{"id":9391,"date":"2022-06-09T14:16:11","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T13:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?p=9391"},"modified":"2023-06-21T11:49:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T10:49:41","slug":"my-life-as-a-deafblind-drag-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/blog\/my-life-as-a-deafblind-drag-king\/","title":{"rendered":"My life as a deafblind drag king"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Max is a deafblind drag king from Cambridgeshire. They explain how being deafblind affects their performances and how venues can be more accessible to performers like them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My name is Max, but some people know me as Papa Smear. I am a deafblind drag king based in Cambridgeshire. Drag kings are drag artists that typically play with masculinity (in all meanings of the word) as part of their drag, and anybody can do it regardless of their gender. I have a rare visual impairment called Visual Snow Syndrome, and I am also Deaf. I sit on the milder end of the deafblind spectrum. When the lighting is perfect I can easily be perceived as sighted and hearing. However, perfect lighting seldom exists, least of all at drag shows. Or in front of my mirror apparently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Papa
Papa Smear is taking a selfie while holding a ring light up to their face.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Making mistakes look deliberate has become part of the fun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Getting into drag usually (for me at least) involves a lot of powders – be it foundation, contour, eyeshadows, glitter etc. Because of my visual impairment, my entire field of vision is covered in a thick TV static, which makes it hard to distinguish between what is the powder, and what is just my eyesight. This very often makes it very difficult to see how much pigment is on the end of my bristles, which has lead to some \u201cinteresting\u201d looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has become part of the fun. How can I make the big orange smudge look like it\u2019s meant to be there? My visual impairment adds to this, because what looks nice in my bedroom often looks overly bold under bright lights, or completely disappears when I enter a club. I like to think that I\u2019ve figured out this balance now: I can put on a passable face in about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The venues I perform in can be inaccessible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Walking into a venue, it\u2019s often very loud, and the spotlights on stage leave some areas far too dark, and others far too bright. I wear hearing aids with voice recognition to help with this, but with the music and dozens of people talking at once, understanding sounds can still be very difficult. My tinted lenses help with the bright lights, but they make it a little harder in the dark spots. I usually bring a small notebook for people to write on if I\u2019m having a particularly hard time, and I carry a red and white symbol cane so people give me space and help me out if I need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Outdoors,
Max shows their cane off.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I\u2019m on stage, though, it\u2019s just me and the music. I practice as much as I can beforehand so that I know all my words, and all the timings of the song. I can\u2019t always hear the song clearly, so it really helps to practice the song on a really quiet volume so I don\u2019t have to rely on my hearing. I can also ask the hosts to turn the volume up, or turn a speaker towards me to help. Green flags I look for in a venue are hosts that actively want to get involved in making the venue accessible for everyone, and hosts that allow flexibility around the theme or the energy of the piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to make drag open for all<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are so many ways to make drag accessible for artists with sensory loss. Fellow drag performer Sigourney Beaver and I have talked about how hosts can make shows accessible for performers like us<\/a>. A lot of it is stuff that we as drag artists have to take care of, but there are many ways the hosts can get involved in too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inviting a deaf person who uses British Sign Language (BSL)<\/a> on stage during the introduction to teach the audience how to use BSL applause is a great idea, and for me, makes my performance super accessible. I can\u2019t hear my track if they\u2019re clapping and cheering over it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also have great fun including my sight cane and my hearing aids in my performances. Have I used my symbol cane to pole dance? Yes. Do I want to do a rendition of singing in the rain and use my symbol cane as the umbrella? Also yes. Can I actually dance? Not so much, no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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