To commemorate what would have been the Pride festival this weekend, the Silhouette has put together our very first Pride special issue. We have a lot of really great pieces about a variety of different topics touching the 2SLGBTQIA+ community such as being comfortable with in your own skin, supporting Black Lives Matter, navigating the virtual realm of Pride and interviews with Hamilton’s own Kamilla Flores Kameleon and “Canada’s Drag Race” contestant, Priyanka!
This issue came together rather quickly on a tight schedule, so thank you to everyone who lent a helping hand. Although we don’t typically publish special issues during the summer due to the time constraint of only having one full-time staff member — throwing a pandemic on top of that — I’m really proud of the work we were able to accomplish with such short notice. You can view our special issue on our website: https://www.thesil.ca/category/pride2020
It was really important to me to get this out before, what would have been, Pride weekend. I believe the take away from this digital special issue is that the Queer community doesn’t just need Pride month to celebrate or to advocate — that can and should be done year round as there is always more work to be done.
Take this weekend to reflect on what Pride means to you and hopefully next year, we can all celebrate it together.
Happy Pride,
Andrew Mrozowski
Managing Editor
The Silhouette, Volume 91
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Articles:
Sil Sit Down with Priyanka, by Andrew Mrozowski, Managing Editor
Bringing Pride back to its roots, by Lauren O’Donnell, Contributor
Independent review looks into Pride 2019 events, by Trisha Gregorio, Contributor
The fantabulous world of drag, by Nadia Business
McMaster alumna dazzles Digital Pride with drag show, by Adrian Salopek, Contributor
The trials and tribulations of virtual Pride, by Andrew Mrozowski, Managing Editor
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Pride month is coming to an end, but its impacts can be seen throughout the year with the increase of queer culture coming into the mainstream. One such example is the popularization of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, a show that puts drag queens through competition-style challenges, competing to become America’s next drag superstar. The show has recently expanded to Thailand, Chile, the United Kingdom and on July 2, “Canada’s Drag Race” premieres on Crave.
12 drag queens from across the country will showcase their various drag styles. One contestant, Priyanka, hails from Toronto. Not only has she been crowned Miss Crews and Tangos (2018-2019) and NOW’s 2019 Readers’ Choice winner for Best Drag Performer, but you may know her as a former host of YTV’s “The Zone”. Priyanka recently decided to do drag as a full-time profession due to its boundless limitations.
“Whenever you do something for so long and you have a creative frame, you tend to get bored because your brain is always [wondering], ‘what’s next?’ . . . At the end of my kids TV career . . . I kinda hit my ceiling and the natural progression was to enter drag and see what I can do there. [T]he cool thing about drag is there is no limit on what you can do. You can do everything, which I love,” said Priyanka.
July 5 marks the queen’s birthday, having been involved with the Toronto drag scene for three years. In that amount of time, Priyanka has carved out her own space within the queer community while representing people of colour, which is reflected on “Drag Race” as she is the first Guyanese contestant. Much of Priyanka’s drag is representative of pop stars such as Beyonce or Rihanna; however, she integrates her cultural heritage into each and every performance.
“[G]rowing up, you’re so scared to bring your chicken curry to school because you don’t want your white friends to smell it, and now everyone is like ‘Oh my god Priyanka is the first ever Guyanese drag queen on Drag Race’, said Priyanka. “At this time in my life, I am the proudest to be who I am because I’m representing people who need to be proud of who they are.”
Priyanka recalled her early beginnings as a drag queen, comparing her looks to driving down a long road and seeing roadkill, but then blossoming into a gorgeous gay goddess. She attributes much of what she knows about drag to her drag mother, Xtacy Love, who has been with Priyanka since the beginning of her career.
“There was one time where I was painting my face and my drag mother, Xtacy Love, sat across from me, [watching] me paint and questioned everything I was doing. I wanted to be put up for adoption because it was the worst experience of my life. It was awful, but the thing is because she was questioning me, I was learning so much about makeup and why you’re putting things in the places you’re putting [them] . . . for my kind of drag, you’re sculpting your face to really sell into this illusion,” said Priyanka.
Typically Pride month is a busy time of year for drag entertainers. With festivals across the province moving to an online platform, performers have been finding different ways to still participate. Priyanka has been hosting Zoom parties, posting on YouTube, livestreaming on Instagram and performed as a part of Pride Hamilton’s Digital Pride.
Priyanka believes that a virtual Pride has its own merits as it allows people to reevaluate the importance of why we have a month dedicated to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and to focus on how to create inclusivity amongst one another. While it might not be fun staying indoors during a time usually spent celebrating, it’s important to remember Pride’s roots and why we are all here.
Advocacy and drag have always been intertwined within the Queer community. For Priyanka, it’s important to use the platform she has acquired to share information with those who follow her.
