Drag what? Unknown to the general public a few years ago, drag queens have never been more present in the media and cultural landscape of Quebec than in 2022. With their high heels, their colorful wigs, their flamboyant make-up and their extravagant outfits, they have come out of the restricted universe of bars and cabarets to be talked about even on public television.
A giant step that we owe in particular to the now very popular drag queen Barbada, who has multiplied playful activities and public appearances in the past year, never giving up in the face of criticism and gnashing of teeth in her path. .
“It was one of the most significant years for me. It was extraordinary! I come out of it really proud, but above all grown from this adventure,” confides Barbada straight away in an interview.
In addition to continuing to take her Storytime from library to library as she has done for several years now, the drag queen has multiplied the first times in 2022. She presented a solo number at the gala ComediHa! and at a Just for Laughs gala. She played the star fairy in the Santa Claus parade in Montreal in November. She regularly took the microphone of ICI Première as a guest columnist and was entrusted with the animation of a new youth program putting music in the spotlight on ICI Tou.tv. “That’s a lot of firsts for one person! Barbada jokes, suddenly seeming to realize how far he’s come.
Thus propelled to the forefront, she not only witnessed, but also played a role in this evolution of mentalities with regard to the art of drag. “It has become enormously democratized in a short time. Many people had never heard of the art of drag before this year. Either they had their prejudices and associated us only with the world of the night. Seeing us more often on TV or in the public space, especially with young people and families, has clearly helped to make us better known and accepted. We definitely broke down some barriers. »
But this progress has not been made without a few hiccups along the way. Barbada’s nomination as a star fairy prompted several derogatory comments on social media this fall. In August, it was his storytelling hour activity planned in two libraries in the borough of Saint-Laurent that was strongly criticized and even nearly canceled.
“I am a black, gay man, who teaches in primary school and who has been in drag for almost 18 years: I am used to rubbing shoulders with difference and to supporting the gaze of others. I went through all the mental stages so that it no longer gets to me when people laugh, ”argues Sébastien Potvin, the one who invented the character of Barbada and who gave him life.
Her secret recipe? Respond with gentleness and openness to those who question themselves, to those who worry and even to those who fuel hatred towards drag queens on social networks. “When we explain to them what the art of drag really is, we reassure them, most of the time prejudices fall away. That’s how we move forward as a society”, insists Barbada, delighted to contribute to overturning received ideas and to winning, day after day, tolerance.