Bitching among ourselves; Drug casualties



I'm waaaaay too busy with my new solo show at the moment to be wading in here but can't stop myself from pulling that soap box out.

I'm part of a panel in a couple of weeks called SleazyMichael Presents; SAUNA AND CLUB DRUG CASUALTIES. I wrote this blog about the issue last year and after lengthy Facebook discussions, Sleazy Michael Peacock decided to get people together and promote a panel discussion for people to discus this matter publicly. Simple.

It's a shame that writer Paul Burston seems to be taking the higher moral ground in an article for a national mainstream newspaper which is largely promoting his latest project (nothing wrong with that, guilty of it myself. Without the funds to advertise my wares I have to slip it in, so to speak, as and when I can). However he has unfortunately taken a somewhat bitchy snide view;

The impact of drugs like GHB has led to numerous deaths on the London gay scene. Next month, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in the capital is hosting a panel discussion to address the problem. The fact that it's presented by someone called Sleazy Michael gives some idea of the target audience.”

Meow!! Surely it's people on the 'sleazy' GHB and GBL scene who this event is aimed at and need to be involved. It's not aimed at angry lesbians, demanding that trans people be banned from biological female only spaces (I believe trans people have better things to do dears). Someone like Michael is more informed and knowledgeable of the gay scene than most. He's an open and out there sex fiend, has fought long and hard in the courts for his right to be kinky and can be seen on numerous dance floors, both on and off the gay scene, sweating his cock ring off, having the time of his life.
Would it make a difference if it was being run by 'Fisting Freddie' or 'Mary Minge' or should it be a project run by theorists who have the academic knowledge but non of the practical? Informing the community about the issue from someone who really knows the community makes Michael more than qualified.

He has been working very hard on this event for some time now, testing my own patience at times, but his enthusiasm for change and endless positivity for should be commended, not derided.
It's all good and well pontificating from behind our computer screens in our own parlours but the tally of deaths and numerous people going to hospital each weekend is a serious issue that needs addressing within the community. If it were any other minority group mixing drug cocktails to such lethal doses, they'd be an outrage and a BBC3 documentary knocked out about it. 
Maybe the event will be be a bunch of people giving their expertise and opinions or perhaps it'll create a dialogue where people can start openly talking about this matter and evoke some positive change. And surely something is better than nothing.

Right, I've got to get back to rewriting a section about people loving themselves a bit more in my new show, 'Sorry I'm A Lady'. Did I mention it?

x

Don't be shady, be a lady




I know, check me.

Since E4 stopped screening it after Season 2 (after minimal advertising and having it on at silly o'clock at night) Brits have had to download it doggedly off the internet so it's great to have a screening where Drag Racers can enjoy it together.

No need to name names but there was a hell of a lot of cold shade going on in tonight’s episode. I enjoy banter, the odd bitch and a well timed read but when it comes to being mean and hostile to someone because they don't shape up to your own expectations is an old drag cliché.

During a particular awkward sequence, two queens were being incredibly hateful to someone who may not be the most flawless queen but is clearly the most talented. Being on TV magnifies someone's shortcomings and these girls are fully aware of how another spiteful queen came across during last season. And being hateful isn't down to the edit. To repeat that behaviour makes them look bitter, twisted and not someone you'd want to work with, let alone be a drag superstar.
Drag performers are outsiders from the heteronormative majority, we're a source of entertainment and ridicule and at some point, we've all received some form of abuse from a drunken insult to a fist. I'm baffled why someone who is themselves an outsider would publicly abuse a peer so nastily. Especially a sister.
Being shady shows up your own insecurities and is incredibly tired. There will always be new queens and freaks who strut around as if they're the first to put a wig on their head and see this kind of behaviour as acceptable but established ladies really shouldn't be setting this attitude as an example.

I've seen all manner of drag performer, from stunning to busted. Personally, I have no interest in how flawless or “fishy” someone is. Talent and putting 100% into what you're doing outweighs a perfect blend and couture. I'd rather see a hot mess work an audience into a frenzy over someone who looks marvelous but has as much personality as an over back-combed weave.

