The Intersection of Drag and Allyship

In this episode, Mary sits down with drag performer and Drag Queen of the Year pageant contestant, Charles Galin.

The two discuss Charles' pageant experience, virtual drag, why they choose to continue to mask in public spaces, lack of general accessibility in the world, and more.

You can follow Charles on social media here.

Production note: Mary's microphone was glitching at some points and she was unaware. Please refer to the transcript, if need be or if it meets your access need(s).

The Politics of Disability was named Best Interview Podcast at the Astoria Film Festival in both October 2022 and again in June 2023.

Transcript

Mary (00:07): [music playing as Mary speaks]  Hello everyone and welcome to season 2 of the award-winning podcast The Politics of Disability. My name is Mary Fashik. I am your host and founder of the Disability Justice movement Upgrade Accessibility.

(00:07): We’re still navigating that bumpy road, but there are lots of potholes along the way. You’ll want to make sure you’re buckled up really tight. All set? Here we go.

(00:47): Hello, and thank you so much for joining me today. Would you please introduce yourself to the audience?

Charles G. (00:58): Good day. My name is Stephanie Guadalupe Galindo (she/they) and in drag, Charles Galin (he/they). I am from East Los Angeles, California.

Mary (01:07): Thank you so much for being here today. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule to be on my podcast. Um, I came across this wonderful human being while watching The Drag Queen of the Year Pageant. Um, it was a wonderful experience to get to watch that virtually and this wonderful human being just grabbed my attention from the beginning. So I am thrilled to be sitting here having this conversation with you today. I wanna know what sparked your love for drag and talk to me more about your drag persona.

Charles G. (02:03): So, what sparked my interest in being a drag performer when I have the privilege and I'm grateful that my mother showed me about drag when she turned on the TV one year, 2011. It's like, look, a weird show just like you. And it happened to be RuPaul's Drag Race season four, with Sharon Needles. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. This is cool. And then I started befriending some queens on Facebook and then some of those queens had friends friendships with uh, Landon Cider, a drag king from Long Beach. And then when I looked at him I said, oh my God, that's what I wanna do. That's what I wanna be. That inspired me more to be like, okay, because I've always been masculine energy more than femininity energy. But I also liked, uh, dressing more masculine. But I now identify as a gender fluid queer person.

(02:59): And from acting, film, basically my main standpoint into this Charles Galin persona was theater. And in high school I played mainly male characters and I was a mascot for three years and I discovered Charlie Chaplin when I was a freshman in 2009. And that jumpstarted like more of cementing in my mind that oh, right, I love silence, but I also liked physicality and telling a story with my body. And my drag persona evolved from I'm there to perform in the audiences for the audience because I want them - to help them escape from some sort of negative things in their life from reality and just have fun with me. And then over the years I learned to realize I'm there for myself and I wanna feel emotions on stage and hopefully the audience will feel them alongside me.

Mary (04:08): And you know, I have to tell you, growing up I was forced to dress very, very feminine. And like, now in my forties, I'm railing against that. Like give me a t-shirt and shorts any day over like something dressy. But for work and to be professional, I have to be like in those dressy feminine tops. And I have days where it doesn't bother me and I have days like I hate this. [sounds cuts out] I'd rather be in pants or shorts and, and and a shirt. Like I can't remember the last time, the last time I wore a dress was the last year I taught Sunday school and I am a recovering Catholic now. Um, and I, yeah, so it's interesting to hear someone say, you know, that they've always had more about masculine energy than feminine - because I remember going up, the woman who raised me was always like, don't do that or don't sit that way cause you look like a boy, and I never understood why that was so bad.

