Féroce Magazine

transforming beauty

January 2017 Issue 1 $4.95

IN THIS ISSUE THOUGHTS, MISS FAME? A WORKING LIFE HE SAID, SHE SAID

| table of contents

DEPARTMENTS

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86

24

97

45

135

79

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haute couture FASHION FIT FOR A QUEEN This year’s fashion week has a collection that is fabulous in more ways than one.

making media DREAMING OF DRAG A dream come true shakes up the internet and encourages parents to support their children’s own unique self-expression.

euphony BEAUTY MARKED Compiled of pop and dance music with upbeat electronic elements, this new album also features appearances from RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants.

glamourize MAKEUP HACKS FOR YOUR INNER QUEEN Follow these tips and tricks from the gurus themselves for a more beautiful you!

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readers react FABULOUS HISTORY Take a look back at drag through the decades in a brief yet beautiful history lesson.

meet the queens RAJA TALKS LIFE, FAMILY, AND DRAG Drag queen Raja talks about their start in drag, coming out to their family, and favorite beauty tips

fab or drab THE DREAMGIRLS REVUE A California-based club makes the bold claim to be the best in America.

cultured

CHANGE OF FACE A recent photoshoot collaboration between four stunning South African drag queens garners international attention.

FEATURES

103 116 125 128 132 THOUGHTS, MISS FAME?

In an interview with Miss Fame, she discusses topics from RuPaul’s Drag Race to equal marriage. She also talks about her personal brand and music, and how she deals with pressure from the media.

A WORKING LIFE

When Richard Rhodes puts on his make-up each night, he becomes his alter ego Cookie MonStar, a strong woman with a mind of her own.

BIGGER AND BOLDER

Florida Atlantic’s fifth annual and most anticipated drag show to date proves to be successful as the queens strutted their stuff for its biggest show to date.

HE SAID, SHE SAID

Six nights a week, Brett Young takes on a different persona.

One night, Young is greeted by a fellow performer to discuss the expanding future of drag.

DOUBLE LIFE IN THE LIMELIGHT Kitty Bob Aimes and Roxie Hart share what it takes to own the stage and how to prepare for it in this exclusive behindthe-scenes look at drag shows. (cover) Photo Credit: Marcelo Cathu (left) Photo Credit: Brian Ziff

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| contributers

meet the TEAM Editor in Chief Robyn Shivery

Design Director Denise Bosler

Art Director Ann Lemon

Director of Photography Rose DeSiano

Associate Editor

“ We are born naked, and

the rest is drag.�

-RuPaul

Sarah Wright

Photo Assistant Sara Williams

Copy Chief Sara Leister

Head of Research Lisa Norris

Production Chief Ryan Westerbaan

Editorial Assistant Katie Bertolet

Designers

Aune Shackleton, Bree Cowley, Philip Gemmel

Associate Photo Editors

Caleb Olshefsky, Rebecca McDonald, Tiya Mahalanobis

Contributing Artists

Abigail DeVizia, Brittany Madelynn, Jesse Barats

Copy Editors

Ellie Waltman, Leah Morgan, Peach Laowattanakul

Contributing Writers

Aubree Robitzer, Ian Denny, Liz Parker, Shaina Mack

Research Editors

Ilijah Denny, Jaidon Beatty, Katie Stammer, Maddie Ziegenfus

Production Editors

Amanda Mandato, Emily McDonald, Jensica Isiminger January 2017

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Photo Credit: Rebecca Nicholson

editor’s letter |

ONE STRUT FOR DRAG [So You’ve Picked Up Our Magazine, Thanks!]

Currently, there is only one other magazine in publication that focuses on drag culture as a high fashion lifestyle.

Féroce will change that.

Drag is a highly artistic culture and boasts both the loud and the refined.

Still outside the mainstream, drag queens push the boundaries of identity and of art. This magazine is for those who are truly enthusiastic about the art of transformation and for those who support a culture that thrives on diversity and creativity.

If you’ve picked up this magazine, it is likely that you already fall into one

of those categories or are interested in how drag culture is changing the way we view makeup, fashion, and the performance industry. In which case, you probably already know more than I did when starting this magazine. I will be the first to admit that I know very little about makeup, much less high fashion. However, I do know how to appreciate hard work, art, and a bold personality.

So this magazine is even for those whose idea of haute couture is just spending a few extra moments on one’s appearance in the morning.

