VOL.05
wi
n upo ng ts; du feas mn th it.
Beh old ,I your fac w es and on e
your seed, and s t p pre ru r o g n ad o u f you li l c n the d r so e y o v ke u a w l e , e hall ta ay s
Malachi 2:3
A LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR VOL.V As the leaves turn and Summer fades, we mark another chapter of WUSSY’s printed herstory -- our own version of the “September Issue”, an annual communion of all things Horror, with a touch of Goth Glamour. What better way to celebrate our Queerness than through the lens of the Halloween season? As if we need an excuse to turn lewks, create a fantasy, and watch seasonal classics like The Craft and Teen Witch for inspiration. We could think of no better coverqueen for this issue than the creative powerhouse SASHA VELOUR, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season nine. Sasha’s known for highconcept, coutour allure, the perfect canvas for photographer Savana Ogburn’s hand collaged fashion story on Queer Villains. This volume is dedicated to our first WUSSY Prom King, our forever Prom King, dear friend and collaborator — Matt Jones. Matt died on August 29th, at 4:20am (really).
Matt’s death has opened our eyes to a lot of things. For one, how quickly folks will attempt to erase our Queerness, even in death. Matt lived his life out loud. He was proud to be Queer, a southern black badass, and an irreplaceable force of good. Matt was one of the early architects of WUSSY. He died from Burkitt‘s Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system that affects people living with HIV. Even throughout his ups and downs with cancer and radiation and the endless grueling treatments, he pushed this project forward, running our social media and writing his “Black Friday” column from his chemo chair. The editorial team group chats were a constant source of anxiety, comedy, and pure shade. Throughout it all, Matt was our grounding force. He always found a way to calm us down or simply tell us we were wrong. Where will we be without Matt telling us to “chill out, shut up and do the work”?
Que e r s a r e no thing if not resillient. The w o r k c o nti nue s and Matt’ s legacy lives on.
01 WUSSY RECOMMENDS Words: Sunni Johnson
by H.R. Hjerpe-Schroeder
58WUSSY <3’S
02 HALLOWEEN AKA GAY CHRISTMAS Words: Kayla Goggin Illustrations: Benjamin Lande
54 GOOMBAY: A GHOST STORY
THE BOULET BROTHERS
116 22 QUESTIONS
SETH BOGART
WITH YUHUA HAMASAKI Words: Barry Brandon
TAKING THE PROTEST
68 TO THE STAGE
WITH THE VIXEN
Words: Anna Jones
BITCHCRAFT:
122 HIGH PRIESTESS OF PRETTY
Words: Brooke Davis
Words: Jacy Topps
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH
WEN’S WALL
14 POSSESSED FETISHWEAR
74 by Any Churdar
Words: Sunni Johnson
Words: Anna Jones Photos + Collages: Savana Ogburn
FATAL FEMMES OF ATL
26 Photos: Jon Dean Makeup: Jax
34 Words: Sunni Johnson
PRINCESS CELESTE XXX Words: Sunni Johnson
90
24 OCCUPATH
IMP QUEEN AT LARGE
THE GORE & GLAM OF
124 HORROR-MONAL PUNK
WHAT A WORLD, WHAT A WORLD TO LIVE IN SASHA’S HOUSE OF VELOUR
by Hannah Fleming
76
Words: Stevie King
PAINT ME PASTEL
39 Illustrations: Hirozombie
128 COOL QUEERS
Words: Sunni Johnson
150 HUNTERS IN THE SNOW
by Anne Brink
COVER STORY
THE HOUSE OF GUNT
PREDATOR
by Mathews Huey
Words: Sunni Johnson
06 HORROR EMPIRE
114 PICK YOUR
DISSOCIATION WITH 151 THE MATRIARCHY
FLOW: FUTURE LADIES 104 OF WRESTLING
Words: Sunni Johnson
by Shane Dedman
MEET MYSTERY MEAT, 152 THE DRAG THING
Words: Luke Gardner
SOUTHERN COMFORT
46 FOR MATT JONES
by Nicholas Goodly
PROSTHETIC AESTHETICS 108 OF LOE ZOHMANN
DREAM DE LA CREME: CREME FATALE
48 Words: Sunni Johnson
FOLKLORD 158 Illustrations: Tim Scott
06
Words by Anna Jones @GIRL.COPY
The Boulet Brothers Horror Empire T
the Hell w Ho , lf se ur Yo te Ha t n' Ca u Yo If -orare You Gonna Hate Somebody Else?