(05:44): Like, what's wrong with, you know, sitting the way I sit or looking away I look and, and saying, well, you know, you look like a boy. So I'm happy to know that more and more people are finding themselves younger and not having to wait till their 40s like I did to figure out who they are. And you drag persona is amazing, amazing. And, um, when we talk about Drag Queen of the Year pageant, I also want you to talk about your talent before that, because it, it really spoke to me as well. Um, and while we're talking about Drag Queen of the Year, when you did your question and answer portion, you mentioned virtual drag and that's what grabbed my attention. You said it got us through quarantine, we should keep it going, or something along those lines. And when I've interviewed other performers about virtual drag, I've gotten a range of responses. Talk to me about that. Um, yeah, talk to me about the whole virtual drag, your comment and also to follow up about your drag persona about your performance at your pageant as well.

Charles G. (07:35): Delicious. When, [laughs] hehehehe, being identifying as a drag king performing at a drag queen of the year pageants, I realized, oh, I'm more performing, I'm more there for myself than the judges, but also to make acquaintance and have a friendship with Alaska, Lola and meet new other drag performers who share the art of drag and I wanna see what their drag is besides mine. And when I got that question, so we acquired those questions, uh, an hour before the pageant started and I was thinking, okay, which question do I really want the most? And I wanted to answer, what is the name of the drag queen of the year? What is the name of the pageant? And I was like, memorizing drag Queen of the Year Pageant competition, award contest competition. And I was like, yeah, but I also looked at the other questions as well.

(08:31): And then the AI one is like, oh yeah, digital drag, Biqtch Puddin, was like one of the foundations of putting it in on Twitch. And then I also was told and reminded that there are beautiful people out there that can't go to drag shows. And I said, this is very much needed in my mind for those individuals that can't attend but can see it anywhere they are there in their beautiful homes. So that just stuck with me. And each question I would implement an answer, but just have like a outline of the answers within those questions. So when I got that one, I was like, okay, yes, because I love music videos and I wanna create more music videos of my life. And when in quarantine I was able to create my own music videos with my drag and I said, oh my God, this is what I wanna do more. And then, uh, digital drag, because I need drag to be shown to anybody that like, even for, uh, young people that can't attend or they're too anxious or our beautiful disabled brethren that can't attend, also. Drag needs to be shown to all. And my drag persona, I want to expand more, but I feel like I'm more of a comedy person. But I do like to be more versatile. I have creatures that lean more into horror but more into clown work. And it's a fluid for me, drag is fluid.

Mary (10:10): And now that we've found out a little bit behind the scenes that you all were able to see the questions, um, before you got them, you know, that's an access need, right? Like being able to know what you might be asked prior to be asked those questions so that you're able to think, because sometimes you have brain fog or sometimes you have anxiety and you're not able to answer on the spot. So I like knowing that those questions were provided you prior to, um, the beginning of the show. Um, what I, you know, I've interviewed people they, you know, are very apprehensive about virtual drag performances. What are your, like what would you say to those drag performers who would say, eh, I don't think so, or it's a lot trouble? Or, what is the point? Like what was you saying to your fellow drag performers who think that virtual drag was only for the pandemic, which by the way is not over and um, you know, and it's done over and over with. What would you say to them?

Charles G. (11:57): What are y'all talking about?

(12:01): Wait, did that field everything? Quarantine? I know we can, some people can go out, but there's others that can't. I would say to them, [laughs], keep it going. I recommend to y'all. Like I wanted to keep it going, but I was privileged that I have a job that I can get out. But I still mask because I developed trauma. And now that all the, I'm learning more and more that I need to take care of myself but also take care of other people. And I feel more at ease when I have my mask on in places now knowing more about others in my life. And it's a lot of fun. You could create more things by you controlling the eyes of the audience with the camera, but also it's not, it's not easy. I won't say it's not easy, but it's a fun challenge to see what other aspects of drag can be put out besides a live audience. Because theater is drag and drag is theater and you could create anything. But also with digital drag, you can help others that are not able to watch a drag show live.

