Drag Race alums Jinkx Monsoon, Alaska Thunderf*ck, Monét X Change, Miss Peppermint and BenDeLaCreme are planning a coming-out party for their new Drag PAC political action committee in Chicago next week.
The politically-minded drag all-stars are joining local queen Lucy Stoole to present “Drag Night Chicago: A Voter Registration Kiki” next Wednesday in the Windy City, the same night Kamala Harris will be formally nominated by Democratic National Convention delegates. A virtual vote last week officially gave Harris the Democrats’ nomination.
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“Chicago!” the queens’ call-to-action on Instagram reads, “We are coming to town for the Democratic National Convention to put on a Drag Show! The lineup is stacked, the energy is palpable, and we are galvanized to snatch the crown!”
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Among those joining Stoole and the A-list Drag Race alums are locals Detox, Willam, Bambi Banks-Couleé, Sheeza Woman, Sativa Diamond and Dusty Bahls.
A promotional poster for the Drag PAC DNC event.
Drag PAC launched on June 28 with an introductory video aimed at the LGBTQ+ community and their allies.
The group’s goal is to register more Democratic voters and encourage those who are already signed up to turn out in 2024. More than 80 million registered voters failed to show at the polls in 2020.
“We as queer people have to recognize that we are part of a community, and the reason that we have the ease of life that we have now is because so many people worked for decades to make that happen,” said BenDeLaCreme, a two-time contestant on Drag Race. “It’s our job to keep things moving in the right direction.”
Miss Peppermint said, “A lot of this political rhetoric does have real-life effects and consequences on people of multiple marginalized identities. How you vote matters, and it literally defines the future of not just the country but your cities, your communities, and your people.”
Six Republican-led states have passed legislation restricting drag performance, while courts have blocked most of them as violations of free speech. More than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year, according to the ACLU. Many target trans youth by restricting gender-affirming care for minors.
Another group of Drag Race royalty recently lobbied lawmakers on Capitol Hill about increasing LGBTQ+ rights and protections. Jiggly Caliente, Brigitte Bandit and Joey Jay reported their voices had been heard.
“I feel like I was able to shed some light on areas that maybe they didn’t quite think of, and it was fun to see their gears turn a little bit,” said Jay. “I even got some questions from them. They were taking some notes, and they were really honest.”
In one of dozens of heartfelt posts on Drag PAC’s Insta, Jinkx Monsoon issued an urgent appeal to “fight fiction with fact.”
“As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, you’re part of a community that includes all communities; a threat to someone’s rights in one part of our country is a threat to rights everywhere, because these things have a way of spreading if we do not fight fiction with fact,” she said.
“What’s difficult is watching parts of this country vote in ways that strips away rights from people, just because there’s not enough people there to vote against it. Queer people exist there — they just don’t have the numbers to combat that kind of misinformation and targeted bigotry.
“Things do get better over time with progress, if we continue to push forward and not allow people to cause us to retreat.”
