Hiya darlings! Emma here, your resident pink-tutu clad time traveller, bringing you another sparkly, fabulous peek into the history of our divine drag family!
This month, I'm twirling back to October 10th, 1969! My fabulous pink tutu, fuelled by the magic of glitter and sheer, pure love for all things drag, landed me in the heart ofā¦ wait for itā¦ drumrollā¦ NEW YORK CITY!
Can you imagine? 1969. The moon landing just happened. And guess what, darling? So did The Cockettes.
This group of artists, with a passion for the outlandish, theatrical, and unabashedly queer, were performing their hearts out at a little theatre called The CafĆ© au Go Go in the Village. I mean, how utterly fabulous! Now, I donāt know about you, but āCafe au Go Goā just screams disco. The Cockettes even had this gorgeous, long-haired, incredibly cool man called Sylvester - now there's a name with an attitude - doing their makeup. I felt my glitter-loving heart skip a beat.
I just knew this was a day that was going to leave me covered in sparkles and overflowing with the spirit of fabulous.
I snuck into the back of the venue - honestly, I can't resist a good back-stage gossip! This wasn't your regular show, darlings. Think sequins, feathers, and theatrical, over-the-top routines - almost like an avant garde cabaret performance - except WAY more glamorous! These performers, including The Cockettes, pushed the boundaries of drag, embraced a playful approach to gender, and it just had this revolutionary spirit about it. Like, imagine, a drag show challenging societal norms? The audacity, the panache, it just delighted me!
Honestly, it felt like stepping into a whole different world, full of joyous acceptance and radical expression. This era - the very birth pangs of what we know as the drag scene today ā felt absolutely electrifying, darling! Imagineā¦ performing in a coffee shop, challenging convention, with only passion and a whole lot of glitter as your fuel! The Cockettes ā true pioneers, inspiring a new wave of artists and creatives who just wanted to shine, expressing themselves without apology!
But the best bit wasā¦ they wore tutus! And they even called themselves *The Cockettes, like they were practically asking for a pink tutu visit! Imagine their excitement when I landed in that shimmering, pink tutu of mine! (I have to tell you, darling, it was almost too much excitement for even this pink-loving blogger!)
We giggled, we gossiped, we exchanged makeup tips - yes, even back in the 70s, drag queens were all about fabulous face contouring and lashes! But I knew my time in 1969 was limited, I had more tutus to wear, and more drag shows to witness. And letās face it, darling, Iām always itching for more fashion inspiration, particularly if it involves pink, glitter, or feather boas - because honestly, the bigger, the better, darling!
This era in drag wasn't about perfecting the technique, it was about pushing boundaries and saying āWe're here, weāre fabulous, and weāre not going anywhere!ā. It was justā¦ revolutionary.
Thatās why Iām here, my lovely readers, because sharing this journey with you, telling you these tales of fabulous, reminds us all of the history of drag: The creativity, the resilience, the heart that drives this whole amazing community, from New York's avant garde performances to the grand stage productions of today, from those pioneers like The Cockettes to all the beautiful queens gracing the scene now.
But as always, the message is the same - Be bold. Be creative. Be you! And never forget to twirl with the confidence of a queen in a pink tutu - just like me! Until next time, darlings, I hope you all have a truly fabulous month, filled with sunshine, sparkle and of courseā¦ lots of tutus. XOXO
