Applying eyeshadow, drawing eyeliner, charming makeup with Chinese clothes, every gesture is full of confidence and beauty, and the drag queen (Drag Queen) Coco Pop is in front of him. It is a professional performance, and the preparation beforehand is time-consuming and bothersome. He said that without enough enthusiasm, it is easy to be knocked down by reality and cannot support this "greed and beautiful dream."
Drag Queen mostly performs in gay bars, and it is not easy to enjoy their performances.
But Coco Pop said that as a performer, Drag Queen can have many forms of existence in life. "It's like a child’s birthday party, where a clown will be invited to create the atmosphere. Drag Queen is very different. The most important thing is that everyone is happy." .
It coincided with the Women's Festival (Women's Festival) held in the middle and late of this month. Coco Pop was invited to tell stories for those attending the event, talk about the loss of his beloved one, and talk about the courage to go down alone. This is his first time as a Drag Queen. Issues touched.
Photography: Huang Weimin, Liao Wenqian
For CoCo Pop, every change is a professional performance.
(Photo by Huang Weimin)
Coco Pop, in his 40s, had his parents passed away due to illness three years ago. The deaths of his loved ones made him very sad. "Because the father got sick first, his mother took care of him. Later, his father needed to be admitted to the nursing home, so he passed away if he was patient. At that time, I was relieved for my mother, clicked a check, and found that my mother was seriously ill."
Life is impermanent, and Coco Pop's mother's condition took a turn for the worse, and she left after a short while, "I never knew that my mother would die, I thought she would return."
+3
Some of them didn't come here first today. They didn't know that I like to play and perform. I was called to the big by the small person, and I didn't teach me how to deal with it.
Local drag queen Coco Pop
Mother silently supports her son's cross-dressing road
Coco Pop has a good relationship with his mother. Even though he has already moved away from home, he still insists on talking on the phone with his mother every day.
Looking back on his path of cross-dressing, Coco Pop’s family looked at it indifferently, "There are some who did not see it first today, and whether they know that I like to play or perform. They are called by the small people. When I get older, I haven't taught me how to deal with it."
Coco Pop said that his family wouldn’t take the issue of gender too much. “Some older generations would think it’s a shame to pretend to be a woman, but people in my house don’t know how to do it.” He said that he had tried inviting his mother to visit him. In the cross-dressing show, his mother smiled and said, "You look at you as a big cow, and you pretend to be a woman!" Coco Pop also immediately fought back: "It's like talking about it!" Mother and son are like friends Grab the white, so decades have passed.
Until one day, my mother really left.
Drag Queen is a kind of performance. Drag means cross-dressing. Regardless of whether it is male or female, it is a cross-dressing as long as the dress of the other sex is made.
The definition of cross-dressing is very broad. Traditional Peking opera, Cantonese opera reverse series, and Japan Baoyuan Opera Troupe also belong to cross-dressing.
The event hosted by CoCo Pop on Women’s Day this year was based on storytelling, sharing two books about loss and letting go to the audience-"What to do when I'm gone" and "You After leaving" (Dancing at the pity party).
(Photo by Huang Weimin)
Can’t replicate the taste of my mother’s cooking
The event hosted by Coco Pop on Women’s Day this year was based on storytelling, sharing two books about loss and letting go to the audience-"What to do when I'm gone" and "You After leaving" (Dancing at the pity party).
"Does the death of my parents enlighten me?" Coco Pop asked himself this question from time to time when reading these two works.
"After I Leave" is a "life guide" written by a mother to her daughter before she was alive. "It contains good casual information. For example, on the day after my death, you will receive a lot of calls. But you can choose to turn off the canal; you have to remember to feed the dog, because my death has nothing to do with it; the first few days you go, you may hang on me, so you can make the whole chocolate cake, because eating the whole chocolate cake will forget and be unhappy So my mother even left a low portion of chocolate cake recipes for her daughter, which is the love of her daughter."
Coco Pop laughed and said that he also imitated his mother during the Lunar New Year, and stewed winter mushrooms for friends to eat. Unfortunately, the taste of his mother can never be restored. "Actually, I only hope that my mother still seems to spend the holidays with me."
The event hosted by CoCo Pop on Women’s Day this year was based on storytelling, sharing two books about loss and letting go to the audience-"What to do when I'm gone" and "You After leaving" (Dancing at the pity party).
(Photo by Liao Wenqian)
As for "After You Leave", it is a story written by a daughter. Since her mother fell ill, she wrote down her daily mood, "I will be so sad when my relatives leave. I can never catch it every day. I live with friends to talk about my feelings, but I don’t know how to digest them. In fact, many people are connected.” Coco Pop said, writing down the feelings of missing relatives is to write down the experience of my own growth. When reading this book At that time, he also found a lot of resonance, "If I knew (the feeling of a loved one leaving), I would know how to face it."
The emergence of drag queens in the form of storytelling is not new.
In 2015, American writer Michelle Tea and the non-profit literary organization Radar Productions launched the "Dress Queen Story Time" in San Francisco. By inviting Drag Queen to enter local schools, community libraries and other places, they contacted children and spoke out about promoting diversity. Let them listen to the stories of Rong, so that children can use their imaginations during the gender fluid period. Before they are exposed to secular gender differences, they can understand the world with different gender and sexual awareness groups. The activities have now expanded to many around the world. Place.
