Although the show has become polarizing in recent years, it has also brought the art form of drag to mainstream audiences. But somewhere along the way, pop culture took some of the bite out of what was originally a form of subversion and protest.
Drag’s roots reach as far back as the 1880s when former slave William Dorsey Swann began hosting “drag dances” at his Washington D.C. home. Swann was arrested several times throughout his life for “being a suspicious character.” Once, he even confronted police while wearing a cream satin gown.
Swann’s legacy lived on, when in 1969, a New York police raid on the Stonewall Inn prompted five days of violent protest. The Stonewall Riots prompted the formation of numerous gay rights organizations, including the Gay Liberation Front, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD and PFLAG.
It has been 54 years since Stonewall, but the queer community is still fighting for its existence as nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ bills are working their way through local governments across the U.S.
Arizona is not exempt. While Gov. Katie Hobbs has been vetoing every anti-LGBTQ bill that has made it to her desk, there are still four actively working their way through the House and the Senate.
Fighting back and sending a giant middle finger to these hateful bills was the theme of the night when Dragstravaganza took over Fan Fusion last Friday.
"When you think about drag, it is not just being male or being female. It's not just being an impersonator in terms of binary kind of expectations. Drag is about putting out an elevated version of yourself," Eddie Broadway told Phoenix New Times.
O'Hara Shipe
“Oh, we are going to be pissing a whole lot of people tonight, and it feels good to piss people off again,” Barbra Seville, the show’s host, said while donning a sparkly purple Batman costume.
Just as the costume wasn’t subtle, neither was Seville’s message: “[This is] all happening because we’re letting it happen. So contact your state legislator, contact your state senator — speak up and use your voice. Use your voice at the ballot box.”
Throughout the 90-minute performance, Phoenix's drag artists used the platform to marry cosplay and political activism.
Jacqueline Hide sang a live rendition of “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” by Kate Bush while painfully walking across hundreds of D4 dice. It was a beautiful metaphor for the struggle the queer community faces while simply trying to live authentically. Hide didn’t miss a single note, even while the pyramid-shaped dice embedded themself into her bare feet.
Later, drag king Eddie Broadway presented the audience with an apocalyptic glimpse into the darker side of continually fighting for equality.
“I am the person that is always drawn to people’s dark side because I know that there’s a purpose. So, I am drawn to all the anti-heroes, not because they are the villain. I am drawn to them because I know what they probably went through to get there,” Broadway told Phoenix New Times.
Embodying the character of Pyramidhead from the horror film franchise Silent Hill, Broadway swung a bloody sword and pantomimed the words to K:i Theory’s remake of “Words Like Violence.”
“I align myself with all those characters and how society and people and situations can lead a person to get to that snapping point — to get to a point where they see their inner darkness come out. It feels like we’re there,” added Broadway.
Of course, not all of the night’s performances took a dark turn.
Queen Slaytanic Savage delighted with the iconic “Sweet Transvestite” from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." While king Alexander Stryke danced to "A Goofy Movie"’s “Stand Out,” performed by the fictional character Powerline.
Nonetheless, whether the individual performance was poppy or dark, there was no denying that the 2023 Dragstravaganza show at Fan Fusion was an unabashed "fuck you" to the establishment. And at a convention that is meant to celebrate differences and living fearlessly, the show was pitch-perfect.