For our readers, we hope that you will enjoy the stories, broaden your beauty skills, and learn more about how the world of drag is becoming even bigger. For the audience that has been waiting for a new magazine like Féroce, we welcome any and all

questions and comments.

We also encourage you to write us to be featured in the Readers React department. If you are a first time reader, or someone who has just picked up Féroce out of curiosity, be prepared for a beauty and fashion magazine like no other.

will proudly reflect the complexities and subtleties of the culture. Féroce also supports the community within and surrounding it, and we thank you for helping to recognize the importance of this magazine and supporting what we do.

Féroce is just beginning to establish its identity; striving to showcase drag culture in a high end and elegant, yet loud and proud way. Féroce covers everything from makeup tips to media spotlights to broad cultural evolutions.

Drag has a deep history Robyn Shivery and multifaceted legacy.

We hope that this magazine Editor in Chief

Photo Credit: Robyn Shivery January 2017

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| haute couture

FASHION FIT FOR A QUEEN [2016 Fashion Week Made Fabulous with Jennifer Pool’s Designs and Models]

By Chris Peters Jennifer Pool is a costume and fashion designer based in Omaha, Nebraska. She describes what she makes as “unique, strange, beautiful things inspired by history.”

Twelve of her designs are being featured in this year’s Omaha Fashion Week in her collection, “The Dancing Queens.”

said the modeling group did not have any drag queens at its casting call, so Pool scouted her own.

She used her large network of clients­from Omaha, Lincoln, and Chicago.

Drag queen models are relatively new to Omaha, but Tack recalls seeing them in other cities, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City, in full fashion lineups. Jennifer Pool choosing to employ a full squad of drag queens will hopefully open doors for even more modeling opportunities in the far or near future.”

Isla Tack, a 23-year-old drag queen from Omaha Her avant garde collection will and a client of Pool’s, has surely stand out for more than its done photo shoots here and Pool is just one of 30 designers in design flair. All of the models are there, but never a fashion Omaha Fashion Week. Most have drag queens. Drag queens have show. She has no formal shown in Omaha before, but about modeled in past shows but never modeling training, but she one-third of the show is newcomers. a full collection. says she’s in heels more The six-night run of shows, held than most women.

“If I’m going to make a collection, I in a new location in a large airwant to make it for my clients,” she “It’s probably going to be conditioned tent in The Yard at said. “Drag queens are my clients.” a couple shots of alcohol When she isn’t designing for Omaha and just go run down the runway,” Tack said.

Fashion Week, her own shows, or theater, Pool designs clothing for drag queens to wear for when they compete in pageants.

Her collection for the fashion show has a wild Mardi Gras theme that borrows touches from medieval, Elizabethan, and Marie Antoinette Rococo eras. Twelve models will show off her bejeweled line, which is dubbed “The Dancing Queens.”

Most Fashion Week designers work with models from Develop Model Management, but Fashion Week design coordinator Buf Reynolds

“ It’s probably going

to be a couple shots of alcohol and just go run down the runway.”

Photo Credit: Heather and Jameson

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14th and Cuming Streets, concludes on August 22 with a grand finale with a spectacular 12-designer best-of-show competition, and Jennifer Pool is one of those finalists.

The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges and will take home a grand prize package worth about $15,000 and will be named the winner of the 2016 Fashion Cup. •

making media |

DREAMING OF DRAG [A Little Boy’s Wish Goes Viral]

Photo Credit: Season Wilwert

By James Nichols

An 8-year-old named to do makeup like he had seen on the Internet through various and confident when we were finished Ethan Wilwert got his YouTube videos from makeup gurus, such as Youtuber and singer with the lesson. There are too many Christmas wish when Jeffree Star’s makeup tutorials. kids with parents who will ignore or Santa left him a gift deter these things.”

“His mom and I agreed that if that’s what he wanted, to go for it,” card for a makeup Killmeyer explained. “I treated him like I would any client. He Ethan’s mom told Féroce that she lesson, and an adorable just happened to be 8 years old… When Ethan and his mom came hopes people will break out of their photo of the lesson is into the store, I felt an immediate connection. He reminded me binary thinking when it comes to now all over Facebook. of myself at that age,” Killmeyer said. “It touched my heart that gender, and instead see gender Ethan’s mother, Season I was able to help him learn what he wanted to know.” Killmeyer expression as a spectrum.

