People generally seem to like all different kinds of takes on drag,” he says. “The community has been really accepting, and we have a great alternative community. It’s not just in a bar or a basement, and it’s something that’s glamorous and beautiful and loved by all different races, genders and sexualities.”ĭante Virgil, a nineteen-year-old alternative drag king based in Denver, has also been pleasantly surprised by how welcoming the scene has been to all kinds of performers. “Drag is a wholesome thing,” says Peaches. Because of hard-fought battles by queer elders such as James, Colorado’s up-and-coming drag performers, including sixteen-year-old “drag teen” Ophelia Peaches, have a fresh perspective on what drag can be. Stu Osborne Over 350 drag performances are working in Colorado today, entertaining with everything from classic female impersonation to male drag, fantastical cosplay, campy clownery and even kids’ drag. James, who used to perform exclusively in gay nightclubs because that was the only option, says that 90 percent of her bookings today are private events, such as bachelorette parties, or brunches at venues with a primarily straight customer base.
So we have a deep-rooted history in the advancement of the community.”Īnd the advancement of drag outside of that community, too. Colorado Pride was started by drag queens. The Colorado AIDS Project was started by drag queens. The Matthew Shepard Foundation - that seed money was raised by drag queens. “The Metropolitan Community Church of the Rockies, the building the MCC sits in - the seed money was raised by drag queens. “Through drag, many things have happened,” explains James. We gave them their last sendoff.”īecause drag performers were accustomed to being outcasts and fending for themselves, they also became the driving force behind many of Colorado’s queer outreach organizations. We were the ones who paid for the funerals, either out of our own pockets or raised money. “During the late ’80s and early ’90s, many of my drag sisters didn’t have family support. I helped many of my drag sisters cross that journey and make that transition into the afterlife,” recalls James. “I survived the AIDS crisis, and not only did I survive, I was going to funerals on a weekly basis. For many performers, their drag families became the only families they had. Stu Osborne The history of Colorado drag is filled with activism, kinship and compassion. Drag queen Jessica L’Whor produced the video - a lip sync performance of CeCe Peniston’s “Finally” - with a roster of entertainers that reflects the drag scene of today as well as through the decades. Mainstream, but still diverse - as evidenced by the 72 very different drag performers from around the state who are featured in Colorado Drag Excellence, a lip sync performance video that will debut during Pride. That shows us that we’re a progressive state, so with all of that, drag has evolved more into becoming mainstream.” Now we have the first gay governor in the country, the first person ever elected to state office that identifies as gay. “I think with people transplanting here, and the population growing, and the times changing, we’ve moved to a much more progressive state. “Not so long ago, we were a red state,” she continues. There were a few lesbian clubs that were around, but other than that, it was pretty much a gay man’s community,” recalls James, who got her start in drag when she was fifteen, back in the late ’80s. The clubs were very much gay clubs that pretty much only gay men went to. “When I started, I wouldn’t even call it the LGBTQIA community back then I would just call it the gay community, and it was very underground. Drag queen Jazmine James remembers Colorado’s queer community in its infancy, when it was little more than a few covert clubs for gay men.