LAVINIA CO- OP & JONNY WOO
Life really is a drag for Lavinia Co- op, 67, and Jonny Woo, 46, as they reflect on the beginnings of the fight for gay rights
LAVINIA CO- OP
When did you discover drag? In 1977 with gay theatre troupe the Bloo Lips. We were radical drag, gay men working on the androgynous, feminine side of our maleness.
Tell us about your activism work. It started when I found out about the Gay Liberation Front in about 1971. [ It] continues today: why are BAE Systems, which [ among other things] make armaments, sponsoring Pride in Surrey? I’m not into murdering people, and I don’t align myself with a Pride that’s supported by arms sales.
You used to live in New York, right? I went to New York in 1991. Aids happened and my friends were dying. I thought: “I know they’re all dying there [ too], but at least I can make a fresh start.”
That sounds unimaginably tough. It was. There was this sense of isolation. There was no help, no support. If it wasn’t for the lesbians and the women getting together with ACT UP… People tried everything: macrobiotics, acupuncture, Buddhism, even vitamin C.
JONNY WOO
When did you first meet Lavinia? In 1999 in New York. I went to a bar called The Boiler Room and this person came in with a white face and spiky hair, covered in silver polyester. It was Lavinia. We got talking and became friends straightaway. Why do you think you’re a perfect pairing for the front cover? She was the person who introduced me to the downtown drag scene, which is largely responsible for where I am today. It is part of the story of why The Glory [ which I own] exists, of why Gay Bingo happened, why a lot of things in east London happened. What advice would you give to your younger self? Don’t start drinking, Jonny, you’re going to get into so much trouble. Can you single out a moment where the queer community has lifted you up?
When I had multiple organ failure in 2006.
Because of drinking? Yes. I don’t know if you have them, death fantasies about your funerals, who’s going to turn up and what they’re going to say. I was able to go: “I don’t have to be in a coffin to hear this.”