Glasdrags by Brodie

Glasdrags issue 1

CONTENTS 4

A walking masterpiece

Untucked

One to watch

Review

16 18

Glasgows best drag shows

The story of a Scottish queen in a European scene

Women in drag

The influence drag has had on the beauty industry

Blinging out the queens

A poet and she knows it

Capturing queens

Whats on in Glasgow this April

With drag there are many ways of “doing it – it’s not just about being on a stage. ” - Ru Jazzle

RU JAZZLE a walking masterpiece S

he told the BBC that she is a ‘Scottish masterpiece.’ In her Instagram bio she refers to herself as a ‘painted lady’ and a ‘walking exhibition.’ And when you see it, you’ll believe it. She’s otherwise known as the life and soul of Glasgow’s drag scene - Ru Jazzle, who stunningly proves that there’s more to drag than just performing on a stage. Ru Jazzle hit the Glasgow queen scene circa 2015 and since then, not only has she been slowly growing a drag empire, she has become well-known for her quirky and artistic looks too. Last year, Ru’s work gained media attention from the likes of the BBC Social, as she transformed herself into historic masterpieces. Through her social media platforms – Instagram being the primary

source - Ru Jazzle created a themed photo series, named ’28 Days of Art Herstory.’ For the series, she recreated various famous paintings and sculptures for 28 days. Some of these include Klmit’s ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer’ painting and Michelangelo’s ‘The Pieta’ sculpture. “I’d seen a few other artists and creative people doing things like this as well. I thought of the idea of having a theme to link the series together and because I studied art history at university, that was something that I was already knowledgeable about,” Ru explains, after being asked what inspired her to do the series. “With drag there are many ways of doing it – it’s not just about being on a stage. You can create art as well through it – visual art,” she continues.

“

...it wasn’t really about looking like the women, but more about taking parts of their life, personality or something they have achieved and creating it into an image on myself...

”

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Ru recreated the famous masterpieces through her impressive make-up and costume design skills, props, a little bit of digital work and with help from some of her follow drag queen companions who feature in some of the photos. For some of the paintings and sculptures, Ru mirrored them as accurately and as recognisable as possible. For others, she twisted a little, adding her own unique touch. For example; when recreating Seurat’s ‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande-Jatte’, a pointillist painting of Parisians on the banks of the River Seine, Ru painted dots over her face similar to the coloured used in the real painting.

Drag culture was once considered tacky, unnatural and offensive. But Ru Jazzle’s Instagram is solid evidence that it is far from this now. The photos of her looks that she shares resemble photoshoots from a couture fashion

magazine, rather than photos of your local drag queen. They are eyecatching, memorable and exciting. Ru describes today’s drag culture as a ‘huge renaissance of appreciation and exposure’. A few months after the ’28 Days of Art Herstory’ series, Ru created a sequel. Sticking to the historic theme, during the month of May she created looks that were inspired by inspirational women. Sticking to play on words as well, she named the new series ‘aMAYzing Women’. “‘AMAYzing Women’ was slightly different from ’28 Days of Art Herstory’ as it wasn’t really about looking like the women, but more about taking parts of their life, personality or something they have achieved and creating it into an image on myself,” Ru says. Rosalind Franklin is one women who

features in the series. Ru dressed in a white scientist’s coat with a DNA molecule trailing over her face to represent and credit Franklin for the role she played in the discovery of DNA. For Grace Jones, AmericanJamaican supermodel and singer, Ru took inspiration from her style and fashion.

drag queens take up drag because they want to be a drag queen. But Ru explains that for her, starting drag wasn’t necessarily to be a drag queen, but to express her artistic and creative side instead. And with series’ like ’28 Days of Art Herstory’ and ‘aMAYzing Women’, it’s clear that this is exactly what she is using drag for!

The looks that drag queens create are usually inspired by someone or something, just like Ru had been inspired by artists, paintings and women. But the art that drag queens create with their looks inspire people too, including artists. Andy Warhol famously shot drag portraits in the early 1980s and documented the practice of drag by filming queens such as Candy Darling and Mario Montez. And more recently, artist/ illustrator Cheyne Gallarde has been turning drag queens into pop art.

This is just the beginning, however, as Ru reveals that she will be doing more photo series in the future. “I would love to do more artistic things with my drag in the future. I paint as well and I’d love to show off other ways of expressing my art and my drag with the world.”

A lot of people probably think that

Photography by Joana Bittencourt Silvestre

Watch this space!

CJ BANKS

untucked

t’s funny how when we see drag queens performing on stage, most of them look so fierce and intimidating. They are so convincing in their performances that we often totally forget that there is a whole other person underneath all of the make-up. But when they remove the make-up, the wigs and the costumes, they look just like a regular, friendly guy or gal. They are someone, who, like yourself, is also just a drag fan; someone who is maybe studying; or

someone who perhaps has a full-time job. For this month’s issue, Glasdrags spoke to John McInnes, AKA queen CJ Banks, who has been on the Glasgow drag scene since 2015. Since then, she has become incredibly popular, starring in various weekly drag shows. Now, she’s part of the Mothertucker, Suck and The Bingo Babes crew and gives us an insight into what life is like outside of drag…

Outside of drag I... Drag is my full time job, so whenever I’m not performing or doing makeup, I’m creating mixes to perform, styling hair and sewing outfits. Outside of all that, I’m a big gamer. Whenever I have a spare moment I’m playing video games all the time or listening to musicals. I also try to do yoga/ meditation every single day, to keep my flexibility up and as a spiritual practice. I finished studying when drag really started to take off, I was at Strathclyde University doing Mathematics & Statistics and left during my 3rd year to pursue drag fully.

