When "Make me a queen" responds to Bolsonaro's "land of queers"

Alexia Twister and Gloria Groove, the drag queens stars of Make Me a Queen.

-

• The Brazilian show 

  Make Me a Queen

  is live on Netflix.

• In each of the six episodes, two drag queens help a gay or lesbian create their stage character.

• “Dragging is a political act,” assures an artist in one of the episodes.

  A sentence that takes on all the more meaning that in Brazil homophobia and transphobia claim hundreds of victims every year.

Tuesday, at the seat of the federal government, the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, was distinguished by a homophobic exit.

“We must stop being a country of queers.

We have to fight with our heads held high, to fight, ”he said.

He used the term "maricas", derogating from homosexuals, to evoke cowardice and downplay the scale of the Covid-19 pandemic which has claimed more than 162,000 victims in his country.

Coincidence of the lineup,

premiered hours later on Netflix, worldwide.

This Brazilian program, whose original title is 

, “A Queen is Born”, resonates and responds - indirectly - to the words of the far-right head of state.

In each of the six episodes, a gay or a lesbian meets two drag queens, Gloria Groove and Alexia Twister, to create and develop their own stage character all in exuberant sequins and wigs.

In a setting worthy of a telenovela, neophytes practice choreography in high heels and learn the main makeup tips.

But beyond this entertaining aspect, the concept highlights how the art of dragging can be a motor of emancipation and resilience.

"We live in the most homophobic country in the world"

People who participate in the game have all come out, assume their sexual orientation and have good relations with those around them, but taking the step of repeating a number to present it on a stage is a highlight for them, going far beyond mere fun.

“I found the artistic field that allows me to express myself authentically, and that is invaluable.

I'm not going to stop there ”, assures one of them.

“After thinking about all the crazy things I have experienced in my life, I tell myself that today is where I found myself,” said another.

In parallel with the rehearsals, Daniel Garcia Felicione Napoleão, who plays Gloria Groove on the stage, talks with someone close to the drag queen in the making to whom the episode is devoted.

Each time, it is a question of teaching because these people - brother, aunt, cousin… - express, often without tact, their prejudices and their reluctance to see one of theirs flourish as a drag- queen.

Most say they fear that this exposes them to rejection and discrimination.

“We live in the most homophobic country in the world,” Daniel says bluntly to a woman worried about her nephew, before introducing him to a young drag queen, Eva X. “First, I came out- out to my mom and it stuck.

But I quickly understood that she was afraid that people would not want to approach me, that they would insult me, beat me up, ”she testifies alongside her mother, who has since been involved in the Mothers association. for diversity.

"Don't you think that even when you want the best for someone, it's their happiness that comes first?

This is what to ask him "What makes you happy?"

», Advises Eva X.

"We want to be able to return home alive"

In a later episode, another artist, Loulou Callas, recalls that “dragging is a political act”.

And to explain: “It is one of the levers of LGBT struggles.

We have to take to the streets, invest the spaces, shout: "Yes, we exist, we demand respect, we want to be able to come home alive, and yes, we like people of the same sex."

"

Words that take on a meaning all the more powerful in Brazil, "every 26 hours, an LGBT person is murdered or commits suicide as a victim of LGBTphobia", according to the 2019 report of the NGO Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB), which collects national statistics.

Last year, this organization recorded 329 violent deaths of LGBT people (297 homicides, 32 suicides) linked to homophobia or transphobia.

A figure down 22% compared to 2018. “The most plausible explanation for this decrease is due to the persistent homophobic discourse of the President of the Republic and especially to the terrifying messages of the“ bolsominions ”[the supporters of Bolsonaro] on the networks social issues on a daily basis, leading the LGBT community to be more careful ”, argued in the latest report posted online Luiz Mott, creator of Grupo Gay da Bahia.

In addition, in June 2019, the Brazilian Supreme Court criminalized homophobia, which is now punishable, like acts of racism, with one to three years in prison or fines.

A decision that had angered Jair Bolsonaro.

Behind its

appearance

,

takes on a much less anecdotal dimension, once you have this context in mind.

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