Mary (13:24): I love that. Theater is drag and drag is theater. I love that so much. Talk to me, if you don't mind, about why you are masking. Talk to me about masking and, and being in places that require, still require people wearing masks. And as someone who is immunocompromised and high risk, thank you for continuing to mask and I know that I shouldn't have to thank you, but at this point where we are in humanity, anytime someone who is wanting to protect not only themselves but me and my community, I want to extend my opinion. So thank you for masking, continuing to mask. Talk to me about, about that decision to mask and like, does that affect like where you get booked or like do people, other drag performers look at you weird or ask you questions or has that caused any um, uncomfortable situations?

Charles G. (14:48): So before the pandemic started, I saw videos of, well mainly Asian cultures would mask and then I read up more about that and they would do it not for style or aesthetics, but also when they are sick they don't wanna spread it to others or when there's allergies they wear it or it's like many reasons, but mainly because if they're sick they don't want to get others sick. And I thought that was so cool. And then when the pandemic started inching its way into 2019, 2020, I said, oh. I was working as a stage manager for a play once and I happened to get flu or cold or some sort of sickness and I thought, oh I could wear a mask. Even though people are gonna like, what are you wearing a mask for? Like, I'm gonna do it for myself, but I wanna take care of my actors that are on stage that should not get sick because we don't have understudies and also I don't [laughs] get others sick.

(15:54): So I started doing that and then boom, that two week turn into continuation three years on pandemic is still happening and I would still continue to mask up. Uh, just for me, I always say when I put it on - "Trauma!", but then also "comfort," taking care of myself and others. So I still do that in spaces where I'm the only one masking and everybody else is just like that. And I've mentally prepared if somebody comes up to me and say, oh, it's over. It's like you live your life, I'm doing me, thank you. Or I just walk, go away somewhere else from them. Uh, and then uh, in places of getting booked and stuff, there is a drag king show in LA at Redline Bar in downtown sixth and Los Angeles that they have this beautiful motto, they don't take care of us, we take care of us. And they promote, not promote, they make it mandatory for the audience to mask up and the performers also when they're not performing on stage. And that's a beautiful feeling. I feel more at ease with my people like that and considering others that don't make it mandatory. I still do it when I'm in the audience, but when I'm on stage I try to mask more when I'm off stage in the people, that's more what I do. Yeah.

Mary (17:30): And you know, so many of us who are immunocompromised were masking prior to the pandemic - I was. As soon as I was diagnosed with um, one of a list of chronic illness I have. And I found out that my community was masking to protect themselves. I started to mask and I noticed that I wasn't getting sick as often or as sick because I had been severely sick. Should have been hospitalized many times. But I was not aware that I was immunocompromised. And this is a message that we, as the disabled and chronically ill community, I've been trying to relay for three years now. You don't know if you have underlying conditions. Getting a diagnosis is a privilege that many don't have. So why not protect yourself and you're protecting others. So again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for continuing to mask because we feel alone and we do feel isolated. And it is difficult when you go, now when I go to my medical appointments, I'm the only one and I'm in a room full of people who are high risk and nobody else is masking not even my medical providers.

(19:21): So thank you. It does mean we notice, but we mean we, we notice who does and who does not. And while we are talking about the disabled and chronically ill community, there's a huge intersection between the disabled and chronically ill community and the LGBTQIA+ community. Yet, the disabled and chronically ill community is excluded from vital conversations continually - marriage equality, transgender rights, um, gender affirming care we're often exclude from these, um, conversations. Then, if you don't know, as a queer woman, I could get married. As a disabled woman, I could not get married because disabled individuals do not have married equality. So oftentimes we sit around and we watch our non-disabled counterparts within the queer community talking about, oh, we have married equality when not all of us have married equality. Because if I'm marry a partner, the US government says my partner would be solely responsible for my care and my finances. There will go my healthcare and my benefits. Why are we being left out of these conversations when it comes to the LGBTQIA+ community? Why are we often excluded from conversations, Pride, all of that? And what are your thoughts on that?

