Moving Beyond The Evil Queens
Tell Trinity
A reader asks: “I’m a drag queen who competes in pageants. So many of the queens are so evil to me for some reason. Is there hope for a nice queen?”
A reader asks: “I’m a drag queen who competes in pageants. So many of the queens are so evil to me for some reason. Is there hope for a nice queen?”
For Zach Smith, gaming has been a safe space for much of his life. “Some of my first memories are of playing video games,” he says. Smith, who is the executive director of the Charlotte Gaymers Network, remembers playing on a Sega Genesis with his sister when he was young.
Harris Glenn Milstead was an American actor and musical performer best known as Divine. A muse of the gay independent filmmaker John Waters, Milstead, as Divine, played female characters in the director’s often shocking comedies, including the cult classics “Pink Flamingos” (1972), “Female Trouble” (1974) and “Polyester” (1981).
Released July 17 on Instagram Original TV (IGTV), the fresh new reality show “Queens of the Queen City” portrays the lives of five Charlotte drag queens uncovering what life is like as a drag queen in Charlotte, N.C. both on and off the stage. Season 1 was scheduled to air 13 episodes, but production halted in March due to setbacks related to COVID-19. The show has resumed production and is nearly halfway through filming for Season 2.
Season eight contestant Thorgy Thor (aka Shane Galligan) is a classically-trained musician — a violinist and violist who also taught themselves to play cello.
The evolution of drag some say dates back to Shakespeare when men dressing as girls would perform plays on stage. Others say drag goes even further back in time.
In 1984, when Greg Brafford became part-owner of O’leens, one of Charlotte, N.C.’s most storied gay bars, the city was not far removed from the time when “suspected homosexuals” would be arrested in Freedom Park and have their names featured on the front page of The Charlotte Observer.
To give is Divine — seriously. Whether you have a black heart, red heart or pink heart, the legendary “Drag Queen of the Century” Divine knew it best. Charity has always been part of being a drag queen.