Atlanta Drag From Then To Now
Sitting on 10th Street just outside the southeast corner of Piedmont Park is an old bar adorned in rainbow flags. Blake’s is a last surviving remnant of a bygone era of the city’s epic gay nightlife scene of the late 20th century. And local queer people have descended on this venue every night for decades.
On any given night at the bar’s entrance, you’re immediately greeted by another Atlanta staple, Lena Lust. Standing at an epic six-foot-two-inches in her heels, this grandiose entertainer is larger than life, literally. That’s her height before she decides which wig she’s wearing that night, which is always extravagant. Complementing the wig is an eccentric outfit made of head-to-toe sequins and furs, a smile, and a loving personality to match
Drag is a form of entertainment. A drag queen is a person who uses clothing and make-up to imitate and often accentuate female features for the purpose of performing. For a long time, drag was only crossdressing men, but recent queer discussion has booted this stereotype and the definition has expanded. But the persona one is left with and entertained by is drag.
The local historians of Atlanta queer culture know Lust well. The Chicago native has resided proudly in the Atlanta drag scene since 1977, well before drag was considered acceptable for primetime television.
“When I moved here in ’77, the drag scene in Atlanta was totally different,” said Lust. “We had a lot more clubs for the entertainers to perform at.” From downtown to midtown, all along Cheshire, and even into Buckhead, gay clubs were everywhere.
Lust reminisced on Atlanta being circuit party central in the southeast, featuring the Hotlanta Party that always starred Altanta’s drag scene. She recalled bars like Sweet Gum Head on Cheshire that she refers to as the show bar of the South.
Atlanta has long served as an epicenter of southern drag and has produced legendary drag queens. From Mr. Charlie Brown to RuPaul to Lena Lust herself, Atlanta has always been the stomping grounds for great queens.
Lust commented on the fall of the former great bars. Between the years of 2000 and now, gay bars in Atlanta have fell from 20+ to less that 10. Yet straight people seem to be coming to Blake’s more now than ever before. “They come to watch the show,” she said. “Drag is so new and exciting to them. To [queer people], drag is the only forum of entertainment we’ve had for decades. It’s gotten us through some really tough times.”
The show Lena is referring to is a weekly event where the bar’s resident cast of queens lip sync to favorite songs while dancing around the room telling jokes to make the crowd laugh, and making sure everyone is having a good time. One is hard pressed to find a face that isn’t smiling in the crowd.
In regard to the recent uptick in straight attendees, Lena credits RuPaul’s Drag Race. In recent years, the rise of the Emmy-winning reality television show has led to an apparent increased interest in local drag.
It is a little-known fact that RuPaul began her drag career here in Atlanta. Lena remembers clearly RuPaul making an entrance into the Atlanta drag scene in the 80s. “[Rupaul] brought a freshness to the city that even the queer community wasn’t ready for.” But they learned to appreciate it slowly and the local drag scene was a launching pad for the queen’s first music career and her move to New York.
RuPaul’s Drag Race moved from Logo TV to VH1 in 2017 at the beginning of the show’s nineth season. This mainstream cable network made the show more accessible to a heteronormative audience and the viewership expanded exponentially. Season 10 saw a weekly viewership of 723,000 people, up 2% from season nine. Season 11 which aired in the spring of 2019 is reportedly another growth year for the show and it was announced in August that season 12 is on its way.
Several Atlanta queens have made their national debut on the set of the show, including winners like Violet Chachki and Bob the Drag Queen, winners of seasons eight and nine respectively. Chachki was memorable for her avant-garde approach to fashion and her incredibly cinched waste line.
Chachki was also a part of the original cast of The Other Show, a local drag company that used to perform at the now closed Jungle Atlanta bar and now calls Midtown Moon home. The show turned seven-years-old on Nov 2, and the newest version of the cast performed at their new resident bar to celebrate. Edie Cheezburger, the show’s longtime host, along with her cast mates kicked off their eighth year with a resounding performance that brought in the bar’s second largest crowd of 2019.
“This show is simple,” said Cheezburger. “It’s about having a good time and providing this cast of creatives with a safe space to show off their enormous talent.”
Her cast mates, Or Chid, Molly Rimswell, Taejah L. Thomas and Jaye Lish, all were present and celebrated with the attendees. “As the newest member of the cast, I still have the drive of someone who feels like they have something to prove,” said Or Chid who only permanently joined the cast a year ago.
“These girls are like family to me, and I’m their baby sister. There’s a legacy to be part of this family, even if it’s one of the youngest casts in the city. We’re the new age of drag that’s redefining the art to fit us. I hope I’m doing my sisters proud.”
Just like the cast at Blake’s, The Other Show has also seen a rise in heterosexual fans. “We actually have had a winner of Drag Race come from our group,” said Cheezburger. “It’s as though she went and won the gay Olympics. It’s no secret that [Chachki] was once a member of this cast, but we try not to let that stress us out. We just do our thing every week for our audience. They seem to like it, because they keep coming back.”
Attendees of the show weren’t let down. Allen Ward, a gay Atlantan, gushed over the performances. “Every time I’m here, I’m excited to see what’s new and exciting. These girls never disappoint. They’re always experimenting.”
Ward went on to comment on drag in Atlanta, “These new girls are exciting because they come from a good history. Atlanta has a herstory of producing exciting queens. I hope that the community will recognize and embrace these girls. For me, they are something that makes me proud to call Atlanta home.”