Charles G. (21:32): I feel like I don't know the answer why we, the community, is excluding our other brethren or other siblings who happened to be disabled. But I have a feeling because I I don't like being reminded that oh yeah, we need to be more accessible. I would've loved to learn more about my siblings growing up in school so I don't have to be reminded cuz I have this, uh, I went to a queer prom for the youth two months ago and one of my younger siblings was in walking, was able to walk, but had a one of those walkers that you could sit on and I was, happened to be near them and they had a conga line and I overheard like, oh no, it's not accessible. And then I happened to overhear this and I went up to them and said, I asked her, I asked them, how would you like me to help you dance with you?

(22:32): It's like, oh no thank you. It's not accessible. Like, understood. Can you, what can I do to help help you have it more accessible? It's like, oh no, it's fine. Like, thank you. And I walked away. I went away from them so they could have their with their friends. And then after I took it upon myself to go and let them know, it's like, hey, I know it wasn't accessible but I know all the people, the producers of this show and prom and I wanna bring it up to them and let them know this happened. Somebody wasn't able accessible, have accessibility to enjoy their dance. And I was wondering if we could figure out a way to have it for next time. Even though in my head I said, we should have had this in general overall. But I do want more conversations and I'm continually to learn. I don't know everything. I like learning more about humanity and humans and within myself as well. So I want the world to learn more and we should be having more conversations like this and out there in the world to have more accessibility for everyone.

Mary (23:45): I always say everyone has access needs, whether they realize it or not. Um, whether you're non-disabled or disabled, you have access needs, you may call somebody else, but you have an access need and we all do. And like you said, accesibility's for everyone. Like, you know, how many times do you go out and see the automatic doors, which are for disabled individuals, but if somebody has their hands full of packages, what do they do? They press a button to open door because they're not able to get that door open. So everyone has accessibility needs, or access needs rather, and accessibility is for everyone. And if we make a world accessible, everyone, it would solve a lot of issues. Um, and you know, I I'm I'm just... it's interesting to me how I can meet someone like you and you get it and you get it so well. And then I meet others who don't get it at all. And I would love to bridge that gap between those who understand and those who just don't understand at all. Um, what message do you have for other drag performers or even just those in the LGBTQIA+ community, about the disabled and chronically ill community? And then what message do you have for us, for our community?

Charles G. (25:50): My message to my siblings out there? Just listen to those that wanna be heard and let them tell you what it needs to be done or what they want to happen. Like how you have things that you wanted and you got it. Now, it should have been since the beginning, but now with the society, keep wanting more for others than yourself. You'll heal yourself within your own world and then you can take care of other people. Now let's take care of everybody. I know it's a beautiful, big population, but let's take care of all of our siblings in this life. And my message to your community, "Hola, I love you." I would like, I am researching more on my own of how I could be an advocate and ally with this community, but I would like more, uh, advice on how I could approach to learn more of how, what is the not proper research or where can I go to gain more knowledge of how I can be in my vocabulary, not ableist and how I could learn more to advocate in spaces and tell them, "Hey, we need this more accessible."

Mary (27:30): Well, I wanna extend a welcome to you as an ally and there are so many of us who are more than happy to help you on your journey, um, to becoming a better ally. And you know, this was step one that you, you know, I I I messaged them on Instagram after watching The Drag Queen of the Year pageant. And I was like, thank you for talking about virtual drag. Would you like to come on my podcast? And they emailed me and they said, absolutely. And that meant the world because, you know, I, anyone who has listened to this podcast, followed up my advocacy, know how many doors I have knocked on and have been closing my face or not answered at all. So thank you so, so much for agreeing to do this. It is so appreciated. Thank you so much.

Charles G. (28:49): Tlazcamati Mary. Thank you for existing in my life.

Mary (28:51): [music playing while Mary speaks] Thank you for joining me for this episode of the Politics of Disability Podcast. 

As you navigate your journey, remember: disability is political; disability is messy; disability is not palatable--nor does it have to be. [music playing]