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A Conversation Between Drag Queens, Old And New In celebrating the changes drag has undergone through the years, two local Columbus queens chat about everything from memories to the future. By Jeff Skinner a.k.a. Jennifer Lynn Ali
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ike any art form or craft, female impersonation hasn’t stayed the same since its birth. From the changing of laws pertaining to crossdressing and to a popular, Emmy-award winning show about competing drag queens, times really have changed. But what about the approaches, the attitudes and the memories? True Q’s Administrative Executive and female impersonator Jennifer Lynn Ali sat down with friend Samantha Rollins to talk about how drag has changed through the years: Jennifer Lynn: Entertainers like you, Coco, Brazon, Maria Garrison have paved the way for myself and many other drag queens in Ohio. I wanted to sit down and talk with you about what drag was like when you first started, and then talk about our favorite memories of drag. How long have you been doing drag? Samantha: I’ve been doing drag for 37 years now. More than most drag queens now have been alive. [laughs] Wow. I don’t think I knew that! Why are you laughing?! Because I didn’t know that! I didn’t know it’s been 37 years. Wow. Why do you think I’m so fabulous? 10 | MARCH 2019
That’s amazing. I started drag when I was 18. I’ve been doing it for eight years. Oh, my gosh. I’m a baby. I started doing drag when I was 20. What was it like back then? I know now, you walk in fully ready. I’ve always walked in fully ready. Unless I’m out of town and have to get ready there; in that case, I hope for a hotel to get ready. I’ve always looked at this as a job. They hired Samantha, from start to finish. So I go in and leave as Samantha. You get what you pay for. I know that I’ve heard that “back in the day” — like years and years ago — people didn’t show up in drag. They would have to get ready in the bars. Did you ever have any issues with showing up in drag? Well, I looked like a woman, so from a distance, you’d never know. Back then, you had to have on at least three articles of men’s clothing, in case you were pulled over or arrested or harassed. Mostly, that would be like undergarments, which we could hide. You’ve never been harrassed? Nope. I’ve never been looked at twice, as long as I’ve been doing this.
Jennifer Lynn (second from left) with Samantha (third from left) and the girls at Columbus Pride 2017!
Jennifer Lynn (left) and Samantha (right) eating ice cream and taking selfies! Good! That’s amazing. I’m not one to dress up and come to the bar. I like to get ready there. Actually, I’m like Hellin Bedd. I have my sweats on. You’re a dude in makeup, is what you’re telling me. Well, I’m a lady in makeup. Now we know the difference between today’s youth and me. Do you think social media has changed drag? Why? Yes. 100%. Back in my day — I hate to say that, because I’m still here; it sounds like I’m retiring — the only place you’d see drag was a gay bar. You couldn’t turn on a soap opera and see a drag queen, like you can now. Or any time of the day, watch RuPaul’s Drag Race. All we had was the gay entertainment scene. We’ve lost that spark in the bars now, because they’ve already seen it before they got there. Right. They’ve seen a picture on Instagram. Or it’s preconceived what a drag queen should be because of RuPaul’s Drag Race. So if you don’t look like a RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant, you fall behind. I was going to ask you about RuPaul’s Drag Race, but you brought it up! What is RuPaul’s Drag Race? Starting out, it could have been really good and helpful to drag queens, but they’ve isolated TRUE Q MAGAZINE
