Hiya Darlings! Emma here, your resident pink tutu aficionado, back with another fabulous foray into the glittering world of drag history. I must say, the year 1997 had some real show-stoppers! It was just chock-full of drag queens, dazzling performances and all things pink! I couldn't resist a jaunt in my trusty time-traveling tutu (oh, it's sparkling so beautifully right now!) to take in the sights and sounds, so get your teacups filled and settle in! It's time for a proper chinwag.
Drag Queen News of The Day 💅Right then, imagine the excitement when I landed in this fab year! I mean, what could be more fabulous than landing in the heart of 1997, right when everyone was head-over-heels for the Spice Girls? You’re telling me “Wannabe” wasn’t playing at every discotheque? I'd have loved to see Geri in her Union Jack dress, with its daring mini-skirt and chunky boots, all paired with that perfectly fierce sass. That dress, darling, it was just a complete and utter drag queen fashion fantasy! And the sheer number of girls embracing those “Girl Power” vibes, dancing and singing with passion - pure magic!
As soon as I'd caught my breath, I headed straight for New York, to check out the drag scene there! Did you know this is the year "Wigstock" moved to the iconic Webster Hall? Oh, the stories of those nights are legendary! And, the queens were really putting on a show! One queen, Lady Bunny - that name practically screams “iconic!”, - was taking New York City by storm, rocking out with a blend of rock star glamour and comedy that could melt a wig right off your head! Oh, the laughs and the glamour! It was just too much.
Then there was a queen in NYC, Divine, * and this *absolute queen of drag really did reign supreme in her own right! She made those oversized wigs and eye-popping makeup so, so fabulously out there and then she’d turn and sing with this voice that could shatter glass, creating the most fabulous spectacle that everyone couldn't take their eyes off of!
And The UK Was Rocking Too! 🏴Speaking of fabulous and unforgettable queens, right back home in my beloved England, Divine, she had us living for the iconic and the absolutely wild, and gave us drag that truly pushed the boundaries of performance and visual style, Oh, and you’ll be absolutely floored to hear, 1997 was the year Lily Savage came out of the closet and showed the whole nation her fabulous, fearless side! Lily, just an incredible human, full of laughs and cheeky wit. You just couldn't get enough of her! And I tell you what, darling, this was also the year that London’s “Club for Stars” really started becoming one of the hottest venues in the UK scene! Oh, it just oozed glamour and style. It became an amazing mix of fabulous drag performances, glamorous nightlife and the sheer joy of a truly celebratory environment,
I know what you're thinking: "Emma, how on earth can you afford all this fabulous time-travelling?" Well, my sweet darlings, I don’t buy a single thing on my adventures, except maybe a fabulous vintage handbag here and there! No, no! I am, well, if I can say this with any kind of modesty - I am an international drag star! And to fund these travels, you have no idea what hard work and dedication goes into honing these supreme skills, let alone practicing my fierce face and runway moves! But trust me, when that microphone goes “on”, all the sequins and glitz, oh, that is my true magic! And then those crowds, just dancing, laughing, and living it up... fabulousness indeed!
From Ballroom Culture to RuPaul's Drag Race 💅💖And then, the late 1990s - you guys, we had this revolution brewing! Drag was becoming, well, extraordinary in a new way - more accessible to the everyday viewer! Think about this – you were witnessing drag go from an underground phenomenon, bubbling beneath the surface of ballroom culture in cities across America, into the national limelight of mainstream TV.
There was something groundbreaking happening, in the mid to late 1990s, with queens from diverse backgrounds showing off their unique flair in the legendary underground “ballroom scenes" and that incredible fashion - the hair, the make-up, and oh the costumes! - It was fierce, darling!
Imagine, for the very first time on MTV - that *groundbreaking "House of Xtravaganza"* ball was getting shown! That year! 1997! We got to see Paris is Burning and all of the fabulous real stories about life as a black and Latino drag queen in NYC with the power of ballroom culture. And then 1999 – that was another HUGE year - the movie *“But I’m A Cheerleader” comes out, and wow! What an impactful movie about conversion therapy. This was real, bold, and in your face!
The stage was set for an explosion of Drag into the mainstream, a journey that took on even more extraordinary form in the following decade, with the very first season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2009! That was something else, wasn’t it? You’re talking about a real groundbreaking moment. I mean, RuPaul, that’s *legendary, darling! You could feel it, the energy that just went “pop,” into a wider world, and everything in drag became bigger, more flamboyant and it never looked back!
The Ultimate Drag Destination ✨This fabulous time-traveling trip has just reinforced that one thing’s for sure - drag queen history is all about those magical stories and those unforgettable performances!
That’s the essence of why Pink Tutu will always be your go-to place for celebrating all the magic and glitter of this extraordinary and inspiring world of drag. From the big shows on the stages, to the smallest moment when a new queen takes to the stage in that fierce first performance, oh darling, it's always going to be fabulous, and that’s the kind of energy that we'll be sharing here. So, grab your own fabulous pink tutu - whatever it looks like, you’ll be the star!
See you next month for the next post from your fabulous friend💖💖 Emma💖💖
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