Author: Sophie Gonzalez
Photo creds: Sophia Gonzalez
Every Sunday, the youth around Capitol Hill find community and connection at Tailwind Café through their shared collective love of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The viewing party and show are hosted by drag queen Holly Cow (Instagram @hollycowwwww), a current Seattle University student, and Gayle Marriage (Instagram @gayle_marriage), an alumnus of Seattle University. In Seattle, most drag performances are restricted to areas like bars, which serve a community of over twenty-one. Events like the weekly watch party create a space for queer youth to get involved while building a deep and meaningful community.
The performances are not the only thing going on during the weekly Sunday events. The attendees and the queens who also perform during the watch party sit together and watch the newest episode of the latest season of RuPaul’s Drag Racetogether. The crowd often shares the same reactions to the drama and performances that are the focus of the show. Watch parties, in general, provide a space for a community to deepen. Where else could queer youth in Seattle talk about the horrendous design of a runway look or whether a queen did not perform to the best of their abilities during a challenge? The watch party event provides a space for people to build an impactful community with people who understand each other. This season’s audience is especially exciting to be around because Seattle is represented on the Main Stage. Whenever Jane Don’t appears on screen during the viewing party, the crowd at Tailwind Café is extra loud, extra enthusiastic, and just extra hyped to have their city represented on national television. With Jane Don’t doing phenomenal so far during the season, even though we are only two episodes in, not only me, but the whole city of Seattle is rallying behind her in support of her success.
For the rare drag events in Seattle that allow people under twenty-one into the space, there is normally a fee, or the event is held in an inconvenient location or space. The close proximity of Tailwind Café to schools like Seattle University and even Seattle Central College makes the art of drag accessible to queer youth. To enter the event, there is a sliding entry fee, and having it be sliding rather than a fixed price is very important. All the funds from the sliding entry fee go to a local Seattle charity, Fundación Corazón, a food bank in the University District that provides meals and food items for immigrant families. This is also beneficial for college students, as there is often a budget constraint since they are paying for college, and, to be fair, life in general is very expensive. Finding spaces and events like this is rare. At the same time, by going to the watch party every Sunday, you are supporting queer art in a way that does not get shown or supported often. Drag, in general, only gets popularized if it is on television, like RuPaul’s Drag Race. Not that there is anything negative about the show, as most queer people are fans of the hit television series because it uplifts and brings queer-centered spaces into existence, like the watch party. However, there is also a larger factor: drag queens often do not receive light, love, and attention unless they resemble stars made famous through television.
The show also gives drag performers a platform to display their art. Normally, there are three drag artists in each show: Holly Cow, Gayle Marriage, and a guest performer. Each performer dazzles the crowd by lip-syncing to song tracks. From the first two shows I have been to, there have been laughs, giggles, and the classic “ooos” and gasps from the crowd.
After the show, people linger to chat with each other, connecting and commenting on what just happened during the newest episode while talking about other topics and connections. After the show, I spoke with several attendees who said this was their first time seeing local drag before, meaning the only drag queens they had seen were either stars on RuPaul’s Drag Race or performers not from the area. Everyone walks away from the event in high spirits, having just witnessed and been able to partake in a community that appreciates queer art and gender expression.
Sophie Gonzalez | Music and Arts reporter