Dishing with Buff Faye

Hopefully one thing we can all agree upon is that drag is entertainment. There are many forms of drag and ways to express gender through the art form known as drag. But at its core, drag continues to be entertainment.

Practically anyone today thinks that they can be a drag queen. The good news is that this means that drag is popular as ever and that even Grandma can tell you who won Season 9 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The bad news is how do you know if you truly are fierce enough to be a drag queen?

Mothers are special. It shouldn’t take Mother’s Day, which we celebrated in mid-May, for us to remember that. And for drag queens, it is always important to remember your drag mothers too. These are the drag queens who helped you be who you are today.

Most of you all should know by now, but my homegirl Eureka O’Hara had to leave Season 9 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” due to a torn ACL in her knee. The good news is that Ru gave her an open invite to come back for Season 10 after recuperating.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 9 just started back up this past month. It’s on a Friday and on VH1. I’m still adjusting to that frankly. But I have to say all the Season 9 girls and the surprise return of a queen is making it “must-watch” TV.

It takes a village, even for drag queens. Often we don’t see all the supporters and people behind the scenes, helping make a queen look flawless. Nor do we think about what it takes to put together a drag show: the costs involved, the planning of a special event and all the logistics.

Yes, it happened to me. I was scammed. Scam artists, or as I like to call them “Shady Ladies,” are everywhere. Some are just bad liars and others are outright thieves.

Charlotte is blessed to have a vibrant and growing drag community full of many types of queens — camp queens, beauty queens, bearded queens, new and old queens too. Of course, the true test of a queen is whether they can stand out, entertain and keep standing in those heels for the long run. This column features one of the newer queens to the Queen City who has taken the scene by storm since she arrived — Shelita Bonet Hoyle.

I am proud to be among the eight founding Queen City Sisters. I personally chose the name Sister Cumunion as my sister name. Sister Cumunion shares blessings of love with all — and encourages everyone to get on their knees and confess regularly.

“Dishing with Buff Faye” is partly named after my favorite restaurant “Dish” in Plaza-Midwood. This quaint place makes everyone feel like you’re eating at home with family.

So, how do you stay positive in a world of negativity? That is hard indeed. It is seemingly all around us. We see negativity in the political arena with Hillary versus Trump.

Having done drag now for eight years, it makes me wonder: How are things changing? One thing that never changes is the business side of drag. It is not cheap to look fabulous and everything has a price.

Loss is such an emotional word for many of us. When we lose something, it is followed by mixed feelings of sadness, depression and grieving. Asking why? And why now?

Do you know your Drag Herstory? Well for a drag queen it is essential that you know something about the roots of drag, how drag played a role in the LGBT movement and some fun facts. Test your “IQ — Intellectual Queerness” in this Drag Herstory Quiz. How much do you know?

Pageant season is here. All summer long you will find drag queens competing for prelims and statewide titles on their way to national contests for Miss Gay America, All American Goddess, Entertainer of the Year, USA Unlimited and the list continues.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 ends this month of May. Every week I have been watching as Ru sends another lady “sashaying away.” For those Drag Race junkies, I compiled this Drag Queen (DQ) Quiz just for you.

Religion and faith were never meant to exclude or harm people. But yet history tells us differently. Across the State of North Carolina, we find ourselves battling over liberty and freedom — and it has all come down to where we take a piss. Ironic. Moronic. Yes, indeed.

“RuPaul Drag Race” Season 8 started on March 7. Who would have thought drag would be so popular? Just look right here in the Queen City. More and more drag queens are popping up all around.

February is the month for Valentine’s Day and for falling in love (and chocolate). And, yes, even drag queens need love and romance too. Oh and did I mention chocolate. Well my muse for this column on “Drag Queen Love” came from my good Judy (drag lingo for friend) Shelita Bonet Hoyle and her recent Facebook post. She states:

Now is the time to give back. And it is the main reason why I even do drag. Drag queens always have been supporters of their community and many support different charities.