Luckily on the alternative drag side of London, people are generally nice and respectful of each other. We're too busy being fabulous to worry about looking flawless and there are only a few who work a pageant style. Maybe because we don't have them in the UK or perhaps we favour talent and fun over appearance. Over each season, it's interesting that the bitchiest girls from Drag Race tend to be pageant girls where appearance is everything. Perhaps they should start looking inside instead of worrying about the façade so much. Being nice might not add to your look but it's better for your soul.

x


Photos 17 May 2013
Season 5 E11 Screening at Dalston Superstore
by Craig Parker




Holestar on Mean Girls

For the third year in a row, I'll be hosting the midnight screening at the Rio Cinema, Dalston for the Fringe Film Festival.
Previous shows of Showgirls and In Bed with Madonna were an absolute scream...this years Mean Girls should be a similar riotous affair. Here's a little piece I wrote for them.



Mean Girls hostess Holestar gives us the lowdown on why she loves a high school teen movie and why you shouldn’t miss the chance to see Lindsay Lohan’s finest achievement on the big screen.

I love teen school films. From Heathers, Teen Wolf, Election, Superstar, Napoleon Dynamite, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Carrie, Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion, Weird Science to Grease 1 & 2. Being a teenager in school is a time everyone can relate to (presuming you've all been to school).

Being a teen is tough. You’re no longer an innocent and carefree child and too far away from the boring responsibilities of adulthood. Plus it seems to go on forever.

Raging with emotions, angst, hormones and new hair, I’ve yet to work out why teenagers are expected to take exams and decide what they want to ‘do’ when they are at one of the most vulnerable times of their lives. What if you’re arty but don’t know it yet? What if you’re obsessed with that popular sporty guy who doesn’t know you exist? What if you simply can’t be bothered? What if you take a subject that you’re highly unlikely to ever use in later life, like maths? (Yes basic equations are important but besides mathematicians and Mathletes, who ever really uses algebra?)
I had no idea what I wanted to be. The career advisor suggested I go to the local chicken factory and stop dreaming about being a performer. I’m happy to say things are now very much in my favour and don’t have to pop my hand up a chickens bottom to get by.

Like many outsiders, I was bullied as a teenager. That’s probably why I have an interest in films of this nature. When you’re odd and at school, nobody tells you that your life will be oh so much better once you leave and it’s the bullies who go on to have incredibly mundane lives. But it’s through film that I saw the outsider can find peace with who they are or that the underdog does get through and win in the end.


I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of Mean Girls when I first saw it. The petty bitchiness of the girls was a little close to home but 20 odd times in I love it. Despite the typical high school clichés, hilarity and numerous camp quotes, I love that there is a positive resolution; that is despite our differences and cliques, we all need to simply like and respect each other a little more.


If you haven’t seen it, you’ve a treat in store. If you already love it, no doubt you’ll be screaming at the screen with everyone else who can quote it out to the max (and to share that experience in a cinema full of fellow fans is better than sharing a plastic tiara).

To celebrate this glorious commentary of teen angst, before the film, we’ll be having our very own Plastics Pageant. We know the ‘costumes’ aren’t exactly elaborate in the film so we want you to be inspired by plastic people. Think fake, fake, fake, botched surgery and mahoosive body parts, Jocelyn Wildenstein, Katie Price, Orlan, Lolo Ferrari, Amanda Lepore, more blow up doll than human being. We also want you to bring a page from your Burn Book where you can exorcise the hate. As Madonna would say, its cathartic.

So for super fans or those new to Mean Girls, I suggest you book your tickets now. We sold out last year and it was an absolute riot (I fully expect a full dance routine during Jingle Bell Rock).

See you down the front.
Holestar
x
Mean Girls screens on Friday 12th April at 11.30pm at Rio Cinema Dalston. Get your tickets here.