Spandex, Wigs and Fishnets

That’s right. Let’s talk drag.

The quiet Saturday nigh-in didn’t happen, instead I went clubbing to explore the antics of gay clubbing and dress up drag!

It’s unclear when drag was introduced in Britain. But definitely after the war, the clubbing culture soared as drinking and music became more accessible. The term ‘drag’ refers to clothing and drag queen means, usually a man, who impersonates a woman. It’s not just about dressing up in dresses and wearing lip stick. There’s something beneath the escapade of glamour and glitter that sparked my curiosity. So as I always do, I went exploring!!!

With a Tequila hum and lemon smacking lips I danced before latex super heroes, dominatrix princesses and a lady in a white meringue dress shouting “I am a Christmas tree!”

Seductive eye contact was exchanged between two women in cat suits as I walked over to the beer frothed bar. The ceiling cluttered with pulsating strobe lights. The DJ mixed his tracks overlooking the crowds of spirits, sweat and saliva. Rihanna ‘Pour it up’ invited some to slut drop, whilst others focused on mastering how not to spill their drink and twerk at the same time. I felt like a stiff pole in comparison to the flamboyant choreography around me. 

I began to observe trends and patterns. 

Before I got too jealous over some woman’s buoyant curls it took me a few seconds to realise it was a wig. Wigs galore, from brunette waves to sleek blonde 24 inch pony tails. Crowd surfing champagne bottles highlighted the faces of theatrical make-up.  But as I lost count of false lashes and lace fronts I began to question... there must be more to this performance right? It’s deeper than what I'm seeing before my eyes, surely?

I was being hugged by strangers and a fat reality check slapped me across my face. How the fuck am I meant to question someone about their life choice? Regardless of whether this was me researching or quenching my curiosity....nah it didn't feel right.

“I’m not exactly a girly-girl, who would have guessed?”

Failure is and was never my best friend. So...with time, I resorted to desk research.

mygendercatharsis.blogspot.co.uk. got me hooked. 

Her blog is used as a platform to express her feelings, I continued to investigate.  Her friendly tone was comforting and so she told me more about what it's like to be a ‘part time girl’.

“I was struggling with depression which was caused in part by the fact I was struggling with my gender identity. I wasn’t out to anyone, and I was feeling trapped.

“Well of course my girlfriend is someone I really love! When I came out to her 9 years ago I wasn’t expecting our relationship to survive but here we are, still going strong! :) I don’t really have any celebrity crushes, but, I do love celebrities who use their image/status to try and change things in the world. Emma Watson’s recent stand for feminism comes to mind, she is an amazing individual, and too cute too!”

I didn’t expect her to mention anything about feminism. Being accepted as a woman in society is one thing, yet after reading this, it fascinated me that she has adopted what it’s like to be a woman politically as well as emotionally.

I was curious to understand her perspective on drag queen culture.

“Well this is the thing, and you’re probably not going to like me for it, but I don’t like the majority of drag queens. The impression I get is that the majority seem to be larger than life caricatures of femininity, rather than a homage of it. They reinforce stereotypes of trans-women being easy targets for amusement and harassment.”

See, from my clubbing experience it is captivating to know that clubbing isn’t the be all and end all. It’s just a leisure pattern that celebrates drag queen culture.

I was itching to get her thoughts on religion.

“What I have a problem with is religious extremists from every religion, people who try and force their view of how their religious text say you should live your life on people who do not believe. Or those who channel such a large amount of hatred to minorities (like me) in the name of their god.” 

How can we change this? Although the drag queen culture and gay clubbing culture is celebrated and advertised in British society, isn't it an issue that discrimination still exists?

“It would be nice just to be accepted at face value as the gender I present as. If I'm dressed as a woman, treat me like one. No glances, stares, "is that a man?" comments behind me, shouts across the room, fear of using toilets, or so on. We do no harm. A lot of people do accept us, but there is a minority that makes things difficult.”

The reality is, discussing the Transgender community is a taboo subject. Even after absorbing more about her I will never understand what it’s truly like. I went into a restaurant yesterday and my waiter had better contouring than Kim K. Could I compliment his HD brows? Would that be offensive? It’s simply an ongoing controversy. Will this change for the better? We can only hope.

“I think strong women are greater role models for women of all ages. I don’t know many superheroes but I would probably be Jean Grey from the X-Men.”

M.I.A Governs Speech, Knowledge, Music and the Arts

“…the last time I read on their government website it said If I ever came back to Sri-Lanka there’s a grave waiting for me” -proclaims the enigma rapper M.I.A.

Sri Lankan born, Maya Mathangi Arulpragasm, widely known as M.I.A. Brought up in LDN and raised in the shadows of Sri Lankan civil war, a female rapper and multi-talented artist communicates political messages through a mash up of global sounds. Recognised and praised by rap icons such as Nas: “M.I.A’s sound is the future.”
Ayeeee

She also speaks through her art and so I did a quick edit inspired by her loud style.

This is how it began. Maya produced a demo tape “Galang” which gave her an online presence before getting a record deal. Once signed to XL Recordings in 2003, “Galang” was released which acclaimed No. 8 on the US dance charts!