What got me into drag… It was musical theatre that really got me into drag in the first place. I was teaching kids theatre back in my hometown and performing at the same time. When I saw drag for the first time after that, it didn’t seem weird or strange, it seemed like people were telling the same stories just through a different art form. Theatre lends itself to drag so easily and there’s plenty of crossover between the two. I get to sing live and do full Broadway productions as a drag queen and it makes sense.

To separate drag from real life… I tune out a lot of the drag by putting away my phone while I’m with friends/ family, and disconnecting from social media when I’m working or relaxing. It is incredibly hard to drown out drag day to day-with social media being so crucial to your persona and really a business tool to get your name/brand out there. Even when you’re not in drag or in character, you have to be active online always. I don’t really put too much emphasis on this, but it’s important not to squander this resource.

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Theatre lends itself to drag so easily and there’s plenty of crossover between the two.

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Photography by Joana Bittencourt Silvestre

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drag isn’t particuarly about dressing up as a woman – it’s about a political statement and having fun.

”

GiGi

one to watch

She has only been on the queen scene for less than two years, but is slowly, yet surely making a name for herself. From being adopted by one of the most prominent drag queens in Glasgow, to taking part in competitions - and winning, GiGi is the androgynous baby queen from Glasgow and she’s certainly one to watch!

t was Halloween of 2017 when GiGi made her debut, sporting a black beret, large hoop earrings, red lipstick and most uniquely, she was wig free. An ‘androgynist’ she calls herself, meaning that she is partly male and partly female in appearance - something that sets her apart from many other drag queens. “I was always inspired by the androgynist nineties, like Annie Lennox, so I don’t wear wigs for that reason. I like to stay androgynist. For me, drag isn’t particuarly about dressing up as a woman – it’s about a political statement and having fun,” she explains. GiGi started drag just as a hobby as it’s something she’s always been interested in and enjoys different art forms too. But as a new queen, one of her biggest challenges was developing a new skill set for the hobby. “It’s always nerve wracking for new queens when they know what they want to look like but they can’t yet because their skills aren’t up to scratch.” But not long after her debut, GiGi was adopted by Ru Jazzle, who was keen to be her ‘drag mama’ – someone who would teach her the ways of drag. “I met Ru from just going out, watching her shows and introducing myself. I told her I’d love to do drag and she invited me over to her house to practice with some make-up and

help me find out what kind of queen I wanted to be,” says GiGi. “It’s hard doing drag yourself, so to have someone as prominent on the Glasgow scene like Ru Jazzle helping you is great,” she continues. With a little bit of help GiGi was able to establish a look that she was happy with. “Now, I usually just paint whatever I feel on my face, I never really have a plan, but that’s because my make-up isn’t traditional. It’s a bit all over the place and I don’t need to be tidy with it. I do get some loose inspiration from some queens on Instagram, but I usually just let the brush go,” she reveals. GiGi threw herself onto the scene and started going out with some of

Glasgow’s most prominent drag queens like October Fist and CJ Banks. She became part of the family, allowing herself to become known. In summer 2018, she entered the competition ‘Suck Off’, a perfect opportunity for new queens to find their platform, gain some confidence and get a fan base growing. The competition consists of two rounds: the first round with two queens, the second round with the winner of the previous round and two other queens. The

contestants have to lip-sync songs chosen for them and songs of their own choice. The winner is then chosen by the audience who have to give their favourite queen the loudest cheer. GiGi lip-synced ‘King’ by Years and Years first, a song which she says fitted perfectly with her drag persona: “It’s quite androgynist as it’s not a girly girl song and it’s also not a boyish song either. Her second lip-sync was to ‘Green Light’ by Lorde, an artist who she says she takes a lot of inspiration from. And finally, ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ by Kelly Clarkson. “I remember not even knowing a few of the words to this one!” she reveals. But GiGi went on to win the competition anyway. “It was so nerve wracking, because in drag people aren’t looking at you like your normal self, they are looking at you as a character and it’s hard to remember that. It’s also sometimes quite difficult to create and differentiate between a new character. There’s not much difference between myself in and out of drag, but people do look at you differently and act different around you too.” Since then, GiGi has gone on to perform in other shows such as ‘Clash of Clans’, a night where various drag families get together and perform at Delmonicas. But even after gaining some more experience, GiGi reveals there are still various challenges. Outside of drag GiGi, otherwise known as Giulio, is a full-time student and also works part-time in retail, making finding funds for drag sometimes difficult.

“Drag is not cheap, it’s an expensive hobby. You’re buying your normal clothes as a boy but then you also need to buy your clothes for your drag character too. Once you’ve got your make-up that’s fine, but it’s the outfits. You get the really creative queens who can make their own clothes because they can sew, but for someone like me who doesn’t know how to sew, it can be difficult. I usually need to buy a new outfit every time I want to go out in drag,” she explains. With a busy lifestyle outside of drag, time becomes a constraint too, making it hard for GiGi to perform as much as she’d like. Nonetheless, she tries her best to not let this set her back and even when she’s not performing you can still find her out in drag and making the most out of the outfits she’s got. GiGi says: “For now, drag is just a hobby, it’s a good way for me to express how I feel artistically. It’s not Giulio who’s jumping about in six inch heels and in a dress, it’s GiGi. It’s almost like writing a diary.” While she still considers herself as a fresh-faced baby queen, GiGi is certainly picking up and mastering the ways of drag. She’s young and modest, but Glasdrags believes that she is definitely one to watch!