Wilwert, explained that told Féroce that he painted half of Ethan's face, and then Ethan “Society needs to steer away from she got the idea when she replicated the steps on the other side. “I was so touched by his what is typically known as the was shopping at a MAC mom and that she was allowing him to do this,” he said. gender roles and stereotypes and cosmetics store just a few Season said that she hopes her openness with her son’s creative accept the fact that it’s okay for months earlier. desires will inspire other parents to embrace the unique qualities a boy to wear makeup to express “Ethan is a very artistic of their own children. “Children need to be loved unconditionally, himself as an artist,” the mom said. child, and he loves to nurtured and fully encouraged to discover themselves through “This does not define his gender express himself creatively their true talents and passions.” identity nor his sexual preference. in many different ways,” He’s just exploring and being a kid!

Season Wilwert said. “So Being judgmental and close-minded this is just another form of on such issues not only is hurtful that expression.” to our children, but it also inhibits

“ We as parents should be our child’s biggest cheerleader.”

Florida makeup artist Joey Killmeyer has worked in the makeup industry for the better part of 15 years, and having honed his skill “By doing so, and receiving the necessary support from parents, set in the likes of the Miss they are building confidence and security in who they are. We America pageant, was as parents should be our child’s biggest cheerleader. I do not enthusiastic to share his remember the last time I saw Ethan so happy or so confident in passion and knowledge. himself,” Season continued.

their freedom of self-expression and prevents the opportunity for them to embrace their true identities. That is exactly the kind of behavior we wish to stop,” she said.

“Our children should be encouraged to freely explore and discover their identities, not just be handed them.

This is a pivotal moment in my son’s When Ethan and his mom “Ethan is very young and who knows what he will do in his life,” development, and I know that by walked into the MAC store, Killmeyer added. “But I posted the story because I was so touched letting him just be Ethan, regardless Ethan told Killmeyer that that his mom was supporting him in what he wanted to do. As an of what others may think, that I am he wanted to learn how artist, I love bringing joy to my clients and Ethan was so happy doing something right as his mom.” • January 2017

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| glamourize

MAKEUP HACKS FOR YOUR INNER QUEEN [8 Drag Queen Makeup Tips That Will Change The Way You Put On Your Face Forever]

By Georgina Jones Makeup has always possessed a magical allure for me, as have drag queens—so you can imaging the appeal that makeup tips from drag queens would have on my heart! It’s not just about “fixing my face,” either. I see makeup as an art form.

braless. there’s a marked difference when some people put on their makeup for the day. For me, it’s like putting on an armor; it’s enhancing the strength I already have and making me confident to head off to war (read: work).

As a child, I was always stealing Mary-Kate and Ashley makeup from supermarkets and my mom—being makeup obsessed too— allowed me my glittery blue eyeshadow long before most of my friends’ parents even allowed them mascara.

Growing up, I always avoided the “natural” look and I still can’t say I’m a fan. Now, as an avid club goer and RuPaul’s Drag Race watcher, I’ve learned that the true beauty that makeup can afford us can be found in the unnatural, the unusual, and the outrageous!

Although my foundation now feels like war paint against the world, my obsession with it still comes down to self-expression. Similarly, I’ve always noticed that the same is true for my friends and family.

Although we’re comfortable around each other makeup-less and

When I was younger, I took my makeup cues from teen magazines and Disney shows. Recently, I’ve been more like that one Sabrina episode of RuPaul, where he gives her blue hair, because everyone can benefit from the beauty lessons of the world of drag.

“ It’s like putting on an armor; it’s

enhancing the strength I already have and making me confident to head off to war.”

Photo Credit: iStock Photo

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Let Your Foundation “Cook”

Less is Not More

If you use any cream or any liquid products on your face, then let them heat up to the rest of the face before you blend it all together. This is called cooking. I usually mess around with my hair or my nails or mime to Madonna in the mirror whilst I let my foundation settle; then my beauty blender glides over my face like magic. It may seem like a time waster, especially early in the morning, but there’s a kind of science behind the cooking art, and you can’t argue with science.

You know when you have a few beers before heading out, before even doing your makeup, and then as you get ready you somehow end up with five types of glitter on your face and the most intense eyebrows the world has ever seen? Embrace it! Make it your day look! Throw on some added white eyeliner for effect! My everyday makeup routine involves three different types of gold eyeshadow and it has never made me feel overdressed.

