Once upon a time the only way to set your eyes on a drag queen was to attend a gay bar.
However, with the rise of drag-themed reality competition shows, mainly the Emmy award-winning phenomenon that is RuPaul’s Drag Race, this is no longer then case. While many members of the LGBTQ+ community are used to watching drag queens lip sync for life, others who haven’t been exposed to the lifestyle may not know to respect the performance space.
We asked Liverpool drag queens what the most disrespectful thing audience members can do while at their gig. Tayler, who is originally from Widnes, created Steph-Ball Change during lockdown and despite only performing for a short period of time, already has a few pet peeves.
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The 26-year-old told the ECHO : “Photos with Instagram or Snapchat filters on, if you’re having a picture with a queen please don’t do this. We spend a lot of time to look good. I don’t need your android phone compressing my artwork and looking like someone smeared butter over the lens.
“The other thing is never touch a queen's hair, or anything else, without express consent. Yes it’s real, yes it’s bigger than yours, yes it’s expensive, and no, it isn’t my ‘real hair’.”
Just Minnie, who has been performing for almost nine years, also expressed a similar hatred to Steph. She said: “A lot of gigs outside the LGBTQ+ scene results in my wig or chest being touched or being groped, but I find the regular customers on the scene for example air kiss and hold your shoulders as they do it rather than be inappropriate.
"I've been poked in the crotch, my eyelashes flicked, my wig pulled, the general touching inappropriately. The most inappropriate is where a guy put his hand up my dress making a joke about where I'd hidden it and ended up ripping part of my outfit while his friends laughed. Ladies nights tend to harbour people that don't see drag queens very often so they're fascinated, and although I'm sure 99% of these don't mean it offensively or maliciously, it happens on pretty much every gig."
Minnie explained nine times out of ten she is able to brush these things off as a performer but it isn’t always possible. The DJ added: “It's not always easy for everyone to do it. I don't think there's a lot of understanding that drag queens are humans and do have feelings, we're not always loud and boisterous all of the time. It's all down to respect for another person.”
The artist believes as drag becomes more mainstream the understanding of consent and its importance will shine through. She said: “Be respectful of consent and being a drag performer or wearing anything that may be sexy isn't consent. Consent shouldn't be assumed. Also, we spend hours putting our looks together and doing our makeup, wigs, it's an art. You wouldn't go stroking the Mona Lisa.”
One drag queen who has been on the end of non-consenting touching is KeeLea. Originally from Middlesbrough, the 21-year-old, who describes her looks as having 'council estate elegance', has been performing for just under a year yet has already been involved in some uncomfortable situations.
She told the ECHO : "Besides myself falling over, I think the most disrespectful thing that’s happened to me is a customer putting his hand up my dress and it happens quite frequently, but not to that extent, usually it’s people that are unaware they’re being rude and grabbing, hugging and touching me without permission."
Thankfully on this occasion, the bouncers were on hand to deal with the situation but KeeLea said a simple compliment would be much preferred. She added: "I think people usually forget that some of the drag community are men in dresses, wigs and makeup. People need to have more social awareness and understand that queens are people too, doing a job, yes we’re performers but we still deserve respect."
