Covid-19 Impact on Drag Queens - Athina Darrus

There are three things that every human being needs for life, food, water and shelter. Unfortunately, these resources are not distributed equally and not treated as a right as an American. In 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a steep incline of unemployed workers. This issue with the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic was that performers and the arts have been the last thing to come back safely to allow artist to once again have an income. The drag community was especially hit hard. Historically members of the LGBTQ+ community have faced discrimination when it comes to employment and have higher unemployment rates as of recently as well.

To help the people struggling in these communities, Ru Paul Drag race season 2, 3 and All Stars 3 contestant, Shangela, put together an indicative called, "Feed the Queens." This was a fundraiser made in partnership with the Actors Fund, with the goal of $100,000 to give gift cards to grocery stores to 250+ out of work drag queens. They begun their campaign in June 2020 and held a live stream in October 2020 to promote the cause. In December 2020 they reached their goal.

It is nice to see people helping each other within the community. However, I can not help but feel put off by the fact that someone with 1.4 million followers was only able to help 250 queens. That is barely a drop in the bucket or a bandaid on a broken limb. There is so much work to be done by our government in providing support for the unemployed, but since we can not wait around, it is important that we support one another.

This was a great effort to provide support, but once the goal was met, there has been radio silence. Drag queens have still not been able to work in the same capacity as they did pre-pandemic. For most of 2020 indoor bars and dinning were completely closed in the U.S. and even a year later, things are just beginning to open. However, even with bars open, they are open at limited capacity. Less attendees means less tips and that is a huge part of Drag Queens incomes.

A new trend that has emerged from the pandemic is virtual drag shows. It is the main stream of income for a lot of drag queens. With the push for shopping small, local and black owned businesses, that has also transferred over to the drag community. There is a huge push to support your local artists. That means going to their twitch shows, Instagram lives, sending tips on Venmo or even joining a queen's Only Fans or Patreon. It is a whole new ball game that many queens did not even imagine a year ago.

Another project is The Okra Project founded in 2018. This program was started with the holiday season in mind. Focused on serving the black trans community who was lacking a feeling of family and belonging during those times. In the pandemic that isolation and feeling of loneliness was amplified. The project was originally temporary, but with continued support the initiative is still rolling.

It is important that the community continue to support one another. Through programs that are temporary and ones that have years of experience under their belt. Any little bit helps. When the world is so uncertain it is essential that we support those who bring entertainment and joy into this world.

There has been some community support, but there are still no many hurting. There is a lot of work to be done.