AQUARIA

review R

u Paul’s Drag Race season 10 winner, Aquaria, took to the stage in Glasgow for the last night of her Slay Presents UK tour at the small venue Audio. The show began late and Aquaria’s audience were left queueing outside in the rain as her meet and greets ran behind schedule. But when the doors finally opened, Slay Presents’ hostess, and local drag queen, Ru Jazzle warmed up the crowd with a performance by her, and other local queens including October Fist and Lawrence Chaney made an appearance too. It was a comical and entertaining start to the show, as the local drag queens lip synced to their own hilarious mixes and joked with the audience. Initially, the event was planned to take place at the Merchant City club AXM, but was changed at the last minute to the small and grungy underground venue, Audio. This venue could have been an insult to the winner of a worldwide famous TV show. It was rather dingy. Thankfully, the crowd didn’t have to wait too much longer for Aquaria once inside. ‘The bitch from New York City’ bounced on to the stage singing her song ‘Looks’. Expectations were high for the queen who was commended on drag race for having it all – the looks, the talent and the charisma. It was an exciting entrance, as Aquaria jumped, kicked and flipped about the stage, making the most of the small space she had. She looked even more striking in person and it was hard to take your eyes off her,

yet hard to keep your eyes focused because she was moving so quickly and energetically. The show was split into three themed parts – fashion, movies and love, making it neatly structured. Throughout each part Aquaria gave the audience exactly what they wanted to see – glitter, glamour, humour, and most importantly communication. She took the time to chat with her crowd, and even brought some of them on stage with her which was nice to see, given that her personality has been slated and she was once booed off stage. It was also clear that she had took the time to learn some Scottish humour as she made several references to the infamous ‘It was F***ing One of Ya’ video. She nailed her lip-sync performances, choosing a variety of tunes from Eartha Kit ‘I Want to be Evil’ to Queen ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, with every word on point and every facial expression so defined, making the audience forget she isn’t really singing. Aquaria’s performance definitely would’ve benefited more from a slightly bigger and less grungy venue. Audio might’ve suited a grungy queen like Sharon Needles – who is in fact the next queen Slay Presents are bringing to the UK. But for Aquaria’s aesthetics, it didn’t really suit. The venue was able to offer a level of intimacy, however, for Aquaria and her fans, which was a small bonus. Details and updates for upcoming events can be found on Slay Presents’ social media pages.

Glasgowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best drag shows

Lady Balls Bingo

hellbent

Mothertucker

Prepare yourself for a night of ‘mischief, mayhem, and more ball jokes than you can handle’ with the Lady Balls Bingo queens. The best part? One lucky winner receives a crisp £500 note at the end of the night. Lady Balls Bingo is a free but busy night, so make sure to book a table in advance!

Hosted in Glasgow’s biggest and longest running alternative clubs, Hellbent brings you some of Glasgow’s craziest drag. This show is a prime example of the versatility and uniqueness that the Glasgow drag scene has to offer. Expect great music, energetic performances and cheap drinks.

Previously held at Katie’s Bar in Merchant City, Mothertucker recently moved location to Glasgow’s gayest hotspot, The Polo Lounge. Expect a ‘whacky, bizarre and fabulous’ show from the queens of Mothertucker. Their weekly themed shows are not to be missed! Previously themed shows include: Doctor Who, video games, animation, back to school and myths and legends.

WHERE?

The Cathouse, 15 Union Street

The Polo Lounge, 84 Wilson Street

WHEN?

First Sunday of every month

Every Tuesday, 10pm

WHO?

Hillhead Bookclub, 17 Vinicombe Street Every fourth Wednesday of the month Ru Jazzle and CJ Banks, plus guests

Marla Sinner, Frans Gender, plus more

Mothertucker residents include CJ Banks, RuJazzle, October Fist, plus more

Trigger

drag opticon

SUCK!

Trigger has another one of Glasgow’s best LGBT venues packed every Thursday night till the wee hours of the morning. If it’s a variety of drag performances you’re looking for, look no further than Trigger. The show brings drag queens from all over Scotland to perform together, including some of the best female drag queens. Trigger has been described as ‘one big family’.

A drag variety show performed in the world’s oldest surviving music hall. The Drag-opticon show blends the world of drag and cabaret together, with performances such as lip syncing, live singing, stand-up comedy, burlesque and poetry, from local and oversea queens. The show contributes to the charity restoration of the Britannia Panopticon.

Taking place in the heart of Merchant City, you can see some of Glasgow’s most popular queens live in action every Wednesday night. SUCK has been in action since 2015 and has become one of Glasgow’s hottest and busiest weekly drag shows. If you’re lucky, you’ll get the chance to see special guests, as queens from all over the world are fond of a visit!

WHERE?

WHEN?

WHO?

AXM, 80 Glassford Street Every Thursday from 10pm

Ann Phetamine, Bearberry McQueen, Marla Sinner, Frans Gender, Carrie Ann Crow

Britannia Panopticon

Monthly show, dates vary

Alana Duvey, Dharma Geddon, plus more

Delmonicas, 68 Virginia Street

Every Wednesday, 10pm

SUCK! residents include Ru Jazzle, CJ Banks, October Fist and Lawrence Chaney

LADY RAMPANT The story of a Scottish queen in a European scene

omewhere in the city centre of Amsterdam, 22-year-old Christopher Clannachan from Glasgow sits in a library, day upon day, studying for his masters in European Union Law. But come night time, he beats his cheeks, glues on a wig (shade ‘sexy red hot’) and tucks up - hello Lady Rampant. Glasdrags caught up with Christopher/Lady Rampant to find out what it’s been like venturing into the drag scene 450 miles away from home in one of the world’s most liberal cities.

