How I Became A Drag Queen

Style is like an opinion. Everyone's entitled to one, but not every one can be right. Style is all about taste. Like food, everyone will like different things, and also like food, my seeing you in something questionable will probably give me an allergic reaction to your horrible taste. But seriously, some people can put an outfit together like no other. These people are usually stylists for fashion magazines and clothing stores, fashion models, or Angel from Rent.  People you wish you were, because they have the innate ability to look good in whatever the hell they can squeeze onto their bodies. No, your Instagram thread does not make you a fashion model. Now, let's get this out of the way: in no way am I saying that I have a good sense of style in terms of fashion. In fact, I probably have some very questionable taste when it comes to my outfits, as my favourite patterns are leopard and cheetah print. No, these are not the same thing, and if you need someone to descri

A few months ago I embarked on my biggest drag adventure to date. It all started with an idea. A party for myself and my friends where I would teach them to paint their faces into drag queens, while drinking and eating excessively of course (because we are all gluttons and drunks). The party was a resounding success, albeit with some sparsely covered eyebrows and some interestingly blended shadows. Everyone had fun, and an even bigger idea came to me! What if I could hold a paint night, like they do at bars, but instead of painting on a canvas, participants could paint their own face!?!?!? Hence the first ever "Beat Your Face Night" was born (trademark pending, lmfao). After throwing out the idea to the local club manager at Evolution Wonderlounge (Edmonton Alberta Canada, if you're ever in town you should definitely check it out), the planning began.  I formed a partnership with a local theatre and costume company Theatre Garage Inc . to source the makeup, brushes

The onset of pride month usually sees an insurgence of LGBT-related events and news around the world, both for the positive and negative growth of the community as a whole.  It is my belief that every little bit of positive, and inclusive exposure the LGBT community has within the general population does wonders to improve visibility and acceptance. There are plenty of organizations working to accomplish this task every day of every year, especially during pride, and this year has been no different. Every day we hear stories of countries around the world and their journeys towards an accepting community. Unfortunately positive stories are often few and far between, but I am pleased to share a few drag-related events from my own community in hopes to excite and inspire others to take similar efforts organizing events.  First off, let me congratulate and celebrate the House of Homo-cidal ( FACEBOOK LINK ) for everything they do to spread drag through Edmonton, Alberta, and the rest

So, as you may have realized by now, either through my discussions or watching my performances on dragging our heels , Rowena Whey is very confident in her body. Aka, she likes to show skin, and to do this requires not wearing tights! This also means I never wear hip pads. In fact, I don't own any. While I enjoy the freedom of an uncovered leg and ass, I can't always rely on that body-ody-ody.  This past week I decided to take a new step in my drag adventure and experiment with some new (to me) outfits and shapes. Cue my hip-pad creating adventure: 1. Buy foam. Begin the Walmart search for a suitable mattress cover that could double as my foam source. I ended up going with a memory foam pillow, cause Rowena is a classy hoe, and having technologically advanced hip pads sounds right up her alley. 2. Cut said pillow in half to make two 2-inch blocks of foam 3. Made a stencil of my hips and ass. So I half-assed this (pun intended). I did not create a stencil for enlarging

In Response to: “Drag shows aren’t free-for-alls for straight women letting loose” by Jaime Woo, published in the Globe & Mail. Perhaps the stage is a podium, an altar, and a sacred place for people to display their artistry to the audiences of the world, and has been for the duration of history; but if you alienate yourself from all audiences, to whom are you performing? The piece presented previously does exactly that, in an attempt to educate readers, the author alienates a large group of people important to the queer community. A drag show, like any other show, requires an audience to exist, and as a performer you want this audience to grow. Your goal is to spread your art, but if you restrict this growth to within the queer community you prevent yourself from reaching a potential audience of over 7 billion people. Yes, the goal of universal acceptance of the queer community is still a distant dream, but it is still a dream we should constantly pursue. Articles such

When I started doing drag I didn't give an inkling of thought towards how big it could become to me. It was something I wanted to pursue for the fun of it, for the artistry and for the escape. I still love it for all those reasons, but now it's become something even bigger. Drag is an art-form, but it's also more than that.  It is not reserved for men parading as women and women parading as men, nor is it reserved for the LGBTQA* community. Drag simply requires an openness and acceptance of all types of people, and acts as a medium for anyone wishing to put their heart and soul into an expression of themselves. It's this acceptance I've come to love and appreciate more than anything else. I couldn't help but feel from the beginning that what I was pursuing would be shunned or disregarded by many of my peers outside the community. What I was surprised to find, was that over time people are willing to accept drag as what it actually is: art, and move away from

