The Herald - The Herald Magazine
TO BE A DRAG QUEEN
DRAG is an art form. For lots of drag artists, it’s aesthetic and for others, it’s the performance. If I was to slap a single word on my drag it would be “goth”. I do wear lots of sparkles and sequins but CarrieAnn started off as dark and gothic. I exclusively wore dark colours, black lace and leather because I was trying to create a Morticia Addams illusion.
For many, once they’ve scraped a layer of skin off with a baby wipe that persona is in the drawer. When I’m out of drag I’m still very much the same person except I’m more confident in drag. Day-to-day, I’m a 5ft 7in guy, with no eyebrows and a man bun. When I’m just interacting with friends in and out of drag, I feel like I’m the same person. They might tell you differently.
CarrieAnn is an hour’s worth of makeup and two hours of wriggling into Spanx but I would say that she is me in my purest form. As a teenager, I was really alternative and into black metal so a lot of that is expressed through my drag which allows me to be out there.
Even if I dress differently, people will still refer to me as the Dark Lady. I could be standing there in a pink cotton-wool wig and jumper, so it’s definitely more to do with attitude. Although there are a number of ways to express myself and my personality, I use drag as a tool to put my personality front and centre. People fall in love with drag and immerse themselves in the art form. Some drag artists might not be as polished as far as the look goes, but they’re great entertainers. Personally, I would say it’s an amalgamation of it all. Drag is all about being part of a community, more so than anything else.
Before I started performing, I hardly ever went out and I didn’t have many friends apart from those at my work and college. The first time I went out on drag was the first time I went out on the gay scene and I loved the atmosphere. I wanted to be a part of that.
Drag queens are there to entertain and to be a queen means almost to be like a figurehead of a community. There’s an enormous drag community in Glasgow but it’s a small space.
If you’re familiar with the Glasgow gay scene, you’ll know there’s only a handful of clubs within a five-minute walking distance of one another, as much as there are other drag events on in non-LGBT venues.
What matters most to me about drag is the people who come along. Lots of people come to embrace that queer aspect of their personality. Other people, who maybe don’t have a good relationship with their families, or want to feel part of something can join. They don’t have to worry or stress about feeling judged.
AXM nightclub in Glasgow hosts a show every Thursday night starring various drag artists