Christopher packed up his bags and moved to the Netherlands, for the second time, shortly after graduating from Glasgow University in 2018. Having already experienced living and studying in the Netherlands for third year of uni, the move, the country and the type of lifestyle wouldn’t be completely unfamiliar. However, one thing this time would be quite different. The second time round, Christopher finally introduced a part of him who he knew had been there for years. Lady Rampant was brought to life in October 2018 and by November she was gigging on the stage of a Dutch gay bar, lip syncing to Katy Perry and arranging collaborations with Dutch drag queens.

So who exactly is Lady Rampant? “She’s Scottish, she’s fierce and she’s conceptual. She’s an artist.” Christopher beams. “Usually there’s an idea behind what she wants to do, what she wants to present. For

example, her name is Lady Rampant based on the concept of the lion rampant. The Lion Rampant being very Scottish and very identifiable as Scottish.” Although Lady Rampant was showcased just a few months ago, she had been brewing inside Christopher since 2014. “It all really started in my first year of uni when I was assigned a criminal law essay and found it very difficult. It really upset me and I wanted to drop out at this point and do make-up and costume design for theatre instead. I loved art in school and really missed it,” he recalls. But instead of dropping out of uni, he used Halloween which was approaching to quench his thirst for creativity through costume designing and experimenting with make-up. Every Halloween since then, Christopher has created his own unique costumes, each look inspired by something in particular. For example, in 2016 when he moved to Rotterdam, he felt it was necessary to do something ‘marine-like’, having been inspired by Rotterdam’s port (the biggest in Europe). So, he became a merman. Doing this once a year wasn’t enough, though. Christopher wanted to be able to showcase these looks without it just being for Halloween. He realised that taking up drag would be the perfect opportunity to do so. “Drag for me isn’t necessarily about trying to be beautiful as a woman,

but more of making a statement. Drag queens are known for their art, statements and, by default, exaggeration and I think that’s what I love the most, the exaggeration.”

very differently. We have the red light district, club kids, drag queens, everything, just on the street. It’s not unusual to see something like that here, so for me it just felt easier.”

What is most interesting about Christopher’s story, is that he showcased his alter-ego in Amsterdam, instead of back home in Glasgow. Starting drag in Glasgow might’ve been an easier option. He’s familiar with the queens here, from previously being a weekly regular in the likes of Delmonicas and Polo. In Amsterdam he would be completely new to the drag scene.

Lady Rampant may have only been on the Amsterdam drag scene for a few months, but she’s been a hit. After just a couple of weeks, she found herself her first gig in Amstel 54, a lively bar in the popular area of Rembrantsplein.

But for Christopher, Amsterdam was the easier option. It was a fresh start. A new chapter. “I thought to myself, I’m on a new scene where I don’t know anyone, it’s literally a fresh slate where I can go out and if I look shit, nobody will really know me and nobody will really care,” he shrugs. “Amsterdam in my opinion, is much more open minded than Glasgow, not in a bad way, but a lot of people walk about the streets in Amsterdam

“I was told by my friends and other drag queens that it’s time, that I need to get out and just do it. So, I always knew that my first performance had to be Katy Perry’s song Roar, to stay on brand with the rampant lion. I only found out that I was doing the show the night before, so I was up until 4am practicing a dance routine. The performance was well received. I loved it.” Aside from being well received by her audience, Lady Rampant has been welcomed by the Dutch queens too. “I’ve not had a bad reaction from drag queens. Most of them have been very

queen has told “One me that I’m welcome to perform on her stage any time I like.

”

sss

“Each time out in

drag has been a uniquely different experience.d ds

”

open to seeing a new queen perform. One queen has told me that I’m welcome to perform on her stage any time I like.” But like a lot of things we do in life, there are always going some people who won’t agree with it all. Although Lady Rampant has had no personal issues or rejections while in drag, Christopher, on the other hand, has. “I have been out in a club in Amsterdam and people have come up to me and asked if my name was Christopher and they tell me that they’ve seen me dressed in drag and ask why I’m dressing as a woman. They ask me what I’m doing and remind me that I’m a guy,” he recalls. “It’s mainly the type of cute guys who want to try and flirt with another guy, but then they see that they are doing drag and are put off. They don’t really understand that it’s just art. It’s just a wig and some makeup. When it comes off there’s still a guy underneath it all, someone who they know has feelings that have

intentionally been hurt.” Nonetheless, drag has proved to be the perfect opportunity for Christopher to showcase his creativity and talent. And Lady Rampant seems to be loving it too. From making new friends, to being invited to a whole mixture of events. “Each time out in drag has been a uniquely different experience,” Christopher says. “The first time I went out as Lady Rampant was to Club Church for the Hoeroom Ball, it was very good. I also took part in a drag benefit, raising money for cancer patients in the Netherlands.” Most recently, Lady Rampant attended an event at Paradiso, one of Amsterdam most popular venues for touring musicians, where she ended up on the stage in front of hundreds. Sticking to the theme of the party, which was called ‘God Save the Queens’, Lady Rampant created a very fitting Brexit look. It featured a long, sequenced ball gown with a hairstyle

