Before Logo TV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race, the art of drag was a niche form of expression that was only on exhibition at gay clubs in large cities. Since RuPaul’s show began in 2009, drag has only become an increasingly more mainstream activity.
Merriam-Webster defines a drag queen as “a homosexual man who dresses as a woman especially to entertain people.” However, that definition reduces the current state of the artform which includes women performing as “drag kings” or in “bio-drag,” which is when women use make-up to exaggerate their feminine features.
The definition also fails to include transgendered women who perform. BS West Scottsdale, a gay night club in Old Town Scottsdale, welcomes performers of all gender and sexual identities to perform in its competition show Star’s Choice.
Andrea Begin placed second in this season’s iteration of Star’s Choice, which ended on Nov. 1st. She was the highest placing biological woman this season despite performing on the stage for the first time the opening night of the competition when she formed her alter-ego “Andy Dick.”
“I’ve been around the drag scene for over two years now and I was very inspired by the make-up and theatrics of it all,” she said. “I was told it would help with my dieting and stuff like that I wanted to inspire someone like I was.”
Begin had fun performing but she lost touch of the reason she started because of the competition stress.
“I lost sight of why I was doing it and worried over the silliest things,” she said. “I want to do Star’s Choice again and just have fun with it instead of worrying about what people think.”
Behind each drag performer at BS West’s Star’s Choice there is a coach that also sits on the panel of judges. Zachary Meredith, also known as her drag persona Aimee V. Justice, is one of the local transgendered queens who has been a judge on the show for four years. She has been in the scene for ten years and has enjoyed the attention it has received as it has became more apparent in the public eye.
“When I first started drag, you only did drag at gay bars,” she said. “Now I am hosting shows in a big theater in Mesa. There are always a lot of girls and straight guys and I am the only drag queen there.”
Justice has been transitioning for seven months and she said that she was very welcomed in the community as a transgendered queen, but she understands her opportunity to be a role model.
“As you grow as an entertainer and a role model your [drag] persona grows as well,” she said. “When you decide to be a drag queen you start as a child and you grow into adulthood. When you come out you are still learning the ropes and how to behave and you’re learning that the stove is hot when it is on.”
However, not all transgendered queens have been accepted as graciously when they came out. Naomi Solarez has been in the scene for ten years as well and came out as transgendered six years ago. Solarez, who is better known as her stage name Naomi St. James, hosted this season of Star’s Choice.
“Being transgendered is more common in the south and east coast; in places like Georgia, Florida and Texas,” she said. “Before, the community in Phoenix wasn’t as accepting to us girls – we were sort of the outcasts of the community. I think now that I have established myself and that BS West has an all transgendered show, the community has become more accepting.”
Auditions for the next season of Star's Choice were on Nov 22 and 29 and the competition begins on Dec 6.
