On Parade

parade As soon as you line us up though it starts to be about comparison, and out of that comes competition. Competition in sport may be OK, but, if I may get on my high horse for a moment, I have never known a fair drag-queen competition. They are always fixed. I would say that, never having won one, but then most competitions based on showing off are fixed. You can try to have rules, or say you have rules, but it’s a given that no-one will take any notice of them. In the Wirral it was her turn to win having been on the scene for longest. In Chester the judges’ favourite had paid her local dues. In Helsinki the best voice won, but the look…who knew what was going to be favoured? In Liverpool the club diva won. In Sydney the costume won. In London the pushy one won. In Brisbane the regular won. You can draw your own conclusions and maybe scheme for success. Drag looks after its own, and maybe the world is built round that principle. But I won in Siem Reap – there was no competition, I was the only one there, and I got to be a goddess.