that resembled a young Queen Elizabeth. Arguably, the showstopper for this look was the make-up: one eye serving drag queen glam, a scar to separate three quarters of her face that’s painted like the union jack and fake blood trickling down her neck. But what really completed the Brexit look was Lady Rampant’s sign, stating ‘God save this Queen from BREXIT!’ “The reaction I got from people was really something else. People just taking photos or videos of me walking past, coming up and telling me I looked amazing, holding my hand. It was such a warm feeling. I danced, walked the runway, lip synced. I was so at ease and didn’t feel nervous at all. I loved every minute of it.” Christopher does admit that not every night out in drag has been so fun, due to worrying about looking good. “I’m starting to really let that go. I’m in a mind-set now where I think: ‘its drag, have fun with it’. I’m not ever going to be a supermodel in drag or maybe not a catwalk fashion forward person, but the look that I can give and the art that I can portray is what I’m good at,” he explains. With just a few more months left

of his masters degree, Christopher might not be in Amsterdam for the rest of the year, meaning that Lady Rampant may not be either. So what lies ahead for the Scottish lioness? “I can’t say for definite what lies ahead for Lady Rampant when I come back to Glasgow, because I really don’t know. But I know that she’s going to be there. She’ll be out and proud, doing her like she has been doing here in Amsterdam. I don’t know whether I’ll be living in Glasgow or not, because I’m living here, studying law and I don’t know where internship jobs are going to take me. “It wasn’t necessarily a given that I would always start drag in Amsterdam, but it pushed me ready to do it. I’m very grateful that my drag life started here, because even though I am a Scottish queen, it really gave me the momentum.” You can keep up to date with all of Lady Rampant’s looks and performances by following her on Instagram: @ ladyrampant. Photography by Mark Zalman.

26 Photograph by Simon Crawford

Women in drag T

here are many ways one might define drag. But the most common idea of drag is: ‘A male entertainer who tells jokes or sings while dressed as a woman,’ as put by Collins English dictionary. But this definition might be considered as outdated for a number of reasons. Firstly, there’s a lot more to drag than telling jokes and singing. Secondly, and most importantly, drag is not exclusively for male entertainers. Over the past few years, there has been a huge spark in females exploring and embracing drag. From female drag queens, to drag kings. However, over the past year women in drag has been a topical subject, especially after some comments that were made by Ru Paul. In an interview with The Guardian last year, Ru said: “Drag loses its sense of danger and its sense of irony once it’s not men doing it.” He also added that he would “probably not” allow transwomen on his show. His comments enraged and shocked many fans and drag artists, including past contestants

on his show, such as Sasha Velour, Gia Gunn and Jiggly Caliente. But the backlash to Ru’s comments was pro-women and the ‘#mydragisvalid’ trend appeared across all social media - a chance for women in drag to showcase the range of real talent that they have to offer. With comments like Ru’s being made, in a scene that is dominated by male drag queens, it can be intimidating for females to break into the drag scene. Some might even give up. But Havana Meltdown explains that this was not the case for her. Havana is just one example of a woman who is thriving in the Glasgow drag scene. She believes that despite the comments made by Ru Paul, the scene has overall been very accepting. The female queen explains: “Outside of drag I have always worked in very male dominated industries and regularly find myself the only woman in my pay grade surrounded by men, so I’ve

developed a thicker skin before I started performing. “When I first started I did feel a bit like ‘the token woman’ but I was never intimidated. When a male queen decided to start a fight with me on social media I did worry that the male queens would close ranks as that’s something I’ve seen before and thought this was a very unfair end to my drag career, but that wasn’t the case. Through that situation I found some real allies in the some of the biggest names in Scottish drag who really helped me develop into the queen I am now,” she continues. Having dabbled in drag since the age of 17, Havana, now 26, is part of the group ‘Lunar Dynasty’, a community for the women of Scottish drag. Lunar Dynasty have occupied the stage at AXM for Trigger Thursdays and recently performed at Delmonicas as part of Clash of the Clans. Havana explains that it’s not the queens who have ever been an issue for women in drag, but rather the audiences instead who aren’t used to seeing it. “It’s mostly because of the lack of female representation on drag race which is the primary reference for most drag audiences,” she says.

“The queens at Suck (the organisers of Clash of the Clans) have been especially welcoming to our group and Rujazzle (Suck, Mothertucker and Slay) has been supportive for both me individually and us as a group. We have some things in the pipeline just now that are really going to change how women in drag in Scotland are going to be viewed and seen,” Havana reveals. But women exploring drag isn’t exactly new, as a history of drag kings dates way back to the late 19th century, to Annie Hindle, the first popular male impersonator performer in America. You could say that drag kings are the opposite of drag queens. Traditionally, drag kings are female performers who dress in masculine clothes and adopts stereotypical male personas. However, like drag queens, to be a king is not exclusively for females. Now, there are transmen kings, non-binary kings, and even cisgender men performing as drag kings. Drag king shows are similar to drag queen shows, with singing, dancing, lip-syncing or stand-up comedy. King Eli Buck is the persona of

