Strike a Pose with Diversity Hire and Lexxi
In September, Fresher had the absolute honour to photograph two of Adelaide’s freshest, up-and-coming drag queens, Diversity Hire and Lexxi. We also found ourselves lucky enough to talk with them about their experience with drag, community and queer survival.
Anyone who has had to speak publicly knows the anxieties and stresses of performing, but for drag and other queer and subversive performance art, the stresses become less about embarrassment but safety and security. Current international events will show that queer art is being targeted at alarming rates, especially drag, and the performers suffer as a result. In a world obsessed with work production, efficiency, and the bottom line, art may be all we have left to express ourselves and feel human. And what is more human than community?
Lexxi says that community “lifts people up and supports those who need it. The world is a scary place when you are fighting alone, but knowing you have a whole community fighting the same fight alongside you, makes so much of a difference.” As true belonging and safety can only be found in numbers.
“Being in spaces with other people who are doing the same thing has been so healing.”
Humankind are pack animals, we band together for survival, it’s a part of our base instincts. Where targeted communities are concerned, threats can only be evaded by numbers and security with each other. This is why it is so vital for LGBTQIA+ people to form community and have spaces to perform freely and without apology. There are no ‘proper’ ways to be in these communities, and Diversity Hire loves the great big blended family of queer art, “the drag artists, the vogue artists, the burlesque artists; all of us queer freaks and weirdos coming together.”
“Non-derogatory.” Lexxi interjects. “Yes, non-derogatory!” Diversity Hire laughs, “Community makes you feel seen – and sometimes for the first time. That’s what community is, finding people that actually see you.”
At this point both Lexxi and Diversity Hire were still doing their makeup and hair, and the small insight into building up who they are as artists, as performers, spoke to a level of intimacy only found in the shared love of the arts. It’s a privilege to watch art being created, so I was so thankful to share in the moment. Throughout the shoot, I watched them pose, serve face, cover themselves in glitter hairspray, and pose again. My claim to fame during this time was helping glue Diversity Hire’s nails on and sew Lexxi’s tail onto her costume. We laughed about how fixing up the costume mid-shoot was ‘So drag!’ but it’s true. Drag is community, drag is togetherness, drag is family.
Both these fabulous queens made note to shout out a pillar of the Adelaide drag scene, a Miss Thermodynamics. They both spoke so lovingly of her, “Miss Thermodynamics was there on both of our debut shows at Friday Nights [at the Piccadilly] and I know for me,” Diversity Hire speaks, “they made me feel so comfortable. You know, being an AFAB person in the drag space, I sometimes feel like an intruder even though I’m not. And having Thermo being just so open arms and welcoming was just so beautiful and so comforting.”
“It’s that sense of community we were just talking about.”
Lexxi laughed, “I actually have a story about this. I was in drag, doing a Morticia type look, which I loved, but there was this incident in the bathroom. This gay couple walks up to us and they’re like ‘Why are you wearing a wig’ and I was like ‘Oh I’m doing drag.’ Bro looks me dead in the eyes and goes, ‘You can’t do drag, that doesn’t count: you’re a girl.’”
We discussed the reinforcement of strict gender roles – even within the queer community, “It does nothing but tear you down and make people feel bad. It’s not saving anyone, if anything you’re making a negative impact on someone else’s [life].” Diversity Hire says. Both drag queens talk about how there are people and places within the community that have made their drag debuts feel beautiful and safe to combat their adversity.
“Especially in the niche drag community, everyone is lovely, just absolutely beautiful people as well. It’s a shared appreciation of the art and the struggle and it makes you feel less alone.”
But speaking of Friday Nights at the Piccadilly, Cecilia Ronsen of Mixed Bag Events has been running an absolute powerhouse queer variety show at the Piccadilly Theatre. Yours truly had the honour of working Front-of-House for a couple months and it was my favourite night of the month. From drag queens; burlesque performers; comedians; vogue, punking, and waacking; live painters… FNATP has everything and more. It is also the place where I found Diversity Hire and Lexxi, so a massive thank you to Cecilia for designing and persisting with my personal favourite queer space in Adelaide (and for letting me poach her partner for a photoshoot).
Unfortunately for Fresher readers, I had to cut much of the interview to fit the word count. Although if you are wanting more, I’ll find room to share more of Diversity Hire and Lexxi’s stories; about their drag, the thrill of performing, and the wondrous queer spaces in Adelaide. I will, however, leave you with the parting words of Diversity hire:
“No one can get through life alone. We need community, we need people to lift us up and be there to support us. We care and we laugh and we love and all of that is so so important.”
Check out the exclusive Strike a Pose photoshoot here
