Page 170 of The Black Flamingo

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this is not about being ready,

it’s not even about being fierce

or fearless, it’s about being free.

I don’t have a clue what I’m doing

but that’s not gonna stop me.

What It’s Like to be a Black Drag Artist

(for those of you who aren’t)

It’s knowing when you step onstage,

people will expect you to represent

all black people. It’s being the only

black performer on the lineup, one

of the only black faces in the room.

It’s worrying if a white performer will do

a blackface act. It’s worrying your act

is too black, not universal enough. It’s

worrying you’re not entertaining enough

or fierce enough or shady enough.

It’s giving up worrying about being universal

and being you. It’s doing what feels true.

It’s knowing that doing drag and being trans

are not the same. It’s gender nonconforming.

It’s gender bending. It’s gender ascending.

It’s a performance. It’s not letting anyone

else tell you what your drag means. It’s not

really for the audience. It’s for your liberation.

It’s knowing that after this nothing will be

the same for you. It’s a rebirth.

It’s giving birth to yourself. It’s giving

yourself a new name. It’s giving yourself

a new narrative. It’s not letting anyone

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