If You Wear Lipstick, Leave Foundation On Your Lips When I put on my foundation, I literally cover my whole face, then wipe off where it’s not needed—it makes better blending around my brows and eyes, for instance. For my lips, however, I let it dry there!

This isn’t some weird 2006 throwback, but when you put lipstick on over your foundation-covered lips, it lasts so much longer!

Highlighter is the Ultimate Game-Changer I’m not a fan of contouring, but you know what I am a fan of?

Being a glittery queen! Invest in a good highlighter and place it on your cheekbones and under your eyebrows. When your face catches the light, you’ll look like the dewy, shimmery goddess you are.

Invest in a Lip Liner I don’t go in for the fad of making my cupid’s bow touch my nostrils, but lip liner is perfect for longlasting lipstick wear. It’ll stop your perfect lipsticked pout from bleeding onto your skin and you can even up the side of your mouth that just isn’t as cute as the other one!

Hairspray Rocks as a Makeup Fixer The hairspray makes your makeup last, no matter what, and you don’t have to splash out on an expensive fixing spray either. Be warned, this isn’t something that you can do everyday unless you have a magnificent moisturizing routine.

But it is a great one to use when you’re heading to a club night and you’re on the prowl and you want to wake up looking like you did when your head hit the sheets.

If You’re Not Wearing Nails, Youʼre Not Doing It Right This is more of a self-confidence one, but when my nails are perfect and not chipped, then I feel one step closer to being a functioning adult type person. It also makes Instagram pics look so much better.

Take It Off! Even though makeup is amazing for covering bad skin, it looks so much better on clear skin! I pride myself on being the blemish-free adult that teenage me had always dreamed of.

It’s all about routines; now I can’t go to sleep knowing I haven’t wiped and moisturized my skin.

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thoughts,

MISS FAME

BY BRYONY BATES

Photo Credit: Marcelo Cantu

Photo Credit: Leland Bobbé

You’ve got to be ambitious to call yourself Miss Fame, and it seems to be paying off for this self-proclaimed one-woman brand. With the release of her new single, ‘Instafame’, we spoke to the season seven queen about RuPaul’s Drag Race, internet haters, equal marriage, and what fans can expect to see in the future.

Your latest album, “Beauty Marked”, is much more pop-oriented than other drag queens’ albums for the club. Was that a conscious choice?

make up on my own face. And it just so happened that “Miss Fame” was evolving at the same time, and there was a huge gravitation towards her and I just went with it.

I like ambient, cool, smooth music, which doesn’t necessarily go over as well when you’re at a club. But I thought this is my chance to make art that I stand by. I wanted you to look past the identity and title of ‘drag’. I didn’t want it to be, ‘That’s a man dressed as a woman’ or ‘That’s a woman’. I wanted it to be, ‘That is an amazingly well-sculpted piece of art that looks beautiful and I don’t need to put it in a category.’

When I wrote ‘Instafame’, it was just basically about how I had become successful­—the pros and cons of becoming famous on the internet. You’re going to get a lot of haters, the people who don’t think you’re worth it. I felt almost like a digital copy of myself. I wasn’t human to people just because they only saw me through the internet.

The album is meant to mirror my aesthetic. I didn’t want to fall only in the drag department—the club songs I have are my collaborations. My song with Alaska, ‘Miss Fame’, is going to be so much fun, our fans are going to go crazy.

Your new single just came out, ‘Instafame’, and you have built up a following on social media, how do you think that’s changed being in the public eye?

Did you feel a lot of pressure going into RuPaul’s Drag Race because you had this following?

I felt a lot of pressure since I set high expectations for myself.

I’m a perfectionist, and being a performing artist is different from doing an internet show. I knew I had areas that needed a lot of attention. Going into the show I didn’t want to let anyone down. I felt like my fans are watching me and I would not want to disappoint them.

You can be a vlogger, a Youtuber, and you will have the opportunity to reach millions and millions of people from around the world. You can make an audience and a career [from] internet success, so you don’t have to be on reality television to have a sustainable income or to be attached to brands that are interested in what you have to offer.

You said it was a lot harder than expected, what was it about the show that took you by surprise?

