Renowned equality activist and drag queen Asifa Lahore has teamed up with 27 drag artists of South Asian heritage from around the world to launch the #BrownDragExists campaign, highlighting the lack of representation, both online and in venues, within the LGBTQ+ community. Jason Reid found out more…
Hi Asifa, why did you start the #BrownDragExists campaign?
During the lockdown I’ve been noticing that drag artists of South Asian heritage were not visible online, or acquiring the same spaces as other drag artists from different creeds and races. And I wanted to get that highlighted. I also wanted to show that this is prevalent not only in virtual spaces but also in physical spaces within the LGBT+ drag/cabaret scene, and also on media platforms like RuPaul’s Drag Race. So I reached out online because I wanted to create a video, and I was unaware of the the plethora of artists out there. Some of them are underground and only use their drag to go out and have a good night out. In terms of performers, there’s so many around the world who want to be out and proud. I’m so glad that many of them contributed to the campaign.
Do you think the omission of South Asian drag is conscious or subconscious?
Brown drag artists are being erased. But I do think it’s a subconscious erasure. I think it’s embedded in the masses not knowing about South Asian drag, and ignorance surrounding it. Also fear surrounding it; we are living in a post-9/11, very politically divided world at the moment, and anything that’s seen as political or different or something that isn’t understood, is subconsciously erased.
How do you envisage this changing for the better?
With South Asian drag artists being forced to really shout the loudest and highlight themselves because of the erasure, I hope what will change is that promoters/venues/online platforms will really strive to include brown drag artists as much as possible. Really reach out to all the denominations in the LGBTQ+ community to find these drag artists.
Tell us about some South Asian drag artists you think we should be seeing and hearing more of.
In the UK, there’s artists like Lucky Roy Singh, an amazing Manchester-based lip-syncer who should get more recognition. Val Qaeda, who’s also Manchester based, does a lot of work in the Canal Street venues, and I don’t think she gets as much of a platform as she should be entitled to. Two others I think are super interesting: Prophet Drag, an AFAB artist who is really thinking outside the box when it comes to political drag, and Mineral Waters who is an amazing hostess and lip-syncer.
What’s your message to allies?
This is a really challenging and difficult conversation for so many LGBTQ+ people in the country today, and I think what we need to start doing is looking at lineups and calling out anything that isn’t diverse in every sense of the word – whether that’s including black, South Asian heritage, or East Asian heritage artists. We should not be afraid to call out lineups and platforms that aren’t diverse. It’s only really with allies that we can get more work, and that vital diversity and inclusivity.
Finally, what’s your message to venues and bookers?
To venue managers and bookers, I say this: You should include brown drag artists because the South Asian community is statistically the largest ethnic minority community in the UK and we are constantly erased from all drag platforms. A lot of it is down to ignorance, fear, not understanding our drag, but the reality is that we are just as entertaining as many other drag artists in the UK. We should have access to all drag platforms. Not including us and constantly erasing us is a subconscious form of racism.
Watch the video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VZDUOn01o2w&feature=youtu.be