Drag is not a contact sport, but should it be a competition? RuPaul's Drag Race is a TV phenomenon, bringing an underground art-form to the forefront of pop culture. Ru herself just won an Emmy, and is nominated for multiple MTV awards. On the show, Ru drives her queens (almost exclusively men dressing up as women) to compete for an ultimate crown of America's Next Drag Superstar. It's a cutthroat, high stakes, sometimes literal race that drives these queens (because there have never been drag kings on it **hint hint Ru**) to their limits, and to the constant critique and ridicule of the judges to fit a certain bill. But RuPaul's drag race is reality TV. Promo art for RuPaul's Drag Race (RuPaul pictured) Meanwhile, in my current home of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, a similar competition is taking place: Alberta's Next Drag Superstar (ANDS), totally not bridging on a copyright violation. Drag performers, not just drag queens (yes folks, Alberta is more

So...enough about things that I really don't know much about. Let's talk about something I'm actually very knowledgeable in: fitness. Outside of the drag scene, I lead a very physical life. I work as a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor of many sorts, so I am constantly active, training clients, demonstrating exercises, and teaching classes.  I am also a competitive triathlete, which involves upwards of 10 hours of training per week to get race ready.  All of this takes a sizeable toll on my body. Throw in dropping it low on stage every few weeks, and at regular dance rehearsals, my knees, ankles, hips, back, feet...they all suffer the consequences. To help avoid injuries, there are a few things I do, and recommend others do as well. First: WARM THE FUCK UP!!! Most musculoskeletal injuries are, overall, not caused by an action itself, but by the body being unprepared for the action.  Pre-exercise or pre-performance stretching is not to loosen the musc

This post is going to be short, but not-so sweet. I relish haters. If someone takes the time to comment, react, or make a huge presentation about my thoughts or ideas, it means that I have had the desired effect of making someone feel something, anything, deeply enough that they feel the need to respond. Sure, maybe I'm wrong sometimes, and maybe the haters are right, but that's really not the point. I'm writing a blog to inform people, because I was uninformed; to influence people, because I was influenced by others; and to instruct people in the best way I know how, the same way I instructed myself: researching the knowledge of people who know MUCH better than I do. Most, if not all of the information I present in this blog has been researched, and tested (by myself, and others), and is NEVER meant to mislead. I present the information I have deemed beneficial to myself, because I cannot speak about what is beneficial to others. Hence why my blog is called "How

Ugh. This is the one part of drag I won't ever understand. Yes, men are able to put away their dangly bits and imitate women, but WHY!?!?!?!?!? It's not comfortable, it's not good for you, and honestly, it would be so much easier just to be a lady with a bulge. In any case, below is a discussion of tucking, both technical and not, to be as tight as possible. You can tuck without tape, and it's essentially the same procedure just with a gaff (special underwear) instead of tape, but your tuck is definitely not as tight. For a nice, tight tuck, read on wannabe ladies. Reader Warning: some of the visualizations/discussion below are not altogether PG. Probably more R rated. Be warned. And here we go: Okay. Tucking is the process through which a man puts his balls up into his abdomen, and pulls his dick into his ass crack to give the appearance of having a vagina instead of a penis. The testicles, when descending as a child, exit the abdomen through the inguinal ca

Eyebrows You would think that this doesn’t belong in the finishing touches section of a tutorial…and you would be right!!! I fucked up, and forgot to include eyebrows in the eyes post. Oh well, better late than never. Yes, eyebrows truly dazzle, and they are one of my favourite parts of my drag face because I like bitch brows. So much. A high, sharp arch and dark, harsh lines really bring the resting bitch face to the forefront, and when you combine it with my mountain peaks of lips, it’s a truly bitchy sight. The newest trend however is an ombre eyebrow.   This is where you fade your eyebrow into your face towards the bridge of your nose, avoiding harsh lines. You can also ombre the colour to make it darkest towards the outside of your face, and lightest towards the fade. In either case, start your eyebrows with a light colour to plan out the shape, either a light eyebrow pencil, or a powder eyeshadow. If you want a guideline for positioning of the start, end, and