Over the next week, Gay-Straight Alliance and theater honors fraternity Alpha Psi Omega, will host two separate events, “Guys, Girls, Ties, Pearls” and “Cinderfellas”, that will allow TCU male students to strut their stuff in dresses for charity.

Jamal King, president of GSA and a junior social work major, organized “Guys, Girls, Ties, Pearls” and said he encouraged the TCU community to support both events.

King said both groups shared the same common goal — to provide entertainment for a good cause.

“They are supporters of our organization, and we are supporters of theirs,” King said.

GSA hopes to raise money to give to Youth First Texas, a non-profit organization based in the Dallas area that provides services for the youth of the local LGBTQ community, he said.

Ashten Burris, president of Alpha Psi Omega and a senior theater major, said she helped to organize “Cinderfellas.” The seven men participating in “Cinderfellas” will compete in the categories interview, talent, and evening wear, she said, with the audience deciding who did the best.

The event will donate proceeds to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, she said. Broadway Cares is a New York organization that provides and donates money to people all over the country that cannot afford AIDS treatment, she said.

“This is supposed to be a fun fundraiser to raise awareness about the AIDS crisis that is still apparent,” she said. “What more fun way to do that then to get some hard-working guys up there to provide entertainment with their talent by putting on a dress?”

While entertaining the audience through the contestant’s choice of artistic expression, dressing in drag is optional, she said. For the evening wear part of the competition, however, the male contestants are required to dress in women’s clothing, she said.

King said that is not the case for GSA’s event.

For “Guys, Girls, Ties, Pearls,” the eight men will let loose on stage and perform in full drag, he said. There really is not a structured outline for the night besides the contestants going on stage to entertain the audience by performing to their song choice, he said.

The two organizations had hopes to consolidate the similar events into one, but timing was an issue.

“To be honest, I think both of us came up with this idea on our own separately and then found out about one another through the grapevine,” she said. “If we would have been able to sit down and co-program with GSA earlier, I’m sure that was something that we would’ve been more than willing to pursue.”

“Guys, Girls, Ties, Pearls” hosted by Gay-Straight Alliance

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Brown-Lupton University Union Ballroom

Cost: Free, donations greatly appreciated

“Cinderfellas” hosted by Alpha Psi Omega

When: 7 p.m. April 9

Where: BLUU Auditorium

Cost: $5