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Slate Culture Feed

Working: Drag Queens Are Under Attack and Fighting Back

Slate Culture Feed

Slate Podcasts

Music, Tv & Film, Arts

4.22K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2023

⏱️ 52 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, host June Thomas talks to drag queen, author, and activist Lil Miss Hot Mess. In the interview, LMHM explains the origins of her drag persona and drag name and discusses the skills she had to build up early in her career. Then she discusses her work with Drag Story Hour and talks about what it means for drag to be simultaneously more mainstream and constantly under attack. Finally, she discusses her two children's books, The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish and If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It.  After the interview, June and co-host Isaac Butler talk about the importance of playfulness and humor in creative work.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, LMHM talks about the current hostile political climate and her feud with senator Maro Rubio.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675.   Podcast production by Cameron Drews.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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1:10.2

I don't want kids to just think that drag is dress up and that it's pretty and that it's

1:14.4

entertaining I want them to know that it is destructive and that it is about asking questions

1:20.6

and imagining a more just and fabulous world and that it it does have teeth behind it as well.

1:30.2

Welcome back to working I'm your host Isaac Butler and I'm your other host

1:34.4

june tomis june it is always a delight who did you speak to for this week's working well

1:40.4

first of all say my six same the voice we heard at the beginning of the show belongs to drag performer

1:46.2

lil miss hot mess amazing and what led you to want to talk to lil miss hot mess so there have been

1:52.6

so many attacks on drags and attempts to ban it of late and I was reminded that not only is drag

1:58.8

an art form it's also a way that a lot of people make their living so it felt like a good time

2:05.5

to talk to a drag artist about their creative process and lil miss hot mess is a storied queen

2:12.0

she has performed on saturday night live among other places but she's also an academic and author

2:18.0

of children's books about drag and an activist who's on the board of drag story hours so she

2:23.9

seemed like a great source on this topic we should also probably mention that you know both in the

2:29.3

above and throughout this interview you'll be referring to little miss hot mess by her stage name

...

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