I started noticing when I posted on Instagram about three years back. I remember people responding to the make up I did and asking, ‘How did you do that?’ So I kept posting with

When you have an emotional breakdown, they’re filming that. If you have a block or stage fright, it happens in front of RuPaul! It was very unfortunate when it happened, and it happened to all of us! You’d be given an iPod nano, and you’d

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It’s almost disorienting. You don’t sleep normally, you get major scripts, tons of information, and go with the flow and be happy and joyous and crazy all at the same time.

have every RuPaul album that’s ever been created and all of the lip sync music, but they changed the music on the spot, like, ‘Oh you thought you were doing that lip sync tomorrow, you’re going to be doing that one’.

It was definitely set against you, because why would they make a reality show where it’s easy for all of the contestants?

It was the hardest thing I’d done up to that point, but now working as Miss Fame so many nights a week the challenges are different because of the volume that we work. It is all so extremely physically tolling, your toes go numb, you’re tightly corseted, you’re tucking. I want to look good, so I sacrifice my physical body to create the looks. I might have nerve damage in my feet and my hair is falling out, but I look gorgeous.

“ I might have nerve damage in

my feet and my hair is falling out, but I look gorgeous.”

We’ve just heard the Supreme Court ruling on equal marriage. How are you feeling about that?

I woke up today a little bit late, so to wake up to this news it was just such an amazing thing to imagine. This is what history looks like and I’m part of it, being a drag queen and to being married to my husband. And this is big for the whole LGBTQ community. This is a big step forward for everybody that has a loving partner and has been wanting to make that moment real, we’re living in it—we’re not just talking about it—it’s happened. There’s absolutely no place for shadows when there’s so much light around us.

You were recently in London for your show, was that your first time in the UK? It was! London was amazing. We got to go and see the Alexander McQueen exhibition and that was beautiful. We got to go shopping for latex at Atsuko Kudo, who is truly an amazing couture latex designer.

I got to do a fitting with her and got to live a drag queen’s dream. I got to do fashion, I got to do art, I got to do my show.

I wish we had more time there. We were only there two days but I wish we had at least a week, so I hope to return soon.

Are we going to get a video with you and Alaska, or with you and Violet for ‘I Run the Runway’?

It’s already been discussed. I don’t have specific dates yet, but things in the drag world happen so quickly. Right now I am in discussion for the next video. It will be very satisfying for my fans, the next song will be exactly what they’re hoping for and that’s all I’m going to say.

What else is coming up for you over the next few months? Anything big in the future?

There’s going to be some big fashion opportunities that I’m working on now… I’ve got something coming up that I can’t confirm publicly yet, but it’s going to be a career-changer!

If I had it my way, I’d be walking for Vivienne Westwood and Jean-Paul Gaultier, changing the dynamic of what beauty is. Beauty has no boundaries. Just because I'm a man that dresses as a woman, that doesn’t mean it is not possible to use that in the pages or even cover of magazines like Vogue.

Like I said before, there’s so much light around us. And I think the future looks very bright!

Photo Credit: Marcelo Cantu January 2017

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top

BY JANESSA HILLIARD More campy than classy and more theatrical than trendy, what was once an underground club staple for the gay and lesbian crowd has become a multi-night affair drawing crowds of every persuasion. At first glance this fair city may not seem like a hot spot for hairsprayed wigs and luscious lashes coupled with (fake) T and (real) A, but if you know where to look (and we do) you will find plenty of places doubling as a drag queen's paradise. We crisscrossed the valley and found ten of our favorites, one for every night of the week and then some!

Photo Credit: South West Shots

in

1

Mondays are pretty much the worst. It’s the beginning of the workweek and your weekend feels like it flew by. Enter Apollo’s Lounge—and bingo, surprisingly— to put an end to boring Monday night plans. Yes, bingo tends to be regarded as a choice game for those of the wrinkled or purplehaired variety, but anyone who says they don't love shouting out of turn and playing for stakes is probably lying. Mondays at the lounge are home to viewing parties of RuPaul’s Drag Race and by Naughty or Nice Bingo at 9:30 p.m. Desiree Demornay takes the mic, calling out numbers alongside jokes for a chance to win a variety of bar prizes.

10

Arguably Phoenix’s premier concert hall, the Crescent Ballroom brings in an even more diverse crowd with the addition of its drag night, “Life's a Drag. Party Like a Queen.” The Thursday night staple, hosted by Olivia Gardens, debuted in late March—bringing with it $3 drink specials—a raunchy “truth, drag or dare” game and a live DJ. The free show starts at 10:30 p.m.