hus sayeth the reigning queens of all things beautiful and brutal in the drag world, The Boulet Brothers. A duo of mysterious avant-garde queens who describe themselves “queer weirdos,” first gained notoriety via their famous – and at times, infamous – Los Angelesbased grand spectacle of an annual Halloween party. The first of its kind – on television, at least – to subvert “mainstream” drag, celebrate the unusual, and capture the true essence of what it means to be an outsider, Boulet Brothers Dragula is fastbecoming a cult classic in its own right, taking back the slurs
hurled at us queer spooky folk, throwing some sequins on them, and dipping them in a corn syrup and red food dye concoction to create beauty out of abasement. Even Dragula’s intro encaptures the Boulet Brothers’ essence, especially as the words, “Drag, Filth, Horror, and Glamour,” are emblazoned across your TV screen, the words dripping in old-schoolhorror-blood type, set to an uptempo beat. The opening credits of the Boulet Brothers Dragula are a mixture of eroticism, foreboding, and joy – three other words that can also effectively describe the show’s ethos.
Photos by Nathan Noyes @NATHANNOYES
07
16
17
42
43
Creme’s stage concepts are carried through narrative, with little to no props involved, revolving around her drag personality, explained best as “a baby alien sent down to earth at different locations and time periods trying to fit in with teens in that environment.” Her gorgeous wardrobe abounds with jaw dropping looks from another world. She is everything from a French teen queen in the Fifties, a Victorian babydoll, a Harajuku future-bot, all styles in direct opposition to the artist IRL, who mostly dons herself in black (a color she rarely wears in drag). There is a distinctive frou-frou fancifulness in Creme’s delectable froth of pastels, her skin tone a silvery iridescence, that compiles the complete package of the Creme Fatale brand, bow tied a-top. As someone who identifies as a cis het woman, her drag journey in the lush decades-rich San Fran drag scene was met with support. Creme hates the term ‘bio queen’: “To be a drag queen is to be a drag queen. It’s a form of art. If I am performing as a drag queen, I am a drag queen. That’s it. It feels very strange to announce me as a ‘bio’ queen as if screaming to the crowd, ‘this is the type of genitals this person has!!!’ That’s weird, isn’t it?” Whereas some circles have not welcomed cis and trans women in drag, SF’s longstanding queer arts has known every kind of drag possible since as long as drag has existed. “No one was shocked, appalled nor cared that a woman was doing drag because women had been doing drag there forever. This was a lot of the magic of San Francisco,” Creme says of her home.
50
“Many things changed over time. It’s hard to see the magic sometimes because of what San Francisco has become as of late with the tech invasion, the prices of everything skyrocketing and historic LGBT establishments closing down one after the other, but the magic is still there.” Now Creme Fatale resides in Los Angeles, a move that took a year in the making, partially due to the cost of living in SF, and she’s of course found that her new city is nonetheless magickal. If anything, it has enhanced Creme’s career, especially as an MUA. “There are so many more resources for drag here, Santee Alley, makeup stores on top of makeup stores, everything, and at much more affordable living than SF at the moment,” much to her relief. “So many of our friends already lived here, so it was a no brainer.” Migrating with two colleagues, one being drag queen Amanda Bang, the crew collectively found a spot with extra room for a true drag haven, complete with a full vanity and space to shoot new content, an unheard of perk in her previous locale.
