Senior Novice Sister Ray Dee O’Active — Photography by Julian Vankim
Senior Novice Sister Ray Dee O’Active
“I am the slutty one. And the nerdy one. #sexynerd”
What inspired you to join?
“The Sisters mission is in complete alignment with my passion for removing the guilt people feel every day (unjustly placed on them, let your freak flag fly!) and the joy the Sisters bring is so, so, so beautiful.”
Have you ever been involved in drag before?
“I’ve only done drag a couple times, but I’ve been in heels for years.”
Have you ever been involved in activism before?
“I am very involved in the activism work to end conversion therapy. As a survivor, I speak for those traumatized by the horrible practice of conversion therapy and work with advocates to bring legislation, litigation, and public education to the efforts to end conversion therapy.”
Reality TV works in mysterious ways. An ostensible loss can quickly and unexpectedly be transformed into a win, especially in the hands of a queen who's prepared. RuPaul's Drag Race favorite Salina EsTitties, a.k.a. Jason De Puy, was heartbroken, she says, that her run on the recent All Stars season 11 came to an end in her first round of competition.
The feisty Latina performer, who first competed on Drag Race proper three years ago, returned for All Stars with fierce new looks and a fierce attitude, but still missed the cut of queens who made it out of their bracket to the Merge, where finalists would compete.
Gay adult performer Alfonso Osnaya says he was "knocked out" outside Beaux, an LGBTQ bar in San Francisco's Castro District, after a group of men mocked his work in the adult industry.
Osnaya told Out that the September 17 confrontation began inside the bar. He said he walked away, but the men confronted him outside.
"I took the bait from some judgmental comments and I was alone," Osnaya said. "They were waiting for me outside. I got knocked out, and the next thing I knew, I had the people from Beaux helping me out while the paramedics and cops did their job. Everyone was very sweet, and thankfully, nothing serious happened."
Drag artists and advocates fighting back in the culture war against drag and LGBTQ rights have seen triumphs and setbacks this summer. Two recent federal court decisions -- one in Florida, the other in Texas -- illustrate opposite shifts in the war being waged over anti-drag laws in states around the nation.
In August, a federal appeals court upheld Florida's law that bans performers or venues from conducting any "adult live performance" in the presence of a minor. The law defines "adult live performance" in terms loose enough to apply to practically any performer who appears in drag in a public space -- from a drag brunch to a Pride parade -- where a minor could be present, even with their parent or guardian's consent.
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