It's not very often that I write news but given some of the bad press drag artists have been subject to recently, I wanted to write this story. Drag performers and the LGBTQ+ community aren't always seen in the best light by some, but with this article, I hope people can see that drag can have a positive social impact, and that queer people can be as caring and compassionate as anyone about those less fortunate.
Last month, a group of fierce drag performers from Central Scotland came together to raise money to support the local homeless. Organised by Glasgow and Edinburgh artists SXSZ and Havana Meltdown, the event entitled Drag Aid raised a stunning £245.55 for Scottish social enterprise Social Bite.
This is the first time the performers have organised a larger charity event like Drag Aid, and they wanted to do something to help with one of Scotland’s biggest social issues.
“At the beginning of the year an incident occurred in Glasgow with two people viewing themselves mocking a homeless man in the city centre,” explained SXSZ, “Dozens of people had taken to social media to express their outrage and I thought it was an ideal time to get performers to band together to show that the local scene is capable of working as a team and helping out those who need it most.”
Drag Aid took place at Glasgow’s The Polo Lounge on the 28th of February and featured performances from many well-known and upcoming drag artists from across Central Scotland - including Lawrence Chaney, Brooke Mark, Queen Queef, Fawna Love, Skinny Minnie and more. In addition to raising money from entry fees and donations, the performers also ran a food and clothing drive to further aid their cause.
“We had plenty of jackets donated at local shows and were able to fundraise online in the weeks coming up to the show,” said SXSZ, “so many people readily helped out which was really pleasing to see.”
Social Bite began life as a café, giving free food and hot drinks to the local homeless before eventually employing them. Since then the social business has supported the homeless with training and employment via the Social Bite Academy. In addition, they have created the Social Bite Village which aims to support residents from its community-focused, high quality temporary accommodation into more permanent housing.
“Social Bite do so much for Scotland’s homeless population,” said SXSZ, “Havana got in touch with them directly and provided details of what we were doing. They were really keen to help us however possible and they were excellent to work with.”
Charity drag events don’t come around often and events like Drag Aid can make a big difference not only in the homeless community, but also in the queer community. LGBTQ+ people can face many social issues, with homelessness being particularly prevalent. According to a 2014 report by LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity The Albert Kennedy Trust, 24% of homeless young people identify as LGBTQ+. In addition, 69% of young LGBTQ+ homeless people report familial rejection and abuse as contributing to their homelessness.
“Drag needs to be political as well as entertaining. Charity and activism are both extremely important,” added SXSZ, “Issues such as homelessness disproportionately affect the LGBTQ+ community so they’re close to home for many of us.”
With the rise of drag in the media and artists becoming celebrities, interest in drag performers and their shows is high. There’s never been a better time for drag artists to raise awareness for social issues and do their bit to give back to society. As for Drag Aid, there may be more events in the future to support local causes.
Looking ahead SXSZ said, “I'm definitely interested in doing so at some point, and I know others are too. In the future there will definitely be discussion over what we could do next time.”
A huge thanks to SXSZ for taking part in the interview for this article. Thanks also to Abbie Menzies for permission to use her photography, and to Brooke Mark for supplying additional photos from Drag Aid.
To see all of Abbie's fabulous photos from Drag Aid, you can check them out here.
To see more of Clare Successfully you can follow them on Twitter and Instagram.
To see more of Abbie Menzies' work you can follow her on Facebook and Instagram, or check out her website.
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