The last month has been a bit crazy, between all of Shaunna Rai's shows, and my own personal stuff. I gave notice at a job I hated, and then left a week earlier than I said I would. I started a new job, working in the sales/marketing department of a major bank. And, I outed myself, to not only the other new hires in my training class, but also a group of new hires from Cleveland.
I made something of a celebrity of myself, and Shaunna Rai by doing so. The instructor asked each person to name a fun fact about themselves. So, figuring that a lot of people would talk about pets, or kids and such, I wanted something that would stand out. SO, I decided to put it out there that two of my closest friends (Dan and Ryan) are Drag Queens. The instructor's response was that this was "The BEST" fun fact she had ever heard, and she was still talking about it days later.
But, by outing myself, I made a connection with a couple of people in my class. Which, was sort of the goal. At lunch, that afternoon, I started talking to an older woman (in her 50's, so older than me, but not old, by any means) about her kids. She told me that one of her sons is a drag queen in California. She then proceeded to pull out her phone, and show me Trendy Wendy's Facebook photos. Score one for a cool mom. I mean, really, this woman worked for the Navy for years, so, kudos for that! But, to be cool enough, and proud enough to show off pictures of your adult child in drag? Well, some drag queens just aren't that lucky.
I've also heard from another girl (younger than me), about a friend of hers, who is a transman. She was there as a friend, to support him, in his transition, and saw the transformation, along the way.
Anyway, so I came home from work the other night, and told Dan about Trendy Wendy's mother, and the fact that she told me to stalk Wendy's page. So, I did. And, I looked at pictures with Dan. And, he said something to the effect of "She's fishy."
In my former life, this would have meant one of two things: either, she stinks like a fish market, OR there's something off about her. Neither of which anyone would want to hear about themselves. Fortunately, with all the drag talk, and RuPaul's Drag Race, I've learned that Fishy also has another meaning...Very Feminine. In drag and trans(woman) terms, the more fishy you are, the better, because it means that you look feminine without really trying hard.
To be a little more descriptive about what I mean: in my world, there are (forgive me for a rough generalization) three classifications of drag queen makeup.
1. Gimmick makeup: Makeup done specifically for a reaction. Taffy Pulls would be a good example of this class. Her makeup tends to be pale, with bold eye shadow, and bright lipstick, that may or may not be applied properly. (It's meant to look badly done, because that's the gimmick.) Detox's Black and White for the season finale of RuPaul's Drag Race, and Jinkx Monsoon's Sugar Skull would both also fall into this category.
2. Regular Drag Makeup: I'm sure there is probably a "real" name for it, but, this is my blog, and I'm just trying to classify in my own terms, what I'm thinking. Regular Drag Makeup tends to, in person look extremely severe. The highlights are very light, and the contouring (shading) is very dark. A lot of the queens I know fall into this category.
3. Fishy Makeup: Fishy makeup, is the look that queens like Trendy Wendy go for, more of a "barely there" look. Think along the lines of a magazine advertisement...you look at the picture, and see a beautiful face...and you think of "Oh, they have makeup on," after the fact.
I made something of a celebrity of myself, and Shaunna Rai by doing so. The instructor asked each person to name a fun fact about themselves. So, figuring that a lot of people would talk about pets, or kids and such, I wanted something that would stand out. SO, I decided to put it out there that two of my closest friends (Dan and Ryan) are Drag Queens. The instructor's response was that this was "The BEST" fun fact she had ever heard, and she was still talking about it days later.
But, by outing myself, I made a connection with a couple of people in my class. Which, was sort of the goal. At lunch, that afternoon, I started talking to an older woman (in her 50's, so older than me, but not old, by any means) about her kids. She told me that one of her sons is a drag queen in California. She then proceeded to pull out her phone, and show me Trendy Wendy's Facebook photos. Score one for a cool mom. I mean, really, this woman worked for the Navy for years, so, kudos for that! But, to be cool enough, and proud enough to show off pictures of your adult child in drag? Well, some drag queens just aren't that lucky.
I've also heard from another girl (younger than me), about a friend of hers, who is a transman. She was there as a friend, to support him, in his transition, and saw the transformation, along the way.
Anyway, so I came home from work the other night, and told Dan about Trendy Wendy's mother, and the fact that she told me to stalk Wendy's page. So, I did. And, I looked at pictures with Dan. And, he said something to the effect of "She's fishy."
In my former life, this would have meant one of two things: either, she stinks like a fish market, OR there's something off about her. Neither of which anyone would want to hear about themselves. Fortunately, with all the drag talk, and RuPaul's Drag Race, I've learned that Fishy also has another meaning...Very Feminine. In drag and trans(woman) terms, the more fishy you are, the better, because it means that you look feminine without really trying hard.
To be a little more descriptive about what I mean: in my world, there are (forgive me for a rough generalization) three classifications of drag queen makeup.
1. Gimmick makeup: Makeup done specifically for a reaction. Taffy Pulls would be a good example of this class. Her makeup tends to be pale, with bold eye shadow, and bright lipstick, that may or may not be applied properly. (It's meant to look badly done, because that's the gimmick.) Detox's Black and White for the season finale of RuPaul's Drag Race, and Jinkx Monsoon's Sugar Skull would both also fall into this category.
2. Regular Drag Makeup: I'm sure there is probably a "real" name for it, but, this is my blog, and I'm just trying to classify in my own terms, what I'm thinking. Regular Drag Makeup tends to, in person look extremely severe. The highlights are very light, and the contouring (shading) is very dark. A lot of the queens I know fall into this category.
3. Fishy Makeup: Fishy makeup, is the look that queens like Trendy Wendy go for, more of a "barely there" look. Think along the lines of a magazine advertisement...you look at the picture, and see a beautiful face...and you think of "Oh, they have makeup on," after the fact.
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