Follow Bogart on IG
@s
e t hbo
gartofficial and @wackywacko
des, Seth Bogart ca e d o tw st a p e Over th into wrangle himself to d e g na a m s a h en f what has oft o s nk ra d il w the sance Man. It is is na e R a d e ll been ca uly for not just the tr d e m e e st e rm a te and charming, us o e g a ur co , curious hout is naturally wit rt a g o B h ug o th e f these things. H o ll a n ig fe r o r falte tion, urning out produc is at constant ch different for ts o d g in ct e conn ctualizing all of a n e th nd a n o ti inspira with y blessed nerd ul tr is th , us Th . it t easurable amoun m im n a s, k o lo good citing brain that is eli of energy and gart s made Seth Bo a h p o st nno s a ide er underground ue q a f o g in someth alm of the Arts. re e th in r e ne io p
LI CK im a g e s c o u r t e s y o 58
f Nino Mier Galler
y
on
u
Catching Up with LA’s
F RUI IES T T
ART FAG
oto
D OR
s S:
.
ph
W
nn
i jo hns
se
Y S S U W th
‘s r a t g bo
Cruz p h o to: A mina
@a
a mi n
59
HOW DI D TH E HO US E OF GU NT (H O G) CO M E TO BE ? W HE RE DI D IT AL L START? Monster Cunt and I be gan recruiting other queer performers. I’m not even sure if it wa s with the goal of starti ng a House. I think we liked the idea and knew that there was power in numbers. We were both filmmak ers at the time. Films can take a lot of time and energy to m ake, where with perfo rmance you can just shit it all out. We were definitely looking for a form of catharsis. Outside from Lavend er Mist, the other gir ls came from just playing with all of our dress up stuff at home (a collection of props and costumes hoarde d from our production desig n work). My partner at the tim e, To yo ta M its ub about ishi, was easy to hitting (burle t h e wr angle if not stage for diff sque enter again v t a a e e n i r ry anx n d e e n Rache r Jack Shay t way ious Shay l Faux s to ex n T h on he c a r a p c e m e o l l r x e e i ) was m r back from a alway glorio and fl mateu ent with clo s look usly in ung h r w n n i i g ing n e h g t r t h a Then p e a r l t o t a r C u t ash bi forms lub On nd. Pr on Oct n i o e n . o ff It was when cess ber 4t into th Comp she la h 201 mean e air laint.” 3 n t , d t w o o e W e n d b e mad e land had h e. pocke e a sta ouse p ing t door g a s e r , t u t y h s and 6 rew u called ing wo p som queen “Noise oden p e deco s later allets, ration : histo d rew a s, got ry wa curtai a DJ ( s mad OF AN n over we mi e. Y HO the s s you USE N THE R Alycia AME E ST. ! I’VE C ), W H AT THE N OME DOES A AME? C R GUNT O MEAN SS GUNT S TA N D Gunt A ND H mean S OUT OW D s whe FR OM I D two di r Y e O t he gut U COM choto m m E eets th ies or UP W insecu insecu ITH e cunt rities. r . i I t ” t i e T w s. In f he gut a wante s o rigina act, ou d to ex being lly abo r first the ph ist bet and re ut ble m y w o s tto wa een th ical an nding cital, s “a pl e spac d the the m aygro cunt b es of u asculi und fo ne an eing t gly an d the r he soc d beau femin i a t l i f insecu ul, fac ine. t and rity. W fiction e , rehe arsal
78
79
WORDS: ANNA JONES
90
@GIRL.COPY
PHOTOS & COLLAGES: SAVANA OGBURN
@SAVANAOGBURN
Don’t call her “Mother”. While many stars of
RuPaul’s Drag Race, in their post-DragRace-careers, focus on merch sales, drag cons, and dropping albums, Season 9 winner Sasha Velour is using her voice to promote trans rights, LGBTQ/QPOC issues, and collaborating with major fashion houses and Christina Aguilera for New York Fashion Week 2018. You know. The usual. That’s not to say that she doesn’t appreciate a drag makeup
trick or two, or designing her very own Sasha Velour Dream House for fun. Known as the “smart queen” on RPDR Season 9, Sasha is just as intelligent as she seems, but every bit as down-to-earth, and not afraid to speak out against social injustice, particularly within the LGBTQ community (oh yeah - we asked her about Ru’s Guardian interview). 91
Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling has been reimagined not just for the popular Netflix series. LAbased F.L.O.W. is no doubt drawing from the 80’s public access show as a source of inspiration.
