Hello and welcome to season 9, episode 2 of Badgays, a podcast all about evil and complicated

queer people in history. My name's Hugh Lemmy. I'm a writer and author. And I'm Ben Miller,

a writer and historian working on a new biography of the fashion designer Rudy Germrink.

So last week we talked about the architect of rock and roll and professional Jack Offerer.

Little Richard, who we're talking about

this week, Ben? This week, we're talking about someone that I think many people in our audience

will be familiar with. I think many people who listen to this show will have seen Jenny

Littingston's 1990 documentary, Paris is Burning. Excellent film. An exploration of black and Latino ball culture in New York City.

And one of the film's primary interview interlocutorist is Miss Dorian Corey.

Incredible. It's one of the film's most quotable characters. She's a trans woman and a drag performer, and she says,

I apologize for bastardizing these quotes

without the affect of her voice, Shade comes from reading. Reading came first. Reading is the real

art form of insults. You get in a smart crack and everyone laughs in kikis because you found a flawed

and exaggerated it, then you've got a good read going. Shade is, I don't tell you you're

ugly. I don't have to tell you because you know you're. And that's Shane. Oh my God, so she got

a film. I'm so portable. My favorite read ever actually comes from another magnificent

drag bar performer Literaries Royale who at one point was asked in a sort of mock presidential debate

about a time that she'd made peace, and she said, about 30 seconds ago, I lived in Biss O'Hara, and I realized that she is ugly, and I'm a peace with him.

But anyway, the film is full of clunk kids, young kids, and Doreen Corey is older, right, somewhat of a survivor.

She says, I come from the old school, big costumes, feathers and beads.

They don't have that anymore.

Now it's all about designers, not about what you create, but what you can acquire.

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