Drag Teen Author Jeffery Self on How Drag Queens Changed the Way He Looks at the World
This week actor and author Jeffery Self made his YA debut with Drag Teen, the madcap story of JT Barnett, an aspiring drag queen who’s counting the days till he can leave his constricting Florida hometown. Then New York City, and the chance to perform in a drag competition, beckon, and JT sets off on a road trip with his boyfriend and best friend, facing disaster, self-discovery, and a cast of colorful characters on the way to (maybe) stardom. Here’s Self
If you’ve never seen the framed Bette Midler album cover above my bed, or the poster of “She Devil” watching over my underwear drawer, or we’ve simply never met at all: you might not know I’m gay. That’s a lie, everyone knows I’m gay, I just wanted to brag about my “She Devil” poster. My name is Jeffery Self and I wrote a new book called Drag Teen. It tells the story of a young gay kid whose problem isn’t accepting himself as gay but accepting himself as himself. That’s where drag queens come in.
I have always been enthralled by drag queens. Whether watching icons like Coco Peru and Lady Bunny dominate a live audience thru comedy or seeing legendary Sweetie lip synch upstairs at Stonewall when I first moved to New York and found a fake ID, I’ve always found comfort in the fabulousness and irreverence of drag.
Society has come a long way with the acceptance of queer people. However, we are nowhere near the happy ending called worldwide equality. Whether it’s from stupid lawmakers in places like North Carolina, or unaccepting family members, it’s easy to feel weighed down by the ignorance that persists all over the world.
On that same note, I often find myself frustrated with how serious queer people have to be in order to make progress. We sometimes lose what makes us unique and interesting in the midst of fighting to be understood. And that’s not just queer people, that’s everyone. Which is why I find drag queens so important. Drag looks at the idea of “fitting in” or being “normal,” pushes it aside, and owns the complete opposite of the tired boxes we’re expected to fit into.
Watching drag queens changed the way I look at the world. It made me yearn to find confidence and independence and that special way of looking at the world that can only be done from underneath a gorgeous wig. Drag queens help we mere mortals see not who we’re supposed to be but who we can be, if we just take a second, stop overthinking everything, and be whoever lives inside us. That’s what I hope people will take away from my new book, the fabulous part of themselves that’s waiting to break free. It’s in there, you just have to drag it out.
I have always been enthralled by drag queens. Whether watching icons like Coco Peru and Lady Bunny dominate a live audience thru comedy or seeing legendary Sweetie lip synch upstairs at Stonewall when I first moved to New York and found a fake ID, I’ve always found comfort in the fabulousness and irreverence of drag.
Society has come a long way with the acceptance of queer people. However, we are nowhere near the happy ending called worldwide equality. Whether it’s from stupid lawmakers in places like North Carolina, or unaccepting family members, it’s easy to feel weighed down by the ignorance that persists all over the world.
On that same note, I often find myself frustrated with how serious queer people have to be in order to make progress. We sometimes lose what makes us unique and interesting in the midst of fighting to be understood. And that’s not just queer people, that’s everyone. Which is why I find drag queens so important. Drag looks at the idea of “fitting in” or being “normal,” pushes it aside, and owns the complete opposite of the tired boxes we’re expected to fit into.
Watching drag queens changed the way I look at the world. It made me yearn to find confidence and independence and that special way of looking at the world that can only be done from underneath a gorgeous wig. Drag queens help we mere mortals see not who we’re supposed to be but who we can be, if we just take a second, stop overthinking everything, and be whoever lives inside us. That’s what I hope people will take away from my new book, the fabulous part of themselves that’s waiting to break free. It’s in there, you just have to drag it out.