07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
On Fire Island, a Dinner Made for and by the Dolls
When the editor Fran Tirado first began going to Fire Island, the queer beach community off the South Shore of Long Island, she found it to be surprisingly white, cisgender and male. In the summer of 2021, as Tirado, 34, was coming into her trans womanhood, she felt 'like I didn't belong,' she says. By the next year, she'd resolved to host her own gathering celebrating those who'd historically felt unwelcome on the barrier island because of their gender identity. 'I just wanted a reason to galvanize a bunch of trans people to descend,' she says with a smile.
The now-annual event is called Doll Invasion, fitting for a weekend each August where trans folks lead the charge. Tirado, who was in March 2025 named the editor in chief of Them, brings together an all-trans lineup of performers and musical acts. The festivities double as a fund-raiser, with donations and proceeds from ticket sales going toward mutual aid efforts and helping to finance trans-led artistic initiatives. (Entry is free for trans people, and everyone else is asked to pay a suggested fee ranging from $50 to $150.) This past summer, for the third annual Doll Invasion, the D.J.s Macy Rodman and Lina Bradford and the drag performer Cherry Jaymes entertained the crowd along the sand, and the money raised went to Queer|Art and Advocates for Trans Equality, among other nonprofit organizations.
The Friday night before the performances and pool party began, the event's full cast and crew — including stage managers, culinary staff and performers — gathered for a family-style dinner by the water, outside of the beach house they'd rented. 'It's a moment of gratitude for everything that people give to pull off Doll Invasion,' Tirado says. The model, writer and director Geena Rocero cooked and hosted an outdoor kamayan feast — a Filipino meal in which food is served on banana leaves and eaten communally by friends and family. 'Kamayan means eating with your hands [in Tagalog],' says Rocero, 42, who was born and raised in the Philippines. That tactile approach held a special meaning for the group assembled. 'It's [an act] of reclamation, as our bodily autonomy is being attacked,' she says.
The event also commemorated the loss of the Argentine artist, actress and trans rights activist Cecilia Gentili, who died in February of last year. In her honor, the weekend's theme was 'All Dolls Go to Heaven' — throughout the weekend, guests wore grand feathered angel wings and bold, glittery eye makeup.
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