{"id":26691,"date":"2025-03-19T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T16:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/?p=26691"},"modified":"2025-03-13T14:25:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T21:25:02","slug":"pieces-of-performance-queercrip-dream-monster-boy-gorgeous-continues-drag-takeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2025\/03\/19\/pieces-of-performance-queercrip-dream-monster-boy-gorgeous-continues-drag-takeover\/","title":{"rendered":"Pieces of Performance<\/em>: Queercrip dream monster Boy Gorgeous continues drag takeover"},"content":{"rendered":"

The queercrip monster of our dreams, Boy Gorgeous, is always here to make a statement, share their story, and just have a good old camp time slaying any stage they can find.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Starting their drag takeover in 2021, they\u2019re not only part of the amazing TeaHaus drag family, they\u2019re also a producer and host of the bi-monthly show They\/Them\/Theirs<\/i> in Nanaimo. With strong ties to community, this disabled and capable human takes pride in opening spots for queer youth to be able to try drag at Caf\u00e9 Runway shows, performed on the last Saturday of every month at Caf\u00e9 Fantastico.<\/p>\n

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Boy Gorgeous makes waves in Victoria\u2019s drag community (photo by Katie Zeilstra).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Accessibility takes on a whole new meaning when they\u2019re in charge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[I want to see] more accessible venues, with producers that prioritize disabled performers and audience members,\u201d they say. \u201cI want more COVID awareness, less strobes, less stairs. We deserve more than being an afterthought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being a disabled performer, there\u2019s an underlying frustration when one needs to access a space to perform but their body won\u2019t allow them to make it there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been involved in performing arts my whole life and wasn\u2019t able to continue for a long time due to my health,\u201d they say. \u201cMy partner Olive ThisTea helped show me that drag was possible as a disabled, transgender individual.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most memorable number they\u2019ve been able to perform takes inspiration from the queercrip and cripplepunk movements, and\u2014boy, oh boy\u2014was it a ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy all-time favourite [is] \u2018Monster\u2019 by Skillet. It\u2019s a performance that plays with my relationship with my health and medical horror, [and] I play with a black and bloody IV bag, which I rip out of my arm and suck on until my mouth is black and gross,\u201d they say.<\/p>\n

What do they really want the audience to feel from their numbers?<\/p>\n

\u201cCathartic release,\u201d they say. \u201cI want to get a reaction out of both the audience and myself. Whether it\u2019s disabled solidarity, horror and discomfort, joy and laughter\u2014the emotional release is the entire point.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their day to day life, Boy can be found producing beautiful works of art for others and making them permanent at the Brass Iris tattoo studio, which welcomes all and has become a safe haven for those that are immunocompromised and wanting to be tattooed. Creating welcome and accessible spaces, they say, has gone hand in hand with their own process toward healing and self-love.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrag has instilled in me a confidence in my body, gender, and expression,\u201d they say. \u201cI understand myself and the people around me on such a deeper level because of drag.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boy has lived within and outside the bounds of being disabled, but has an inspiring and important message for others, modelled after the communities they look up to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese communities are full of rad people who refuse to let their disabilities and trans identities be boiled down into nothing more than a sterilized, medicalized existence,\u201d says Boy. \u201cWe don\u2019t look or act the way you expect us to, and we refuse to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Managing to find time to prioritize self-care while being on the grind has led to this monster\u2019s positive and devilishly delightful takeover as the madness and lover boy of our nightmares.<\/p>\n

Want more of Boy Gorgeous? Follow their socials at @boygorgeousdrag<\/a>, @thisteahaus<\/a>, and @erynalexanderr<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The queercrip monster of our dreams, Boy Gorgeous, is always here to make a statement, share their story, and just have a good old camp time slaying any stage they can find.\u00a0 Starting their drag takeover in 2021, they\u2019re not only part of the amazing TeaHaus drag family, they\u2019re also a producer and host of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26692,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,329],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-columns","category-march-19-2025"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t