Drag Race UK star, 50, talks queer history with teen drag queen, 18
Cherry West and Dita Garbo represent two generations of drag. (Getty)
Rising teen drag queen Cherry West, 18, and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season six star Dita Garbo, 50, are sharing what they know about LGBTQ+ history and why everyone should be aware of how far we’ve come.
In an exclusive sit-down with PinkNews, West asked Garbo whether she felt as if younger queens are “connected to enough [queer] history”.
Garbo responded simply with “no” and took a beat before explaining why she thought so.
“I think generally, as you grow up… you would have heard about the AIDS epidemic in the 80s and maybe Section 28… I grew up in those times so, for me, I experienced it. It’s nice to have conversations where you learn,” Garbo said.
West said that while she doesn’t know everything, she’s trying to educate herself as best as she can.
West also praised Garbo for understanding the need to educate, claiming some “older queens look down” on her for being young and not knowing enough about drag or queer history.
Garbo and West also talked about the evolution of drag, how social media in particularly has been a great “tool” to give queens more exposure and allowing people to learn from other drag queens but “the flip side” could be the comparison with everyone else.
Garbo first started doing drag in the mid-’90s, citing RuPaul as a role model who really set the stage for the queens who came after her.
“RuPaul was a big role model because when they hit the mainstream with ‘Supermodel’ and being on MAC billboards and stuff, that was when… I started doing drag,” Garbo said.
Garbo competed on the sixth series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK so it’s a full-circle moment considering RuPaul inspired her to do drag in the first place.
By comparison, Edinburgh-based Cherry West stumbled on drag when she was just 10 and decided to develop her drag act at the age of 13.
West previously told the BBC that being drag makes her feel incredibly confident. She said: “I’m quite confident out of drag, but when I’m on stage performing and entertaining everyone it does give me that boost.”
“When I am out of drag and I used to perform, I did act, you would say, flamboyant and feminine, whereas when I am in drag I can use that and be as camp as I want.”
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