Expect an audience that’s equal parts ironic hipster and lip liner enthusiast.

1 6 9

2

Each drag show and every reigning queen has a certain je ne sais quoi that livens things up. For a show with added flavor, try Tuesdays at Karamba Night Club. The Savannah Moussier Show spices things up following the club’s salsa night, narrated by DJ Stixx’s mix of Merengue, Reggaeton, and Latin pop. she brings the heat at the free 10:30 p.m. show, offset by several beer specials including dollar drafts and $2 domestics.

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Cruisin’ 7th 3702 N. 7th St. Phoenix, AZ 85014

The Rock 4129 N. 7th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85013

Kobalt Bar 3110 N. Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85012

2 4

4

7

Zoan 4301 N. 7th St. Phoenix, AZ 85014

5

3

January 2017

Charlie’s 727 W. Camelback Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85013

10

Generally, the use of the term “garden variety” connotes the expected, boring, and drab. This is not so in the Valley’s world of drag, where the phrase means a night hosted by queen Olivia Gardens and weekly appearances from a crazy collection of lady friends.

The show heavily relies on a live mixture of comedy, singing, and impersonations and promises to be entertaining no matter how many $5 martinis you’ve had.

The show has taken over the timeslot at Kobalt Bar.

Apollo's Lounge 5749 N. 7th St. Phoenix, AZ 85014

Karamba Night Club 1724 E. McDowell Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85006

The Bar on Central 718 N. Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85004

Crescent Ballroom 308 N. 2nd Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85003

“Think more cabaret than comedy,” says Ian Christiansen, half of the dynamic duo that puts on “Showtime at The Bar on Central.”

Thursday’s late night tends to highlight the talents of area performers from Theater Works and Phoenix Theatre. The show’s hosts have contributed comedy commercial breaks and sassy banter for nearly six months now, continuing to draw crowds with the help of $5 ShowTinis and a rotating guest list that is both pleasing to the eyes and ears.

9

In the heart of the Melrose District is one of the truly longest-running lesbian bars in the Valley. Zoan always seems to be crammed to the gills with Sapphic sirens of every stripe. People gather here to flirt and frolic while shooting pool or relaxing in its gorgeous side lounge. Dancing is offered in the video bar vibe of the main room, where high-energy club tracks and dramatic visuals are played.

During electronica night, you’ll find girls grinding to Lady GaGa pop or EDM track.

8

BS West’s 7125 E. Fifth Ave. Scottsdale, AZ 85251

“ I have never wanted to be anything other than an actor and performer, and each day that I get to do that is a day well spent.”

Photo Credit: Tim Evanson

5

Friday nights usher in the weekend with arguably the drag scene’s most scandalous, and most heralded, night of them all: Scandaleyez. Savannah Stevens seems to borrow makeup tips from drag pioneers like Divine and provocative performances that are perfectly at home among campy comedy and outlandish, audience-interactive cabaret. Stevens stomps all over The Rock starting at 10 p.m. and she draws a crowd, so reservations are required.

8

What’s more fun than just one supreme drag queen?

Sixteen hopefuls competing against each other, which has been crowned with bringing the long-underground club scene to the masses. BS West’s Stars Choice is a four-person team event where teams battle it out, partaking in reality show-esque challenges and featuring weekly eliminations and cash prizes for the audience favorite. Each team is headed by a well-known member of the local drag court.

Now in its fourth “season,” the event is hosted by Kendra Katoure and DJ Sinclair and features a grand prize for one lucky crew.

7

Seville’s gained attention for her YouTube sensation and her biweekly “Ask Barbra” column. After 15 years of performing, she has amassed an impressive collection. Seville performs a Friday night show at Cruisin’ on 7th, where she bats those big eyelashes and coos and croons at this Vegas-style cabaret show. The show always features a special guest, though nothing (and no one) comes for free. There’s a $3 cover and reservations are required.

6

No gay bar roundup could be complete without the addition of Charlie’s, a true staple in the his-on-his nightlife scene and unofficial landmark of Seventh Avenue’s “gayborhood.”

Humpday gets a more heavenly with Nevaeh McKenzie’s “High Heels & Halos” at 10:15 p.m. on Wednesdays, featuring $3 drink specials, including pitchers and specialty Smirnoff vodka flavors.