“Here’s the tea. Drag entertainers are the mascots of the [2SLGBTQIA+] community. People listen to us, people will hear us and they will jump on things . . . drag queens have always been political. We kind of fell into a pocket where it was all lipsync for your lives, sparkly costumes, big wigs and glittery eyeshadow, but as I said before, it’s so good that we’re all at home because drag queens have to use their platforms to help share the information to what’s politically correct,” said Priyanka.
“Here’s the tea. Drag entertainers are the mascots of the [2SLGBTQIA+] community. People listen to us, people will hear us and they will jump on things . . . drag queens have always been political. We kind of fell into a pocket where it was all lipsync for your lives, sparkly costumes, big wigs and glittery eyeshadow, but as I said before, it’s so good that we’re all at home because drag queens have to use their platforms to help share the information to what’s politically correct,” said Priyanka.
“We are like the approachable popstars, like you can’t talk to Beyonce, you can’t talk to Lady Gaga, but trust and believe when you message the Queen Priyanka, she will hit you back with [a] message because I’m desperate for love”, she joked.
As we approach the end of June and the end of Pride month, “Canada’s Drag Race” serves as a reminder that there is always time to be loud and proud about who you are regardless of the time of year. For many Canadian queens in particular, the show also offers an opportunity for worldwide exposure and a chance to showcase their talents on a platform that is tried and true.
“Here’s what I’ll say. Canadian TV shows have a reputation of whenever they do a spin off, it looks a little janky . . . the cool thing about Canada’s Drag Race . . . is the quality of the show is beyond,” said Priyanka. “So now, [“Canada’s Drag Race” has] opened up this whole new ball game for drag entertainers to really work on their style, get better and thrive to do something, because there was a time where being a local girl in Toronto, you could only do so much but now you can do all of it”.
For the Queen Priyanka, getting onto Drag Race felt like the next step in her drag career, both personally and professionally as it was the culmination of a dream. She feels like this is a sentiment that students could apply to their academic lives as well.
“I think that being in school is weird. Being in high school, being in med school, being in university and college is also very weird because you’re like, ‘oh, once I graduate, I have to go find a real job’. But I think that it’s just important to whatever program that you’re in and [whatever] you’re doing, just keep focused, keep your eye on the prize and if your heart isn’t in it, get out while you can because you have to love it to do it for the rest of your life.”
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Concerts, festivals and conventions are amongst a list of social gatherings currently cancelled by cities across Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, both Pride Hamilton and Pride Toronto are two organizations who have seen many changes to their annual pride festivities due to the new limitations.
While pride festivities in Hamilton have taken different forms over the last 29 years, this incarnation has been incorporated since November 2018. Their first festival took place in June 2019 with Pride in the Park; however, it was interrupted by a hateful protest, causing tensions between the queer community and the city of Hamilton to rise.
“We had planned for the biggest, boldest pride ever in 2020, especially to what happened in 2019 with the violence at Pride. We wanted to make sure that 2020 was a place that was more inclusive and that everybody was able to come out and celebrate at Gage Park,” said Cameron Kroetsch, a member of the Hamilton Pride Board of Directors who has been involved since 2018.
After the pandemic hit, Pride Hamilton did not know whether or not they had the capacity to run any events this year due to the ever changing nature of the virus. After both internal deliberation and community consolation, the organization explored the virtual realm of possibilities. A month before the initial festival weekend, Pride Hamilton announced Digital Pride, a three hour live-streamed event featuring performances, kids programming and political activism.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CALmIgznX2L/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
“The big thing for us is that [Pride is] really a physical thing. It’s about hugs, it’s about flags, it’s about watching people, it’s about singing, it’s about celebrating and a lot of that happens in person. So with a pandemic, it’s very, very different,” said Kroetsch.
Although a few technical glitches occurred, Pride Hamilton’s Digital Pride ran smoothly and was well received by the city’s queer community. Kroetsch did see some merits in a virtual festival this year.
“Safety is one of the things that immediately stands out as something that’s a little easier to handle, but I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily true. [Online platforms] are new kinds of celebratory spaces . . . no one has the tools to properly make sure that those are safe. That’s why we’re working with an outside company to help us fit [and] moderate this. It does mean that people can’t physically show up though and create the kinds of physical violence we saw last year and that’s one thing that has been better. It also meant that it’s given our organization the space and the time to allow conversations to happen about defunding police,” said Kroetsch.
Pride Hamilton has been very vocal on their social media about their support for the Black Lives Matter movement and for the Indigenous peoples within Hamilton. In a statement released on June 1, the first day of Pride month, the organization touched on three key ideals: sustainability through active listening and community engagement, ensuring there are safe spaces within the city and building trust. Kroestch elaborated on these topics.
“We can’t represent every person in Two Spirit or LGBTQIA+ communities and we don’t want to, but for people who find a home in the idea of Pride, who think it’s something to be involved in, we want to make space for there to be a celebration, but for it to always be political.”
While Pride Hamilton’s annual Pride Month festivities have come to a close, a recent collaboration with Pride Toronto has ensured a little bit of Steel Town is being represented at a larger scale. Two Hamilton-based drag performers, Karma Kameleon and Freddie Khalo took the virtual stage in this union of prides.
