The Challenges of Aging As A Drag Queen
Huff PostOn any given Thursday, around 6 p.m., John Sefakis starts his weekly transformation into Stella D’oro, his drag persona. “Now that drag queens are expected to perform ball moves like duck walks and dips, there’s this valorization of the really agile body,” says Kareem Khubchandani, an associate professor of theater, dance and performance studies at Tufts University who is also the author of “Decolonize Drag” and a drag performer under the name LaWhore Vagistan. “There’s still some establishments and promoters who don’t hire as many drag artists of color as they should,” she says. “I think that will never go away.” According to the New York City Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity, the poverty rate for the 65 and older population — the demographic subset of some of the drag queens I interviewed — was 22.2% in 2019, the highest of any age group in the city. Let’s bring back the basics: God, Guns & Glory.” Amid a sharp increase in anti-drag incidents, queens such as Mrs. Kasha Davis, a 53-year-old queen who participated in “Drag Race” twice, remain hopeful.
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