Selena Minogue, who is named Alvaro was born deaf and learned American Sign Language from her older brother. and then later went to Gallaudet University, in 2010. Her sign name is the sign for 'beautiful' in American Sign Language. Because of financial insecurities she had to leave Gallaudet and that's when she met Casavina and they made Deafies in Drag.
In 2015, they then started making YouTube videos and their success has grown. Her inspiration for her drag persona is based off of two singers who she idolizes including Kylie Minogue and Selena Quintilla. She loves to make her own costumes and wig that she bases heavily off of her mother as well as Lucille Ball. Ball was a famous American actress and model, who became infamous as star of The Lucy Show. She shows this inspiration through classic hairstyles and outfits, with a fun and bright twist.
Casavina or Jimmy, was born in LA and due to complications at birth she became deaf early in her life, and she then grew up oral until at the age of eight she was able to learn American Sign Language. She later moved to Washing D.C. to attend Gallaudet University. However, she realized that she wanted something that felt more demanding, so she dropped out and began her journey of filming where she met Selena.
Her sign name for Casavina starts as a 5 hand-shape on the chin that goes back towards the ear with the “V” hand-shape. Her name means ‘house wine’ in Spanish, which stems from her drag persona being based off of Amy Winehouse. She includes Winehouse’s notorious style of a beehive hairstyle and long-winged eyeliners.
In 2018 another member of Deafies in Drag joined the team, but before that she was a long-standing supporter behind the scenes. Her name is Ms. Wanda White, and she has worked as a show host as well as an actress in skits. She is not a part of the main duo, but she is a very important member.
Deafies of Drag works to educate people on the Deaf and Latino communities. Their videos include comedic situations on language barriers, deaf problems and triumphs, as well as beauty content. An important part of the partnership of Deafies in Drag is that Casavina and Selena Minogue have been in a long-term relationship. Their relationship shows through their chemistry in their videos and it compliments well through in their comedy and direction in their sketches.
Deafies in Drag have toured around the world for the past couples of years. They have been everywhere around the United States and have been to festivals overseas. They were planning on traveling much more before the pandemic but plans clearly changed. In March, they were on a tour to some cities to have live shows. There was even a show in Chicago, but the age requirement was twenty-one and over. For Deafies in Drag they make their appearance mainly on YouTube, where they make small comedy sketches; however, since the pandemic they have been able to only post a few videos a month. This was because it was challenging mentally with the Black Lives Matter movement, the election, and of course Coronavirus. These all combined left both Selena and Casavina to not have the motivation or the ability to work. They made sure to post on Instagram after the death of George Floyd and for the blackout, but since then they have not done anything more for the movement. This would have been wonderful to see them using their platform, and I do wish they had done more. The content they have released on YouTube since the beginning of the pandemic in the United States includes the deaf struggles with masks. However, they have been making many education videos for hearing people on the deaf community. They released a recent video where they discussed how Casavina was considering quitting due to the stress, but they are still here today, and they are motivated to continue their channel.
Their role in the drag community is creating comedic sketches, that are completely new and refreshing for everyone. This is unlike what other queens create because they center many of their experiences as deaf people. Their content is so funny, and it’s so clear they love that they do. American Sign Language is visually a very loud language and it allows for so many more discussions to take place. When ASL is combined with drag, the signing becomes much bigger and sassier, which adds to the personas of Selena, Casavina, and Ms. Wanda White. There have been a few other deaf drag queens through the years, but none have as much infamy and image such as Deafies in Drag.
-Abby Bensel
Works Cited
Deafies in Drag. “2020 Hit Us Hard!” YouTube, YouTube, 20 Nov. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxh5046xkPE.
Deafies in Drag. “Meet Deafies in Drag.” Deafies in Drag, deafiesindrag.com/meet-the-deafies-in-drag.
“Faces Behind the Screen: Deafies in Drag.” 3Play Media, 4 Jan. 2019, www.3playmedia.com/learn/faces-behind-screen/deafiesindrag/.
Young, Thomsen. “Exclusive Interview with Deafies in Drag.” SG Weekly, 13 June 2017, silentgrapevine.com/2017/06/exclusive-interview-with-deafies-in-drag.html.
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