CARL CONNIELINGUS

TRASH HITS & BITS

WITH CARL CONNIELINGUS

HEY THERE BEAUTS, WELCOME TO MY NEW COLUMN!! LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF... I AM A NON-BINARY DRAG KING BASED IN BELFAST AND MY NAME IS CARL CONNIELINGUS AKA CJ AKA CLAIRE..OR WHATEVER OTHER NAMES I HAVE OUT THERE HAHA..”HIYA LOVES”. COME JOIN ME FOR MY 1ST COLUMN WITH GNI MAG, WHERE I WILL BE LETTING YOU DELVE INTO MY CRAZY LIFE WITH DRAG, LIFE, LOVE AND OF COURSE LOCKDOWN AHHHHHH!! MON HAVE A WEE GEG SURE...

FIGURE THE RIDDLE:

“You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I’m quick when I’m thin and slow when I’m fat. The wind is my enemy” - Answers to my email address in the Outro.

LOCKDOWN & COVID-19 - MY THOUGHTS

So, to fill you guys in, just before Lockdown Carl had been getting great momentum both within the Queer and Straight Community, and for me as a struggling Drag King alone, that was amazing haha.

Between Hosting Boogie Bingos in Social Clubs to receiving my First ever Residency in Union Street (Which never even got one night LOL), after having competed in numerous competitions and placing well with amazing experiences and friendships..to say my excitement for my new journies were immense, and this after years of battling Depression and Anxiety, is an understatement!!

And then..BOOM..this Virus, this Covid-19 completely halts the World to a stand still!! And quoting Queen “Is this the real life?? Is this just fantasy?? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality”..what just happened??

When Covid-19 aka Coronavirus was first announced, I was so nervous and anxious because I literally did not know what was going to happen and how our Country would handle such a complex issue!! It seemssssss, not great and certainly not quick enough, but then again, did that really surprise anyone?? I think we were lucky to have some Politicians but it was MAINLY Doctors, Specialists, Nurses and Healthcare Workers that we got our information from and thank the Rainbow for them all!! And let’s face it, apart from the whole “Panic Buying” Toilet Rolls situ (I still have tonnes of questions for those people?? I feel we as a country really bound well together as best as we possibly could and for that I’m proud of us!! Our problem is, we move on very quickly here just for a bitta peace and “normality” and I always wonder does that stem from our past, our “Troubled Past”??

BLACK LIVES MATTER PLUS QUEER TALK

I am not Black, so therefore I will never understand what it is like to be a Black Person in the World today or even in the past!! Some of my favourite Musicians, Actors, Actresses, Scientists, Comedians and childhood Heroes are Black!! I have Black friends in America, England, Dublin and Belfast, who I absolutely adore!! But it pains me that as amazing as they are as people, they still suffer with Racism and Exclusivity in 2020. I personally have never understood Racism, even from a very young age I never understood why people would be Racist??!! I just couldn’t and cannot fathom as to why someone would dislike, bully, hate or even kill someone, just because of the colour of their skin??

This latest movement ‘Black Lives Matter’, MATTERS!! It matters so much that the whole World has taken notice and voices are now being heard, and rightly so!! So how do we incorporate that into our wee Community so that Inclusivity means INCLUSIVITY?? It means we work together with kindness and love, it means we welcome everyone to our clubs and events that we have because we’re already excluded as a Community by Religion and let’s face it, Homophobes!! Imagine already being excluded because of your Sexual Orientation to then be excluded again because of the colour of your skin or to put it to another topic, just like our Trans Brothers & Sisters, what’s between your legs?? We cannot sit quiet in denial that the LGB Community has been known to forget about our Trans Community and also our fellow Black Queers, THIS HAS TO STOP!! We all deserve love, kindness and empathy, EQUALLY!! fellow Queer Drag Artists, Performers, Musicians, Writers, Filmmakers, anyone within the Creative Realm and more importantly our fellow Black Queers.. where do you/we draw the line between Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Appreciation?? Within a respecting manner and also being creativity influenced by other Cultures, when can we work together so that Culture Creativity can be flowed fairly, within reason of course?? I know from personal experience being a Singer and Performer I have many influences from many different Cultures and I would only want to pay respect, enjoy and celebrate that part of a Culture!! I know there are common sense answers to this, albeit complex as well, so I wanna hear your responses?? Throw me an email to discuss and I will also no doubt, probably receive some welcome education.

WHAT IS A DRAG KING?

Ok, so Drag Kings have been about for just as long, if not longer than Drag Queens!! In-fact, historically it is said that the first Drag King was around the 1700’s, while Drag Queens are dated from the 1800’s onwards.. but realistically if you look back, Drag was everywhere in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries and even in Centuries before that due to Performance Art, Acting/Entertainment and Opera!! I believe that the “Glitz & Glamour” and added “Tongue in Cheek” attitude of Queens always had an overshadowing affect within the Queer Community, especially for Drag Kings. I guess a lot of this could have stemmed from Women’s Rights not being a thing until just over 100 years ago, just a thought haha but we’re here, we’re just as Queer and we’re here to make our mark!! So watch out for your Local Kings, they need your support too!! Drag Kings perform just the same as Queens, only with a more Masculine persona, or “A Boy Side”, as I call it!! Personally I sing Live, dance & Lip Sync fiercely but your creativity can take you anywhere and into unknown territory!! For example, during Lockdown I done Lives on Facebook I never thought I’d do and made concept music videos for Digital Drag Shows!! The opportunities can be endless, especially if you mix Genders together.

Carl ConnieLingus is a NonBinary Specimen, neither boy nor girl but with boy & girl traits, stay with me here..as a child I always felt connected to both “Genders”, so when I started Drag it was the perfect opportunity to play with Gender and set new boundaries for myself and even within the King Community!! If you come to see me at a show or book me for an Event, you will not be disappointed. Oh and I’m quite funny when I want to be.

MUSIC & MOVIES

Guys, if I can recommend anything for the heart & Soul then it’s the Disney Channel. Hayley and I have just been watching loads of Disney to keep the spirits up and learn new lessons as adults, believe it or not haha.

DOCUMENTARIES ARE LIFE!! There I said it, they are!! If you have any interest in anything then always check for documentaries because some of them will blow your mind. I always go between YouTube and Netflix for a good Docu.

And if you havent heard Lady Gaga’s Chromatica - what’s the wait?? It’s been mine and Hayley’s “Lockdown Jam” and I love it, get on it if you haven’t and if you have, email me your favourite tracks from the album. But for everyday we tend to lean towards Classical & Smooth Jazzzzzzzzz.

LIFE’S FUNNY

So when I was a kid, around 5/6 years of age, My Mummy and I where going to my Granny’s in Ballysillan and we had just gotten off the bus from town, now baring in mind Ballysillan is near

Mountains, so it’s high up!! On this particular day it was very windy, I mean extremely windy!! My

Mummy had me gripped by the hands as we walked to cross the road and I’m not jokin yas, a big gust of wind literally threw me up in the air like Mary

Poppins, all the while I was squealing for my life to my poor Mummy who thought her child was about to be blew to Timbuktu, so yea, Life’s funny isnt’ it?? PS I survived.

OUTRO

So beauts, I really hope you enjoyed getting to know Carl ConnieLingus plus a little of CJ/ Claire and I can't wait to share more with you next time!! To discuss any of the topics, answer the riddle or to communicate for Booking Info, please email carlconnielingus@gmail.com

You can also find me on Facebook at www.facebookcom/ carlconnielingus and Instagram @carlconnie_lingus

Until next time!! Much love and peace out, Carl ConnieLingus

This is an opinion piece from the

columnist/contributor and not the