a female performer, who is no stranger to the Glasgow drag scene, having performed a number of times at Katie’s Bar. Like Havana, Eli explains that he too has never had a problem being a king in a business dominated by male queens. “I was raised by Queens so I have nothing but love and respect for my girls,” he says proudly. But sadly, the success of drag kings can often be overlooked by the success of male drag queens. But Eli would disagree: “Sure Queens may be ‘more popular’ than kings in a lot of places but I don’t find that to be the case here in Scotland. “There are more drag kings about than a lot of people seem to realise. I find that a lot of folk who watch Ru Paul’s Drag Race religiously are very different to the people who go to their local Drag shows and support their local Kings and Queens,” Eli continues. As a committed and passionate drag king, Eli is proud of the progress that kings in Scotland are making. “I think we have a healthy balance of kings and queens here in Scotland, now anyway! There were only two of us three years ago. Now there are about ten of

us who work both the Edinburgh and Glasgow circuit.” Women experimenting with drag is becoming a lot more common nowadays, and why shouldn’t it? Havana says; “I feel like when we focus so much on the idea of binary gender we lose what drag is about. The whole idea of ‘man in a dress’ is outdated and a long history of drag is part of the reason why that phrase hasn’t aged well. Gender is performative. The idea of men and women’s clothing doesn’t make sense when you put them on bodies that don’t conform to those ideas.” Eli would agree with Havana, as he believes that drag has no boundaries; “That’s what makes this wonderful art form so magical, don’t you think?” So will the stereotypical idea of drag ever change?

The infuelnce drag has had on the beaUty industry C

ontouring, highlighting, baking who is responsible for these makeup techniques? “Kim Kardashian!” scream the voices of women’s beauty magazines and Youtube vloggers. Is it really though? Because it seems that a long history of drag make-up would suggest otherwise. So, perhaps the real question is: are drag queens getting the credit they deserve for the influence they’ve had on the beauty industry? It was around six years ago when contouring and highlighting really blew up in the beauty industry. The ability to be able to make your face look slimmer and chiselled just by using make-up. And then came baking too, also known as ‘cooking’ - a technique used to set the make-up by packing on translucent powder. The big hype started when Kim Kardashian tweeted a photo of her face with the strange lines on it, preblended. Since then, a plethora of tutorial videos have been uploaded to Youtube teaching viewers ‘how to contour, bake and highlight like Kim Kardashian’. Beauty magazines are constantly publishing articles about

‘Kim Kardashian’s beauty secrets’ and ‘the Kim K technique’. The middle sister of the infamous family has also brought out her own beauty range, ‘KKW Beauty’, and you can probably guess what products are among the best sellers. However, this is where it begins to seem a bit unfair on drag queens. Before Kim Kardashian popularised the techniques, drag queens were contouring and highlighting in clubs to completely transform their face to make it look more feminine and would bake so that their make-up wouldn’t melt off from performing under hot, bright lights. So even though drag queens have been using these techniques since the New York club days in the eighties – and maybe even further back - most of them haven’t been given their own beauty line. You rarely see beauty magazines raving about their ‘secrets’ either. Drag queen Scarlet Butcher says: “Drag queens definitely do not get as much credit as they should for setting these trends. We were contouring way back before Kim K even knew what it was! People don’t understand

why we apply our make-up the way we do. It’s now just a trend that most people jump on the without finding out what it’s actually used for.” But it’s not only contouring, highlighting and baking that drag queens have influenced. They are also known for creating bold, colourful eyes with overexaggerated lashes and overdrawn lips too. Looks like these however, are the new normal. There are some Millennials out there though, who do give drag queens the credit they deserve. Make-up artist Jodie Davidson admits that she has been hugely influenced by queens: “Drag queens inspired me to be more creative. Their bold looks and use of colour made me dare to be more creative and not afraid to try out different looks.” Raja, Mathu Anderson and Sharon Needles are some of the queens who inspire Jodie. There are also now some beauty companies who are working alongside the drag industry, like NYX Professional

Makeup for example. NYX products have become necessities for drag queen’s make-up bags. NYX picked up on this and in 2017 the brand became partners with Drag World UK as official cosmetic sponsors of the event. The beauty industry is currently bigger than ever and it all really comes down to drag culture. Not only do drag queens set make-up trends, they set beauty product trends too. The Ben Nye setting powder is just one of the products drag queens inspired Jodie to buy. The Ben Nye setting powder trend is something else Kim Kardashian has been credited for in the media. While Kim K might’ve popularised the trend in mainstream culture, beauty influencers and the media should consider the drag queens who were among the first to use the techniques and trends. It is essentially them and their techniques who have helped boost the beauty industry.

BARRY SCOTLAND

Blinging out the queens I

f you’ve ever seen a drag queen from Ru Paul’s Drag Race wearing chunky necklaces with bold slogans saying ‘Hieee!’, ‘Cmon’ or ‘Choices’, it’s likely that these are the designs of Barry Scotland - a drag fan from Falkirk, who now supplies some of the world’s most popular drag queens with their accessories. It all started on an AlandChuck Travel Caribbean cruise, a holiday aimed at the LGBT community and, being the original sponsors of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, it was an opportunity for passengers to socialise with popular drag queens on board. It was a paradise for dedicated drag fans like Barry and his partner, who decided to travel to America and jump on their first cruise around six years ago. Although Barry has had a love for drag and queer culture since a young age, it was watching RPDR and attending drag shows in Glasgow which really ignited his passion for drag. As a design student at the time, Barry was inspired by the chunky necklaces that Michelle Visage would wear on drag race. So, he decided to design his own accessories to wear on the cruise and made a gift for the cruise leader, Detox, a contestant on the fifth season of RPDR.