Special guests have included Savannah Stevens, Trixxie Deluxxe, and Barbra Seville.

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| cultured

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[Four South African Drag Queens Challenge The International Stage]

By Josh Stuart

Far-Off Places Jett Joans shares her thoughts on drag life in Pretoria, South Africa. “I imagine that drag is a bit easier in the cities I dream to see. Not because of pre-conceived social and cultural differences, but purely because of the milder temperatures. A stark contrast to the unforgiving African sun. It was hot at our photoshoot, and I mean hot as hell. We were bold and daring at the controversial Voortrekker monument, an ode to Afrikaans culture and the conservative era of Apartheid.”

“For the past year, I have been actively involved and immersed in the South African drag scene. I was subtly introduced to the world of drag by Robyn Banks. I barely even knew what it meant to be a drag queen. Fast-forward one year later, after countless hours of RuPaul’s Drag Race, watching Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and KIKI’ing with my drag family, I had a fresh new beginning. I have the distinct privilege of belonging to a drag family, which includes Brooke Monster, Robyn, Chloe, and myself, collectively known as the Haus of Banks. I consider it a privilege since the majority of drag queens in South Africa start out on their own.

The South African drag scene has its groups, rivals, and so-called ‘territories’, much like any other drag scene in the world, and yet something immediately stuck out to me. It was how small the drag world is in my country. Limited support and drag venues have hampered the growth of drag in South Africa, but a transition of January 2017

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sorts has begun. A change of face one might say. A few venues have become more supportive and the worldwide influence of RuPaul’s Drag Race has evidently been felt. The South African drag scene is on the rise: fierce and uniquely hybrid.”

“ It may not be sensible, it may be offensive, or

be considered improper, but our influences and experiences make us who we are.”

A New Era Joans goes on to say, “A new generation of queens has begun to make a stir, revitalising the community. It is exciting to be a part of this new generation of torchbearers. A sense of competitive sisterhood has arisen. The South African drag community has not had much international exposure in the world of drag, which is surprising considering South Africa boasts one of the most

Photo Credit: Irene Koukouzellis

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progressive LGBT-friendly constitutions in the world, and it was also the first country in the world to outlaw discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation as well as the fifth country in the world, and the first in Africa, to legalize same-sex marriage.

A multi-cultural country has allowed us to draw our inspiration from various places. A fusion of differing interpretations has been adopted into a collective society. We express our cultural influences and experiences symbolically within our own unique views. At times, it is challenging to balance so many different influences within one interpretation while remaining respectful.

I suppose, to most outsiders it may not be sensible, it may be offensive, or be considered improper, but our influences and experiences make us who we are.”

Setting the Stage This photoshoot collaboration, involving four South African drag queens—Brooke Monster Banks, Victoria Styles, Genevieve Le Coq, and the aforementioned Jett Joans—came about due to Féroce Magazine’s interest to positively showcase the relatively unknown African drag queens on an international stage.

One of South Africa’s most iconic monuments, which is also a national heritage site, served as an appropriate location for our photoshoot. The Voortrekker Monument sits atop a hillside

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overlooking Pretoria, one of South Africa’s capital cities. The monument was built to commemorate the Voortrekkers, Afrikaners migrating from the Cape Colony. This was the perfect setting to showcase a juxtaposition of two often opposing ideas and cultures.

Higher Heights Yet how do four drag queens arrive at such a conservative setting as a monument, one might ask? Fully clad in Africaninspired outfits, 6-inch heels, and headpieces of course. It isn’t recommended for every drag queen to pose on scorching granite steps in full day drag, but it sure does allow for some interesting photographs. The State Theatre in Pretoria, the largest African theatre complex, hosted the queens eight levels below ground.

After an hour or so of scouting the venue, multiple face plants in heels, and the photographer’s eagerness to shoot, each of the queens had located an ideal spot to interpret their own unique influences and senses of style.

“A merging of aesthetic and locations has contributed to the juxtaposition of each of our own hybrid identities in a successful cultural collaboration. I am excited for the future of South African drag culture and the narrative we intend to keep exploring. But still, I imagine that drag is a bit easier in the cities I dream to see.

I imagine all of us to be bold and daring.” Joans reflects. • January 2017

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VISION

To look at a drag queen is to look at a specimen of biological and cosmetological perfection, the impact of which should not be understated.

For educational use only. Not for publication.

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