Soon after in 2005, she released her first album “Arular” named after her father.  Regardless of her success, she gained much attention from critics who closely analysed her revolutionary narrative sandwiched by club beats, hints of electronica iced with radical rap. Like,“Bucky Done Gone”which signifies Maya’s visit to Brazil. After noticing a massive class divide, she decided to encompass Favela funk and sounds of the ghetto to break the mould on commercial radio.
WARNING: Heavy dose of libido  

Her second album “Kala” (2007) was named after her mother. And my all time FAV is  “Bird Flu”. Maya resurrects beatbox rhythms in her DIY music video; delivering gunshots with remnants of punk and political lyrics:

“Ghetto pops, food drops, stored up in my stable” illustrating one of her profound themes; governments in third world countries.
Yasssssss

This was shortly followed by her third album “Matangi” released in 2013 which shows a transition from politically inspired lyrics to blends of Middle Eastern drums. I lurrrve her song "Y.A.L.A” where it's all about, you always live again! A spin on rapper Drake’s “Y.O.L.O”
HOMEWORK: Watch the video when you're high then drop me a DM.

BUT she didn't sell as well as her last two albums and soon her career became challenged by critical acclaim.

Her alternative outlook on being a musician sets her apart from commercial artists in the present time. After being approached by big names like Timbaland, she began to refuse opportunities that would have heightened her career -as the first Sri Lankan, female rapper in the twenty first century. This makes her badass.

She focuses on her own vision and created her own label “Neet” on which she released her latest album “/\/\ /\ Y /\” (2010). Having said that, her image began to shine bright like a diamond when Jay-Z and T.I sampled her single “Paper Planes” for their track “Swagga Like Us.” This lead to an iconic Grammy performance in 2009, where Lil Wayne, T.I, Jay-Z AND rapper Kanye West performed their remix alongside Maya who rocked, despite being eight months pregnant and receiving contractions on stage. If I was her... my water would have broken ...twice.

Adele once did it and so did Maya at the Super Bowl halftime performance in 2012. (Edited by moi.)

Shit went down when Maya was given the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl halftime
performance in 2012, alongside Nicki Minaj and Madonna. The trio performed “Give Me All Your Luvin” in ornate roman costume and swept the audience... until Maya rapped her verse and stuck her middle finger up. She was scrutinized and victimized by many celebrities, NBC and NFL yet her response was:

“I don’t give a shit.”
At least she's honest.

Her bravado may not be to some people’s taste but she stands by that.

“I’m exactly the person that kind of, needs to be eradicated” she admitted in an interview with Q host, Jian Ghomeshi on CBC radio. She sits holding her head, then plays with the radio leads every five minutes, unravelling them as she processes her answers. Jian patiently waits a lengthy five seconds before she answers every question, as if she was biting her tongue.

After being asked whether her career relies on causing a stir, she quickly responded:

“The only reason you think I'm doing this to cause a stir is because no one else is doing it

That’s why you think I stick out like a sore thumb; ‘somebody who is obviously so wrong’…and it’s like…no.”

A journalist took-the-piss as Maya met New York Times journalist, Lynn Hirschberg who published an article titled “M.I.A’s Agitprop Pop”. Here, Hirschberg presented her as naïve and hypocritical; overseeing her political stand for supposed personal gain. Without hesitation... Maya backfired by tweeting “CALL ME IF YOU WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT THE N Y T TRUTH ISSUE, ill b taking calls all day bitches ;)" alongside Hirschberg’s phone number.

If you look carefully you can see me. "Bad Girls" (2013).

Indefinitely, Maya raises awareness through her music, words and her actions about issues which aren’t tackled by artists in the way that she does.

In 2010 her stay in America was questioned again, when she released a music video supporting her single “Born Free”. The video reveals a merciless truth depicting a group of red-haired youths who are gathered into a military van, taken to a derelict land where they are killed one by one. You also see, a man smoking crack, a naked couple having sex and a kid shot in the head. Ultimately, it expresses the extra-judicial murders of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan army.

But no, the video was under scrutiny and her political message was overlooked. The Guardian commented “…it also contravenes terms and conditions about levels of violence in user-uploaded content.”

Yet, a whole documentary was broadcasted by Channel 4 called “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” and that was OK’d LOL. And YouTube immediately banned the video. It’s clear that her expression challenges the conventions of a celebrity but that is what makes her different!!!

A South-Asian woman has never reached to this level of publicity in the music industry in the UK. The last time I remember a South Asian woman making POSITIVE news, is Sayeeda Warsi. The first female Pakistani Muslim to attend cabinet and news anchors gasped as she put her foot down and resigned over her disagreement with the government’s views on the Gaza conflict in 2014.
Shame Dawud Kamran.

So, no we’re not just about constantly being a victim aka Shilpa Shetty’s five minute screen time on Big Brother in 2007 in which she was called “Shilpa poppadum” and was told to “f*** off home”. Malala is another example of an iconic South Asian who smashed the glass ceiling and spoke for women’s educative rights in Pakistan…yet people still questioned why she received the Nobel Peace Prize award in 2014.
*SIGH*

Therefore as Maya continues to do what she does, perhaps it would invite more South Asian women to the public eye and be vocal instead of...sweating your tits off in A-level then buying a one way ticket to marriage/henna apprenticeships/Asda.

All I'm saying is, I'd do anything to have a kebab with her and just listen to what she has to say because it feels fucking great to be able to empathise with a warrior!!!