104
105
Photographer Barbara @lo_kyu
Felipe
Reis
“I used to be very, VERY, V E R Y shy and people don’t even believe me when I say it. The truth is I’ve always been the gay and weird guy since I was a child, and I wanted so bad to be like the cool kids,” Felipe confesses. “My friends, the same people who I talked to, played with, the people who said they loved me, were the same people who made me feel like shit, because it wasn’t right to be gay nor weird and made me believe I was inferior. Now I love myself more than anybody else, I don’t feel shy anymore, and it’s easy to see. Guys shouldn’t even try to make me feel bad about what I do, because they know they can’t now.”
i t u C C y s x ’ r e l i a S z y, B raz Felipe Reis, known as SpookaKawaii, is clearly a Manic Pixie Dream Gay. His adoration for all things pink and fluffy combined with vintage porn mustache lewks, is above and beyond fangirl. He lives and breathes enthusiasm for the cotton candy queer aSSthetic, making it easy to see why this 23-year-old hot bodied Brazilian has such a huge social media following. And it’s not just his queues of cuteness in photo projects, he is clearly bubbly IRL about everything he sees: “There are so many things that may inspire me, like... that beautiful rock laying on the street. OMG it’s so pretty!!!! You know what I mean, right?” Stars and hearts explode, Felipe is both internally and externally screaming, and we love him for it. However, living in São Luís, the same city he was born, has not always been a cotton candy fantasy. Felipe has had quite a vocal journey breaking down the vicious standards and fake friendships structured around him from a very young age. Speaking about everything from body hair acceptance to how ridiculous social attitudes affect our younger selves, homophobia and conditional love the most major deconstructions, has granted Felipe the confidence and encouragement many of his viewers are attracted to beyond the glittering physique.
e
Felipe notes the discrimination against the LGBTQ community in Brazil, despite trans visibility in the media, drag queens on family TV shows, particularly incidents of shocking violence, something Felipe feels fortunate to have not experienced in his community that do not hide their sexuality. “I know LGBTQphobia is still between us, but the best thing is that WE FIGHT,” Felipe says. He notes particular pride for Pabllo Vittar, the extremely successful and beautiful drag queen who sings, graces magazine covers regularly and recently released a music video raising awareness about the bullying Black and impoverished gays experience in school that personally touched Felipe emotionally. “Summing up, I’d say it keeps getting better. And what I can say about queer culture, well, I’d say it doesn’t seem to be so different from other places. The only difference is when you get Brazilian culture and apply it to queer culture. Many queens here are very inspired by “carnaval”, “bumba-meu-boi”, Afro-Brazilian music, dance, religion and clothing to make their looks.” Felipe’s expression through modeling has become an avenue of discovery: that being queer was much more fun than fitting into any Jurassic ideas of normality, dualities and concepts with underlying themes of loving yourself first can positively affect others, and eschewing the idea that immersing in and celebrating yourself is NOT vanity, it’s vital. As Felipe says, “Love yourself first, so you’re gonna find out it’s okay to be yourself,” a mantra many may need reminding of.
143
152
WORDS :
Mystery Meat is an Atlanta-based drag performer who first started dabbling in drag in 2015. Aside from contests open to the public and open mic nights, his first gig was at Jungle when his friend Abhora shared the stage with him at The Other Show, a platform that’s has seen the talents of many drag legends: Violet Chachki, Biqtch Puddin’, and Evah Destruction. Mystery Meat, otherwise known as Lewis Bello, has little free time between performing at Mary’s and working his day job at a daycare and dog boarding business in Marietta. On rare days off, Lewis can be found at his apartment in Kennesaw creating art (drag related and other) and sleeping. Meat enjoys performing at Marys because the intimate atmosphere allows him to connect with the audience. “Everyone watching is like a foot away”, Meat said, “I love that.” At Mary’s, Meat usually performs to industrial, rock and punk music, although he often branches out to other genres. His performances are high energy, often incorporating
PHOTOS
Luke Gar
: Jerr y
dner Siegel @je
rrysiegel
shock value—fitting, considering his passion for performances that challenge people’s perception of drag. Meat has crafted his unique style of drag with his own creative ideas, drawing inspiration from performers like Evah Destruction (an Atlanta queen known for her mesmerizing performances) , Andron gin (a look-turning Miami king whom Meat describes as a brother), and Hungry (a Berlin artist whose visual art combines drag and high fashion). “Hungry, the Berlin artist, makes me hungry to get more wierd with my art”, Meat said. Meat recalled some of his most shocking performances
153