Drag to English: A look at the vernacular of my community.

When you are with your friends and there are lots of inside jokes, you forget the etymology things. You have always said things a certain way and so you don't think twice about how they got there and when yous started saying them.

I have been making my partner watch shows and movies that I think are important to understanding my love of pageant/competition drag. He has commented that it is strange to hear people talk the way he has heard my friends and I talk all the time. I often get asked to explain certain phrases so I thought it would be fun to do a couple of phrases you may have heard. I encourage you all to work these into everyday conversation. I will do this when I cannot think of anything else to write because frankly, I am at work and not even supposed to be blogging so I need to keep it brief.

BOOTS: Boots  has a few connotations. Let's use it in a sentence.

1. Did you see Bjork's dress? That was boots.

2. Girl, where did you get that hair? It is cute boots!

It can mean terrible or with the proper qualifier, can mean awesome.

Now you try.

Amy, this blog is boots.(terrible)

Amy loves to write about drag. She is smart boots.(awesome)

THE HOUSE: Ok, if you have not seen Paris Is Burning then stop what you are doing right now and go and watch it on Netflix right now! Shame on you if you haven't seen it!

If you have seen it, you are aware of the House Balls in NYC that quickly spread across the country.

 (I plan on doing an entire post about House Balls and House dynamic but right now, this is what you get)

Let's use "THE HOUSE" in a conversation.

"I am so glad that Madison won the pageant, she was lovely"

"Oh yes, THE HOUSE"

The House is one of the oldest and most important creations to the drag community. When performers didn't have biological family, their fellow performers became their family. There is usually a 'mother' who is the grande dame and takes younger entertainers under her wing. Siblings are fostered in. Some houses get really large and extended (WTH, didn't I say that this was going to be a separate post????????) while others stay intimate. 

When you respond with "The House", you are actually saying "The House is in agreement". 

If you all know of a drag family where the entire House agrees, please let me know.

Now you try.

"The Steelers sucked this season."

"THE HOUSE."

Next time we will discuss:

1. Turning the party.

2. Hard as a brick.

3. Cracked face.