“Drag is joy, but it’s under attack. Our very existence, our self-expression, our art — all of it is being threatened. And we’ve had enough.”
That’s the opening salvo of Qommittee, a group of drag performers banding together to protect and promote their art form, as it announced its formation ahead of June’s LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
“We’ve always had to fight tooth and nail for our place in this world,” the group said in a news release Wednesday. “But now, we’re also battling a tidal wave of hate — doxxing, harassment, death threats, armed protests, bombings, and even shootings.”
Qommittee consists of about 10 drag performers nationwide who have experienced, directly or indirectly, threats, harassment or violence related to their art form. One had a venue firebombed in Ohio; one performed at Club Q in Colorado Springs and helped victims the night of the shooting there that killed five people; and one worked at Club Q and at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, where a gunman killed 49 people in 2016.
I think that there are rumors that pretty much every macho guy ever secretly had a male lover, so I wouldn’t put much stock in those.
That said, here’s how John Wayne used to sit-
Maybe it’s me, but it seems a bit on the fay side of things…
Hey good for him, I just wish if he was gay that he could have been open about it. Maybe its ok as he is able to disconnect his character from his real life (not that anyone needs to know your relationship or sexualaity outside of your partner). Also when I did smoke I never looked that cool.