummers Parade, particularly around inclusivity and racial tensions. Now you get to see the full depth and variety of what Philadelphia has to offer,” Morrison said. “The Miss Fancy Brigade has become somewhat of a staple to the parade. When the organizers found out that we weren’t participating this year, they were gracious enough to offer me the opportunity to be a judge, especially as a judge for a televised stand — that’s a major step for LGBTQ representation in the parade.”
Leo Dignam, the parade’s director, said he and the other organizers wanted to keep the Miss Fancy Brigade involved in the parade because “they are one of the most popular groups there.”
Morrison and the brigade’s involvement in the parade “is something we didn’t want to miss out on this year. We’ve come a long way with righting some of the wrongs of the parade’s past, and now we’re looking to be as inclusive as we can be, both in Mummer participation and the judging,” Dignam said.
The 2016 parade was a subject of controversy after one of the groups in the “wench” category, the Finnegan New Year’s Brigade, centered their act around Caitlyn Jenner’s transition. Mummers compete in one of five categories: fancy, comic, wench brigade, string band and fancy brigade.
In one skit, a Finnegan member dressed as Jenner before her transition in an Olympic-victory routine before sitting in a wheelchair. Performers dressed as doctors and nurses pushed the chair into the crowd as the skit transition to Aerosmith’s “Dude (Looks Like a Lady).” Another performer dressed as Jenner post-transition then emerged from the crowd. Group members held up signs that displayed Jenner’s well-known Wheaties Box image beside a box of “Froot Loops” featuring a cutout of her June 2015 Vanity Fair cover. A man from Finnegan also chanted “fuck the gays” while holding the signs.
That same year featured Mummers dressed in brownface. The Sammar Strutters, a comedy brigade, performed their act, the “Siesta Fiesta,” with members sporting brown-painted faces while wearing taco costumes, sombreros and ponchos.
“It was disheartening to see the blatant insensitivity towards minority groups taking place at the parade, especially when we led the parade that year with the Philadelphia Division,” Morrison said.
That year was also the introduction of the now-defunct Philadelphia Division, a brigade that brought together Mummers from different minority groups that Morrison said was an attempt to showcase the city’s diversity.
“The organizers wanted to show that the parade was coming together to banish all the previous problems that they had years before, but there was still more that needed to be done,” Morrison said.
Parade organizers implemented new rules for all Mummers that went into effect in 2017’s parade. They are no longer allowed to wear makeup that makes them look like another race, and no more than 25 percent of their makeup can be yellow, black or brown. Additionally, all performers are required to undergo sensitivity training.
Dignam said the sensitivity trainings, along with trainings on the appropriate use of satire, was “something we had to do. We had to get across to the Mummers that even though this is a 118-year-old parade, we have to make sure that we respect everyone and make sure that everyone feels comfortable watching the parade.”
Mummers are now required to submit theme applications prior to the parade in an effort to vet offensive or insensitive costumes.
“We asked all of the groups to send in applications informing us of what their themes are, their costume choices, the makeup and signage to make sure that it’s appropriate for the city to endorse. We want all people of varying genders, identities and orientations to be able to enjoy the parade,” Dignam said.
Morrison added that he and the other Miss Fancy Brigade members have faced harsh criticism from members of the community for taking part in the spectacle, but he said he’s looking ahead “to what the parade can turn into.”
“Instead of everyone pointing fingers to say, ‘Look what they’ve done in the past,’ they should look to see where the future is headed,” he said. “The hardcore Mummers want the traditions to remain alive and the only way to keep a tradition alive is being adaptable to change and that’s where we’re at now.”