My Brother the Queen

Life can be a real drag sometimes. That statement typically has a negative connotation. To Matt Mayfield, a resident of Cedar Falls, IA, it is something to be exclaimed! Matt is an aspiring drag queen who will soon be making his debut at Kings and Queens Club in Waterloo, IA. Thanks to drag superstar RuPaul’s TV series, RuPaul’s Drag Race, a source of inspiration for Matt, drag performance has seen increased interest across the nation. It is much more complex than a man simply wearing women’s clothing and makeup.

Perhaps the most common misconception is that every drag performer just wants to be a woman. A layperson would assume that a drag performer simply has to don women's attire and call it a night but it is more grueling than that. "'Oh my god drag is an uncomfortable sport!' Quoting another queen, Tempest DuJuor. … It's very hot. It's very sweaty. You tape things places you never thought you would. And it's gonna be under lights and I'm gonna have to be as flawless as I can be, virtually all the time." Mayfield explains. It is understandable how tough it can be when you take into consideration all the costumes and makeup involved in transforming the average male physique into the feminine form.

"It used to take me four-and-a-half to five hours, now it takes me about two!" This achievement is made all the more impressive considering the novice drag queen had never worked with makeup until February of this year. Equally important to any drag queen's appearance is their name. I asked Matt how he came up with the name of his drag persona, Maj Kadabra Allakazam. "I really couldn't let go of this idea that I wanted to be a magical school girl. And, specifically, a Japanese magical school girl. And, I didn't wanna necessarily be appropriating so I kind of went a little more western with my magic reference." His persona's middle and last name come from the phrase 'abra kadabra allakazam' minus the 'abra'. The phrase also ties into one of Matt's other loves, Pokemon. "It's a Pokemon evolutionary line..." The name Maj stuck with him, simply “because it rhymed with vag[ina].” Not quite as eloquent but perfectly suitable for the crass, pun-laden world of drag!

A good drag queen needs more than just piles of makeup and elaborate (often homemade) costumes. One essential skill is known as “reading”. Reading, in the culture of drag, is most easily related to celebrity roasts that you may see on TV. “Reading is basically just insulting somebody,” stated Mayfield. Drag queens also “need to be witty” and must be able to deliver “responses on the spot”. They should also be adept at hosting duties since MC is a common position for queens to occupy at an event. Lip syncing is another prized ability in the world of drag. Performances often involve a queen (or queens) lip syncing to current and classic top 40 songs. It is a flamboyant, extravagant world that drag queens inhabit but it is not without its share of danger.

Members of the L.G.B.T. (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community are twice as likely to be the target of a hate crime than African-Americans. The occurrence of hate crimes against them has even surpassed that of crimes against Jews according to data collected and analyzed by the FBI. "Nearly a fifth of the 5,462 so-called single-bias hate crimes reported to the F.B.I. in 2014 were because of the target’s sexual orientation, or, in some cases, their perceived orientation," according to a June 16 New York Times article written by Haeyoun Park and Iaryna Mykhyalyshyn. To reiterate, not all drag performers are inherently gay or transgender. Most drag performers do not identify as women, they are simply wearing a costume and performing. Matt explains, "There is no right or wrong and there are as many different ways of doing it/performing it as there are queens. Therefore, anyone can be a queen if they truly want. But that doesn't make them gay, transgendered or a woman. It just makes them awesome!" It is unfortunate that these problems still exist despite the world being more accepting of the L.G.B.T. community than ever before. Ignorance and confusion can be potent accelerants of rage in any society and the steadily increasing visibility causes some to lash out in more extreme manners than the past. The tragedy of Orlando, Florida being a prime example.

"I will have either been on RuPaul's Drag Race or I will be filming RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars season three. Because I will be on that damn show, Hell or high water, I will become a fan favorite, I will be able to perform and travel the world, and that is how it's just going to happen because I decided it's so. So, in three years, this will be my career and I will be able to do it to my heart's content and do only that and still get paid."

Matt has some truly lofty ambitions but I have every confidence in his abilities to make his dreams come true. I have known him for over 15 years and consider him to be the little brother I never had. Thanks to the world of drag, he is also becoming the little sister I never knew I wanted. These next three years are likely to be truly Maj-ical indeed!

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