“When we were on the cruise people kept asking where I got my chain from and asking where they could buy it. At the time I had no plan to start selling to a wider scale as I was still studying,” Barry explains. But it all became real after Barry was approached by a queen on the cruise. He was a huge fan of hers, and it looked like she was becoming a fan of Barry too, as she loved his accessories and wanted some for herself. So, the first ‘RuGirl’ to request a piece commissioned was Alyssa Edwards from season five. Barry made her a big chain saying ‘Alyssa’s Secret’. From then, Barry went on to producing accessories on a larger production scale. The first item produced on a larger scale was a tribute piece to his friend Eddie ‘Top Hat’ Sotomayor, who sadly was one of the 49 who lost their lives in the Orlando Pulse shooting. “He loved travelling so I designed a small top hat necklace as a reminder of him as I wanted a piece of him to continue travelling the world,” Barry says. The piece was non-profit and £267.16 was donated to Stonewall in memory of Edward Sotomayor Jr. If Barry wasn’t gifting queens with

his accessories then queens were requesting their own custom pieces, which Barry would design using Adobe Illustrator and then cut the jewellery with a laser cutter. “Typically I use a lot of glitter, mirrors and neon. I love doing more neon pieces and always draw inspiration from the eighties culture, Detox and Marco Marco,” he says. “My smaller items such as hats, badges and mirrors are all manufactured by a professional company to ensure they are of the highest quality.” Barry went on to designing more pieces, stuff that drag fans could wear too. “Drag Race has become more popular with teenage audiences, so this was one of the reasons why I started designing smaller and more affordable pieces, such as badges, pocket mirrors and hats. A lot of teenagers don’t have jobs or incomes so I wanted to make cheaper items that everyone would able to afford,” Barry explains. By his third AlandChuck Travel cruise, he had set up a small popup shop selling a few of his pieces, including the now popular pieces, ‘HIEEE’, ‘C’mon’ and ‘Party’. Soon after, he was popping up more shops at the likes of Dragtech, and most recently exhibited at Drag World in London last year. “Drag World was an incredible experience. It’s the biggest pop-up show I’ve exhibited with. I

had the lovely Sean O’Flanagan as my pit crew for the weekend and he modelled some of the stuff. It was the first time I’ve showcased my designs to that level of people,” he gushes. From being a fan of drag and designing jewellery for himself, to commissioning jewellery to some big time queens like Alyssa Edwards, Kasha Davis and even Michelle Visage, Barry has become friendly with some of the girls from Ru Paul’s Drag Race. “Mrs Kasha Davis from season seven did a small advert for my jewellery. Rhea Litré is always supportive of my work and tells everyone about my stuff. Meeting Marco Marco was surreal, someone who influences and inspired my work looking at my pieces was such a strange experience. Unforgettable. It’s surreal and still so weird to see so many people I’ve admired for so long wearing stuff I’ve designed,” he says. Aside from designing accessories, Barry now also helps out with Slay Presents as a graphic designer, collaborating with them on posters. Most recently, he worked on the tour posters for Aquaria, Alaska and Sharon Needles. Barry designs accessories from necklaces, earrings and rings, to badges and snapbacks. His pieces can be found and purchased through his website, www.barryscotland.com.

MARIE ST. SANDY A poet and she knows it

ueen Marie St. Sandy has been using drag not only as a way to express her imagination and femininity, but as a source of writing poetry too. In just less than a year, the Glasgow queen has released two poetry collections, with another in the works. Marie St. Sandy has been experimenting with drag for almost three years, just a little bit longer than she has been professionally writing poetry. But she believes that both drag and poetry have been around her since a young age. She recalls playing an angel in a school play at the age of five and from then, she began developing a huge imagination and began reading religiously and writing her own stories. But poetry is not something Marie has always been so passionate about, she reveals: “I hated poetry as a kid and I abandoned it until few years ago when I was inspired by Dean Eastmond, who wrote a lot of poetry at the time and I practised it in secret.” When Marie first started dabbling with drag she admits that it took

over her creative life and she once again, she abandoned poetry for a while. Now, however, she has found a way to merge her two passions together In September 2018, Marie released her debut poetry collection ‘Sunflowers and Ghosts’, which combines drag, poetry and visuals to tell what she describes as ‘the story of being in the happiest time of my life but being terrified to enjoy it’. Marie says: “Sunflowers & Ghosts Part One is very melancholic and delicate. It has all this beautiful imagery with cynical and moody love poems.” Then, in January 2019, her second collection was promptly released, ‘Sunflowers and Ghosts Part Two: PLASTICINE’, which Marie explains is visually and tonally very different to part one. “Part two is a bit more grotesque and bloody and deals with darker subject matters, such as alcoholism, self-harm, body image, addiction and suicide,” she says. Poetry Marie, always health:

has become an outlet for who reveals that she has struggled with her mental “I find that if something

terrible happens to you or you feel terrible, poetry is a way to make something nice come out of it and it helps you find peace to an extent.” While Marie does not combine her poetry with her drag performances, she explains that she merges drag and poetry together by writing from the point of view of her drag persona. There is a visual aspect which also combines the two together, as she includes some photos of herself in the collections. But combining poetry with performances isn’t something that’s completely off limits: “Performing in front of a live audience is cathartic for me,

especially when I perform comedic or upbeat numbers and poetry is very real and very personal. I would like to start doing live readings soon, though. It’ll just be a case of talking myself off that ledge!” she says. Marie St. Sandy is now currently working on the third and final part of the trilogy, which she says is going to be a happy ending that she is super excited about. Sunflowers and Ghosts Part One and Two can be found and purchased in the queer bookshop of Glasgow’s Southside, Category is Books, and online at www.etsy. com/uk/shop/MarieStSandy

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Capturing Queens E

ve Arnold, photojournalist known kor photographing Marilyn Monroe, believes that ‘If a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much Is given. It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.’ A quote that proves to be true in the case of Glasgow drag photographer, dnd fan, Joana Bittencourt Silvestre.

