Boy Queen Blog Tour: Drag Culture and Debunking Drag Myths by George Lester

Hello everybody! Today, I’m really excited to be part of the Boy Queen blog tour, with both my review of the book (spoiler: I kind of loved it) and a brilliant guest post from George Lester about drag culture. Onto the post!

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Review:

I’ve been a huge fan of George’s YouTube channel for years, so I’ve been looking forward to reading his debut novel since before this was even announced and it didn’t disappoint at all! It’s the story of eighteen year old Robin Cooper, whose world is pretty much shattered when he’s rejected from the performing arts course of his dreams, and his journey into becoming a drag queen, as well as how it changes his relationships with the people closest to him. The thing I loved most about this was definitely the characters- I absolutely adored Robin and I was desperate for everything to work it for him, and I was obsessed with his relationship with his best friends Nat and Greg. His friendship with Priya from his dance class was also joyous to read, and his mum is now one of my favourite fictional parents of all time! The romance genuinely had me inwardly swooning at points as well, because it was just GORGEOUS. I also had a great time learning more about the world of drag and its culture, and the scenes with Robin’s mentor Kaye Bye were some of my favourites in the whole book. The other amazing thing about this is just that it’s amazingly well written; the pacing is fantastic, it balances being a really warm and comforting read with tackling importsnt topics like bullying and homophobia and I absolutely couldn’t put it down while I was reading. Overall, this was such an amazing debut and I’m already dying to get my hands on whatever George does next!

And now, over to George…!

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DRAG CULTURE AND DEBUNKING DRAG MYTHS

Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog! So today we are debunking a couple of myths about drag that I was pretty determined to bring up in Boy Queen. During my MA studies, I had my eyes OPENED to the breadth of drag that was out there in the world, how much more of it exists beyond a particular TV show that I am totally obsessed with. That was something I wanted to share with my readers, and I hope it came across in the book. In case it didn’t, here I am being as Roxxxy Andrews as possible, and making it CLEAR! Let’s get into it!

WOMEN CAN BE DRAG QUEENS

This is something that is a weird bone of contention both in the drag community and in the drag race fandom (specifically from people who are not drag queens). There was a weird sort of uproar from a particular corner of twitter when the season 12 makeover challenge was a group of women the show described as “superfans”. The uproar was about these women (how dare they!) being given the opportunity to do drag on the biggest drag platform in the world. Why was this not given to gay men or some male superfans? Why women?! HOW DARE! I will tell you why – because women can be drag queens too. Let’s not even get started on the fact that women have only been part of the makeover challenge for TWO of drag race’s 12 regular seasons. TWO. Heterosexual men have been used more often but we’re not angry about that, are we? Can’t imagine why that is… But let me make one thing abundantly clear, which is also something I hope I made clear in Boy Queen – cis women can be drag queens. Trans women can be drag queens. Non-binary people can be drag queens. It is art, it is freedom of expression, it doesn’t have rules in that way (despite what the cast of RPDR might show you!) RuPaul is not in charge of what drag is or who can do it. No one has that power. If you are reading this and you are not male and you were wondering if you can do drag, you totally can. And I encourage you to do it! It’s really fun! The fact that they had women being made over on S12 gave me a little bit of hope that maybe in future we will have women drag queens and trans drag queens on the show. Please. Season 13. Let’s do it guys. It’s time. I mean, it’s way past time, but get into it.

THERE IS MORE TO DRAG THAN DRAG RACE

If this isn’t the thesis statement for everything I am writing for this book, I don’t know what is. I love RuPaul’s Drag Race, I really do. If it wasn’t for RPDR, I wouldn’t be doing drag probably because I wouldn’t have been exposed to it. But what really got me into wanting to do drag was seeing it live in front of my eyes, seeing my local queens (I’m London based and lucky to have a lot around!) and the different kinds of drag that exist within the drag community. My journey reflected Robin’s in that way. I am not trying to take away anything from the fabulous queens that have pummelled the main stage at RuPaul’s Drag Race, I love an awful lot of them and idolise them, but there are some types of drag that just don’t fit their format so will likely never be on the show. So you have to go looking for it! And when you do, oh the riches you will find!! From drag kings to trans queens and AFAB queens, burlesque artists, comedy acts, and more! There is so much more than the drag you see on drag race and, honestly, when you find it, it is the most beautiful thing. So I urge you, if you are a fan of drag race and you want more, go and find other drag artists on Instagram and Youtube (@TuckShopUK is a really good place to start for UK queens!), there are drag artists all over the place and live performances that have been put online. Prepare to have your mind blown!

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George’s new book Boy Queen is out from 6th August 2020, £7.99 and is available from all good bookshops. You can find him as a boy on Instagram @TheGeorgeLester or in drag @ThatGurrrlQueen.

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Have you read this book? Are you planning to? I’d love to hear in the comments! Amy x

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