“We’re stronger together. We all face issues of homophobia, transphobia, erasure of identity, racism, systemic violence etc. Our community is stronger and more resilient when we come together to be seen, heard and understood. It is important to create a network to continue the Pride Movement, as there is so much progress to be made,” said Bobby MacPherson, Director of Operations for Pride Toronto.
“We’re stronger together. We all face issues of homophobia, transphobia, erasure of identity, racism, systemic violence etc. Our community is stronger and more resilient when we come together to be seen, heard and understood. It is important to create a network to continue the Pride Movement, as there is so much progress to be made,” said Bobby MacPherson, Director of Operations for Pride Toronto.
“Blood donation is still not even allowed in Canada, [you] have to be abstinent for [three] months and [there’s] no scientific evidence to support this discrimination. Trans people do not have the same access to health care. Queer and trans black folxs cannot even walk the streets safely without suffering police brutality. Bi+ invisibility, 2S lack of representation . . . it is endless. Queer people may be tolerated in today's society, but we are far from being accepted,” they said.
We live in a time that feels like things are moving a million miles a minute, yet we’re not seeing change. COVID-19 and its impact has been felt by those across McMaster campus to across the world, especially for those who might not be in safe spaces. Both Kroestch and MacPherson hope that their organization’s respective virtual Pride celebrations will provide some optimism during these dark days.
“We get that it’s difficult and that nothing we can say is going to solve people’s individual problems or provide hope for people’s individual lived experiences. But we do hope that Digital Pride is one bright light in people’s otherwise digital world . . . that’s why we’re doing this because we want to make sure that we’re claiming some space for celebration even if we can’t do what we really want to do, which is get outside, dance and celebrate,” said Kroetsch.
“It’s important to celebrate Pride month during the pandemic because our fight for existence is far from over. We must say resilient, we must continue to support each other and must do what we can to keep the injustices of Queer known,” said MacPherson.
A recording of Pride Hamilton’s Digital Pride can be viewed on their Facebook and YouTube. Pride Toronto’s Virtual Pride concludes the weekend of June 26 and can be streamed live from their website.
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By Adrian Salopek, Contributor
In light of COVID-19 prompting social gathering limitations, Pride Hamilton’s festival weekend was one such event that had been affected. Although not an ideal way to honour Pride and its roots, new ways of celebrating the 2SLGBTQIA+ community have emerged, bringing Hamiltonians together during these recent difficult and lonely times.
One of the most anticipated Pride events in Hamilton was “Pride in the Park”, originally planned for June 19. This was replaced by Digital Pride, which occurred on June 14, consisting of livestreamed Facebook and Youtube shows and featuring drag performers from the Hamilton drag scene. Heart, crown and even dollar bill emojis flooded the chats under the live performances along with the odd “yass” or “slay”.
Among the featured talents, McMaster alumna Kamilla Flores Kameleon, who also goes by the Spice of Hamilton, dazzled audiences with her virtual drag performance. Through a comically tragic love story and aggressive salsa dance, Kamilla starred in a mini telenovela reminiscent of the ones she watched growing up in Lima, Peru, and showed the world what it really means to be a Latina diva.
“I thought it would be a fun way to live out what I had always watched as a child [and] show a campier side of my drag,” said Kamilla Kameleon.
Behind the comedy, campiness and five pounds of makeup, Kamilla celebrates her background and culture with those who attend her shows. Many of the queen’s influences are of Latin descent, such as pop stars Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
“My drag has always been about representing my culture and a way I have done that is by paying homage to the legendary Latina pop stars that came before me,” explained Kamilla. “I have always felt Shakira embodied what it meant to be empowered and an entertainer and that’s what drew me to her.”
“My drag has always been about representing my culture and a way I have done that is by paying homage to the legendary Latina pop stars that came before me,” explained Kamilla. “I have always felt Shakira embodied what it meant to be empowered and an entertainer and that’s what drew me to her.”
In the current political climate, this celebration of diversity and the artistic contributions of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour is needed now more than ever. Digital Pride not only celebrated the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, but also provided an opportunity for discussions surrounding racism and policing within Hamilton, and facilitated a platform for Black community leaders to speak. Moreover, the event showed that drag can offer artists an opportunity to advocate for issues they are passionate about.
For Kamilla, the art of drag plays an important role — especially in the current climate — in disseminating love and advocating for movements fighting for justice.
“Drag can play a huge role in the spread of information about these issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement and protests,” explained Kamilla, “I have experienced racism as a person of colour, and it is important, now more than ever, to not be silent when issues continue to persist.”
Behind the wigs and makeup, drag is a crucial part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community’s culture and history and plays a major role in catalyzing social change from within. Besides the laughter and enjoyment one usually finds when attending a drag show, attendees will surely find themselves learning something new and being inspired when watching the performances of drag queens like Kamilla.
In the queen’s own words, “Don’t stop fighting for what’s right and always wear your heart on your wig. Te amo McMaster!”
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