![]() ![]() This year, the ACLU has been tracking and challenging the increasing number of laws which seek to limit the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ people in the US. The ACLU will be present at DragCon, educating attendees about their work fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, the recent wave of legislative attacks and ways individuals can fight back. In March, World of Wonder, Viacom, and RuPaul’s Drag Race joined forces with the ACLU to create the Drag Defense Fund, an initiative that supports legal defenses of queer, trans and drag rights in the United States in strategic ways. is not a threat, it’s not dangerous, or any of the things that it has been deliberately mischaracterized as.” “The key thing is not to become invisible. “It’s really important that people can gather,” Bailey says, emphasizing that attempts by lawmakers to stop drag performances is a civil rights issue. If they can see me, they feel a sense of belonging. ![]() “In order for the world to be better, you have to see yourself in that world. “It so important, not just for the sake of representation, but we feel connected, we understand the same types of experiences,” she said. Heals says she loves meeting fans and being part of the community, given how important her visibility has become for queer Asian representation internationally. She’s also the first international queen to have a drag residency at the Drag Race Live show at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. She is the host of “Drag Race Thailand,” as well as a new web series called “Tongue Thai’d,” the owner of queer club House of Heals, a safe space with good lighting that seeks to showcase the best drag and nightlife that Thailand has to offer. Heals is a beloved Bangkok-based drag performer who is sometimes called the RuPaul of Asia. Pangina Heals will be performing on the main stage at DragCon this year, and walking the Pink Carpet in a campy yellow look that she promises will surprise fans. “DragCon presents an outlet and an avenue to safely, fully, and authentically express oneself, I say that with such fervency, because I myself was that person who needed that space.” “DragCon is the mecca of a political statement when it comes to showcasing trans, queer, and drag joy,” says Kerri Colby, an L.A.-based performer and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 14 contestant who will be at the convention this year. This year, far right extremists have waged a war against the art of drag, as well as against LGBTQ+ people and rights. This year will boast not one but two stages in the main convention hall, which will host live events like Bianca Del Rio’s kickoff show, two DJ sets by queen mother RuPaul, and countless performances by drag icons like Jaida Essence Hall (appearing with Tinky Winky, Po, Dipsy and Laa-Laa of Teletubbies fame), Baga Chipz, Shea Couleé, Pangina Heals, Alaska, Kylie Sonique Love, Sasha Colby andmore.īut along with all the excitement of the biggest DragCon ever, the looming cloud of the biggest year of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is never far from thought. Barbato and Bailey gush about the 70 confirmed international queens who will be joining from as far as the Philippines, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, and France, how Ts Madison will be hosting “Bring Back My Girls,” one of WoW‘s hit shows, live from the convention floor. They started DragCon in 2015, billing it as a convention that celebrates “the art of drag, queer culture, and self-expression for all,” after being prompted at a Drag Race meeting by RuPaul herself to find a way to physically bring people together.īarbato and Bailey are most thrilled for the pageantry of the Queen’s Walk, a yearly tradition where queens turn the Pink Carpet into full runway fantasy that has been the site of iconic moments like Trixie Mattel zooming down the aisle in a Barbie Car and Yyvie Oddly spider-walking the length convention hall. ![]() He and WoW co-founder Fenton Bailey have DIY roots inspired by NYC drag clubs, and ‘80s public access television. “This will probably be the biggest DragCon, with the most attendees ever,” said Randy Barbato, co-founder of L.A. ![]() While there will be vendors, performances, meet-and-greets, wig and sewing workshops and more, at its core, RuPaul’s DragCon is so much more than the sum of its parts. What do RuPaul, the ACLU, sewing machines and the Teletubbies have in common?Īt this weekend’s RuPaul’s DragCon, thousands of attendees from all over the world will come together with more than 180 drag queens, gracing the now iconic Pink Carpet and turning the Los Angeles Convention Center into a two-day runway for the ages. ![]()
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