5 minute read

HAPPY PRIDE 2023

from GNI MAG ISSUE 57 - CLAIRE RICHARDS

from GNI MAG ISSUE 57 - CLAIRE RICHARDS, page

GNI MAG ISSUE 57 - CLAIRE RICH...

Tailor Maid

“I Swear in 100 years’ time, people will look back at past generations and think the gender ideology that we grew up with was crazy, including the dolls we had growing up. Give me a My Little Pony any day. At least I haven’t grown up worried/ concerned that I don’t look like one. Lol”

Hello Dolls. How are we all?

Tailor Maid here with some thoughts directly from my wee head to these wee pages…

At the time of writing this article Belfast Pride is just around the corner, and there is a buzz in the air. Wigs are being styled, outfits are being stoned and nearly every buisness in Belfast are waving their inclusive pride flags in support of everything LGBTQIA+ (for a few weeks at least).

Pride for any city is a HUGE money maker for local businesses. The influx of people that Pride brings to a city is incredible, the Hotel sector, transport services, clubs, bars and retail stores all benefit from the “pink pound” around this time of year, and it’s great to see the support and the colour all around our wee city.

Yes, Pride is a time for celebration and for most it’s our favourite time of the year. We hang out with our friends, march for equality, and get seriously inebriated whilst dancing to our favourite tunes whilst being surrounded by like minded people. It can be a lot of fun.

But for me, speaking as a nearly (gulp) 40-year-old, Pride this year is about remembering some of my favourite pride memories over the years and some of the LGBTQIA+ people that I’ve lost in my life to date. I don’t’ want to bring the mood down at all, I’m not about that vibe, but I find myself reflecting a lot as I get older on the people and experiences that have helped shape me into the person that I am. I am very grateful to still be here, with the knowledge and wisdom granted to me with each year that passes but it’s always good to reflect and remember people that have touched us in our lives and to keep their memory alive whilst we celebrate our Charisma, uniqueness, Nerve and Talent. This year in Belfast, I feel we will be partying in the rain as the weather looks shite tbh. But we are a tough bunch and a little rain won’t stop us…. Alexa… play Rain on me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. Lol. Luckily, I know the full choreography, and I’ll be equipped with a fabulous light up Umbrella…. Ahh. The little things.

BARBIE MANIA

I’m sure that you are all aware that there is a new Barbie movie that has just released in the Cinema. You literally can’t swing a cat at minute without hitting some sort of Marketing around this new movie. It’s absolutely everywhere. It’s both a bit annoying and kind of genius. It’s a masterclass in marketing!!! We have Instagram filters, and templates, Tik Tok videos to recreate, it’s on billboards, in magazines, and all over YouTube. I was in town a few days ago, granted I was looking for a Barbie outfit as we had a theme day in work! Ha ha! But there was Barbie collaborations in at least 5 shops I was in.

Talking about brands cashing in on the pink pound, Mattel and Warner Brothers knew exactly what they were doing when marketing this movie and releasing it when they did. Pride Season and Barbie, a seamless combo, you can go out to a bottomless brunch and head straight to the cinema afterwards. It’s an ultimate girls n gays day out. Most of the LGBTQIA people I know have seen it already, and a few have seen it twice. Madness. Have you seen it yet? I think I’ll have to go see it soon, I can’t have everyone talking about it and not being able to give my 2 cents to the conversation …. That being said I’m sure I will see more than a few Barbie and Kens at the Pride Parade so that might give me my Barbie fix … for now.

Dolls

All this discussion around Barbie got me thinking…. and I know I won’t be the only one to feel this way, maybe the release of the movie has been a catalyst in my evolutionary thoughts on this matter, but I’m just going to say it. Dolls are fucking creepy.

Yes, I know they are great to play with when you are younger, and I can see the attraction. When I was a kid, I loved anything with long hair. My granny bought me a My Little Pony in Woolworths in town. I was totally invested, and I remember imagining myself as a My Little Pony and what that would be like, with all that hair and beauty. Lol. But as an adult…. Seeing kids play with an idealised version of plastic “perfection” makes me feel uneasy. The impossible beauty standards and alien body measurements are weird and unachievable. Children are heavily influenced by what they play with, and playing with a doll as perfect as Barbie can’t do much for self-esteem. (My thoughts) Unless off course you are Margot Robbie, in that case it could be seen as a form of preparation or method acting.

I had an interesting conversation with my mum around this subject last week. We spoke about my mums’ memories of Barbie when she first arrived on the scene. The first Barbie doll released in 1959, my mum didn’t have one until the mid 60s. Up to that point my mum had a doll version of a baby, and girls of that time were encouraged to change, nurse and feed their “babies” as a form of play. Thus, preparing them for what they would be doing later in life. (Mums words not mine). I know back then this was the norm, but I find the obvious social conditioning and manipulation hard to swallow. Boys were not encouraged to do any of this, because showing compassion or care were not desired masculine features. They had Action Man, which was a whole issue in itself that I’m not getting into.

I Swear in 100 years’ time, people will look back at past generations and think the gender ideology that we grew up with was crazy, including the dolls we had growing up. Give me a My Little Pony any day. At least I haven’t grown up worried/ concerned

that I don’t look like one. Lol

The only dolls that I like to spend time with these days are the fabulous LGBTQIA+ artists that I perform with. We have created our very own dolls in ourselves through, creativity, imagination, and self-expression. Using our artistry to push boundaries through the power of transformation to create unique and authentic identities. If Mattel could create a Tailor Maid doll exactly as I am, with my exact measurements and flaws, I would be happy to buy one, at least it would be a real depiction of who I am.

I hope you enjoyed my wee rant today, had to get a few things off my chest.

I want to wish you all a very happy pride and have a great end to your summer.

UPCOMING GIGS.

I have been super busy recently with Brunches across Ireland and have a lot more coming up in Drogheda, Belfast and Dublin during August and the start of September.

I have corporate and charity gigs in August in Belfast, as well as Drag Fest Manchester, Drag Fest Maspalomas AND Cruz 101 All coming up very soon.

I will be hosting the fabulous Sasha Colby in November at the Belfast Empire; we are nearly sold out of tickets for this event. It’s going to be incredible. More about that in the next issue.