This question gets asked a lot when I tell people that I am involved in the drag community. There are lots of reasons I could list and explain my 30+ years of performing in theater, dance etc but really all it takes to know a lot about drag is to love it.
It started in a small town in Oklahoma where there was only one gay bar. I heard everyone asking who was going to win Miss Lawton. As a true Southern girl who avidly watched pageants on television, I assumed that people were talking about real girls. I was shocked and fascinated to learn that it was Miss Gay Lawton. Drag queens competed at a local level to try to go on to be Miss Gay Oklahoma. Imagine my surprise when I found out that if they won there, they got to go to MISS GAY AMERICA.
SHUT UP. SERIOUSLY???
My interest was piqued. I decided to go to more drag shows and see exactly if I could figure out how all this worked. I went to local pageants, rooted for my favorites and decided to try to go to a state pageant. I went to the final night of Miss Gay Oklahoma one year and watched as Adrianna won. It was an interesting night and I decided that I needed to know more. I was hooked.
The next week, I was bartending on a show night when the legendary Tillie Laine told me that this was the tip of the iceberg. She explained the different competition systems to me and I started to stalk all the websites devoted to pageant drag. I religiously read, defended and learned everything I could. I went to as many pageants as I could and watched some legendary performances.
A few years of this went by and I was asked to 'mock judge' a pageant. This meant that I would do everything a regular judge would do but that my scores wouldn't count. It was just to get a feel for what it would be like. When two judges didn't show, I got thrown in the Lion's Den and became a judge on the spot. I haven't looked back. I regularly judge, coach, run and promote pageants. What the hell does this mean?
This means that although I have ovaries, drag queens respect me and my opinion when it comes to their art. This is a responsibility I do not take lightly. They do this as a living. They invest copious amounts of money, time and energy to create their persona.
So why do I love drag?
to be honest, I love ANYTHING that fucks with gender. Drag queens are an exaggerated representation of femininity and feminist bad-ass-ery. They say, do, wear and look like women have been conditioned NOT TO BE, they think more is more, they don't want anyone telling them who they can or can't be, they channel divas or yesteryear and bring to life female sexual energy by making you forget that it is a man in a dress.
As an overly made up, feminist, queer, sex positive femme, THEY ARE MY PEEPS.
Why a blog dedicated to this?
Let's be frank, no one really wants to blog about this, it will be fun when I gossip, it will hard to read when I am honest, but I also think it is necessary. It is important to document what is often misconstrued as a farce or comical part of the queer community. I assure you it isn't.
I will start with my opinions about Season 5 of RuPaul's Drag Race because this season has some connections to the pageant world that I know and also because it is fun to play armchair quarterback about a show where everyone talks like you and with people you have actually given money to...
I will talk about pageants, discuss the language that is part of the culture of drag and I will break down competitions and if I am not involved in the pageant, I will offer predictions.
If I am asked to judge or help a contestant, I will not discuss or disclose those experiences until after I am done, I am not interested in jeopardizing a 10+ year reputation as a part of the community.
Since pageant season is under way, there will be lots of posts. I hope you all enjoy my take and look forward to those that disagree reading me for filth.
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