Joana has been photographing Glasgow’s drag queens since 2016, when she first started going to Mothertucker shows. Initially, doing this was just out of an interest in photography and a growing love for what she was seeing at the drag shows. “I loved what I saw and I wondered if the queens would mind if I took some photos for practice. It still took me four months to

muster the courage to finally bring my camera along. I was always very wary of the queens thinking I was there just to use them as ‘interesting props’ and not to support the local queer scene,” Joana explains. But this was far from the case. The queens at Mothertucker began to notice Joana and would ask if they could use some of her photos for their Instagram and Facebook pages. Since then, Joana has been the photographer for the queens at Mothertucker, attending their show every single week. “Everything happened very organically. So, there wasn’t really a singular point where something official happened. I still take pictures just sitting quietly at my seat,” Joana says. However, Joana arguably plays

quite a big role in the careers of the queens. Without her and her camera, their social media pages might not look as good as they do now. Recently, Joana has worked on some big projects with Ru Jazzle, who has been creating photo series’ for her Instagram which have gained a lot of attention. In February 2018, Ru invited Joana to be part of her ‘#28DaysOfArtHerstory’ project. “At this point, she already knew me for a while and we had many conversations about art we’re both fans of Van Gogh - so I think she foresaw that I would be interested. She was of course right,” Joana explains. They worked solidly together on 28 photos throughout the month of February.

Afterwards, Joana helped Ru on the ‘#aMAYzingWomen’ project – another photo series which gained a lot of attention and success. But Joana did more than just take the photographs for these projects; she helped create the background for many of the photos using a little bit of Photoshop, as well as painting props, making headpieces and some costume details. Without the help from Joana, perhaps these photo series’ might not have been able to go ahead. On Instagram, Ru Jazzle wrote: “MEGA love to the Brazilian goddess herself, Joana, who shot every single look beautifully!” While Joana might have worked quietly behind the scenes on the projects, she explains that they

“

It’s always just been about photographing something I love.

”

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still helped her gain some visibility. “I ended up doing photography for one edition of the Glitter and Grind Revue (a great Cabaret Show), and with Slay Presents. I photographed Trixie Mattel in February last year and Disasterina in October of the same year. I also did a few photoshoots with local queens from Glasgow and Edinburgh,” she says. Photography is not Joana’s main job, and she considers herself a ‘drag fan first, photographer second’. It’s a hobby and a passion that she’s been able to make a small living from and gain some visibility as a photographer. But she explains that these aspects aren’t the most important: “It’s always just been about photographing something I love. “Now, some of the queens are good friends of mine, so I just help them in any way a friend can. I am always very supportive, so you will definitely find me in the first row cheering for them,” she continues.

What makes Joana’s drag photography different and more interesting than others is her ability to be able to capture the essence of drag both on and off stage. She does a great job of snapping the queens in action, but a close relationship with them also allows her to capture them behind the scenes just one on one. The local drag queens of Glasgow (and beyond) are lucky to have a photographer like Joana working alongside them, capturing almost every moment of their career. “I like capturing the beauty I see in real life on camera, so I try my best to make sure that the image that ends up on my screen corresponds to the way I see drag,” Joana concludes. Joana’s drag photography can be found on her Instagram page: @ glasgowqueens. Photography by Joana Bittencourt Silvestre.

What’s on in Glasgow 5th Katya Zamoldchikov, contestant of Ru Paul’s Drag Race season 7 will be staring at the SEC Armadillo for her ‘Help Me I’m Dying’ UK and Ireland tour. Tickets start at £38.50, you can find them online from Ticketmaster.

6th The Drag-Opticon’s monthly show will be held in its usual venue, the Britannia Panopticon, where the doors will open at 7:30pm. This show is for over 18s only. Tickets start from just £8.13, or for students, £6.09. You can get your tickets from www. universe.com/events.

8th

The winner of ‘Scotland’s Best Drag Queen’ and Glasgow’s very own, Reba Martel returns to Merchant City’s Wild Cabaret to host the show ‘Dragged From The Movies’. The show is on from 7:30pm until 10:00pm and tickets can be found at www. eventbrite.co.uk.

this april 12th SLAY! Presents RPDR season 4 contestant and All Stars season 1 and 2 contestant Latrice Royale, at Glasgow’s underground venue, Audio. The show begins at 7pm and tickets start at £15. Both general admission and meet and greet tickets are available, they can be found at www.musicglue. com/slay

14th Adore Delano’s first ever one woman show comes to the Glee Club. Tickets for the ‘A Pizza Me’ Tour start at £22.04 and doors open at 7:30pm. The show is unreserved seating, so getting there early is recommended!

21st Kitty Tray presents Pandora Boxx of RPDR season 2 and All Stars season 1 at Audio. The ‘One Woman Show’ starts at 6pm until late. General admission tickets start at £18.50 and meet and greet options are available too, these can be found at www. tickettailor.com

With special thanks to the Glasgow drag queens Jordana Richardson Joana Bittencourt Silvestre and Margaret Hughes