CoCo Pop said that his family will not take the gender issue too much. "Some older generations will feel that pretending to be a woman is a shame. People in my house don't know."
(Photo by Huang Weimin)
In fact, all the children know that I am a man. It's like a child’s birthday party, and they will invite a clown to create the atmosphere. Drag Queen is not much different. The most important thing is that everyone is happy.
Local drag queen Coco Pop
In recent years, Coco Pop has also been invited to tell stories with children as Drag Queen, including some activities organized by foreign mother groups, gay book clubs, etc., mainly telling stories about equality and self-worth, such as a family formed by two penguin fathers The classic story "And Tango Makes Three" (And Tango Makes Three).
"In fact, all the children know that I am a man. It's like a child's birthday party, and they will invite a clown to create the atmosphere. Drag Queen is not much different. The most important thing is that everyone has a good time."
However, when it comes to life and death, no matter how strong people are as vulnerable as children, this year’s Women’s Day organizers specially invited Coco Pop to share with the audience the pain of losing a loved one and walking alone with two books on life and death. The courage to go down, and this time the audience is not just children.
+2
I like the culture of dressing so much and I have enthusiasm to do things well, and I feel that I always have room for improvement, and I hope to be better than the last time every time.
Local drag queen Coco Pop
Coco Pop is a lucky person. He has been on the Drag Queen performance for 20 years. His family has always supported his choice. "The whole family knows that I am Drag Queen. Even my niece follows me on Facebook and Instagram. Everyone who eats frightened meals will carry a mobile phone, and then see me for an interview."
In the past 20 years, Coco Pop described his original intentions as never changed, "I like the culture of dressing, so I have enthusiasm to do things well, and I feel that I always have room for improvement, every time I hope to be better than the last time."
In addition to performing in nightclubs, Drag Queen has a certain social role and status.
There are Drag Queen tour guides in foreign countries, and Drag Queen will comment on current affairs on TV talk show.
(Photo by Huang Weimin)
Not limited to nightclub performances "Drag Queen communication skills are important"
In fact, in addition to performing in nightclubs, Drag Queen has a certain social role and status.
Coco Pop pointed out that there are Drag Queens in foreign countries who can comment on current affairs on talk show, and Australia has Drag Queen tour guides who lead visitors to different cultural destinations. He will also take on some pole dance competition hosting jobs and is also happy to host gay weddings. "The communication skills of Drag Queen are very important, because many times it is a host role, acting as a bridge between the LGBT community and the general public. Every year, many students who read Gender visit me to do homework. You can get to know me and the gay culture better with the other person, but of course, the most important thing is to satisfy yourself first! Haha!"
It can not only satisfy one's own beauty-loving nature, but also promote a culture of communion. The identity of Drag Queen seems to be profitable and harmless, but Coco Pop laments that the road to Drag Queen has never been easy because of various practical problems. There are dozens of bars in the street, and it is enough to make a street performance in a day, but there are so many bars in Hong Kong, the stage is fine, and the performance is not good enough."
+2
Reality cracks down on love of dreams, no more than ten drag queens in Hong Kong
In addition to the lack of performance opportunities, how to store the costumes is also a practical issue. Many young Drag Queens live with their families. There is no place to store a large number of costumes at home, and the preparation for each performance is extremely time-consuming. The time for designing costumes, makeup, hairstyles, and rehearsals is not counted. It took 5 hours to "dress up" on that day, and the performance was not much money. "A performance is two to three thousand mosquitoes, but the preparation time is already It’s a lot of money, but I don’t want to take the bus and subway to the performance venue. All the extras are expensive!” Coco Pop said frankly that there is no full-time Drag Queen in Hong Kong, and only 10 people are active in the industry. “Performance opportunities Too few, it's so difficult to form a cultural circle, gestating young people who don't have the aspirations to be Drag."
WFHK 2021 schedule
date: August 21, 22, 28, 29
Venue: Eaton Hotel
Coco Pop’s favorite Drag Queen: Divine (1945-1988)
+2
Divine is a big fat man, but he is not afraid of his body shape to dress up as a woman. His style was very bold in the 1970s.
His makeup also has a style. For example, he draws his eyebrows into triangles. To this day, Drag Queen still imitates his makeup.
Local drag queen Coco Pop
RuPaul (1960-)
RuPaul made a Drag Queen live show. It’s so popular. The show has held several Emmy Awards. It can be said that it made Drag Queen so worthy. It’s just a poor bar to see her perform first, and she can do it. There are touring performances, which makes people have a more positive view of Drag Queen.
Local drag queen Coco Pop
Sasha Velour (1987-)
+3
Sasha Velour's modeling is very artistic, and his strange chicken taste is in line with my pursuit of beauty.
His most iconic look is a bald look. His touch of fashion and art is very similar to mine. I like all the colors used for matching.
He has his own sales platform, and his career is considered very successful.
Local drag queen Coco Pop
[Dress Queen] Interview with Coco Pop: Drag Queen Don’t Stop Pretending to be a Woman
[Dragging Queen] Otaku evolution Baby Queen breaks through the autistic bubble and becomes infinite [Dragging Queen] The queen is the most beautiful when he grows old, Dakko retires: Don’t see white heads in the world
01Community
