‘Generation Drag’ Shows the Beautiful Rise of Teen and Tween Drag Queens
Generation Drag, Discovery+’s new docuseries about teen and tween drag performers, opens with 12-year-old Vinny showing a camera crew around his bedroom, which he has dubbed the Pink Palace. With its appropriately powder pink walls, the small room bears the typical trappings of adolescence—a lofted bed littered with stuffed animals, a backpack hanging on the wall, donut stickers peeling on the side of a dresser.
But then, betraying a sense of fabulosity that evades most seventh graders, there’s also the proudly displayed high heel collection of a young Carrie Bradshaw in the making. And most importantly is Vinny’s array of candy-colored wigs sitting atop mannequin heads on his dresser and window sill. They have names like Brenda and Meryl. “Honestly, when I first wore one, I immediately thought, ‘This is me and you better like it,’” Vinny says, mindlessly combing his fingers through the long platinum locks of one wig.
Vinny is one of the five young people featured in Generation Drag and in his interviews, he never falters in this sense of self-assurance, punctuating his words with a snap of his painted nails. His drag name is Vinessa Shimmer—“she is just a force you cannot reckon with”—and he describes himself as “sassy, flamboyant, and fun.” He’s known he is gay since he was 7 years old, when he realized he was uncomfortable in traditional boy clothes and would rather dress in a way that reflects his personality: “very cute and pink.”
However, during a shoe shopping trip with his supportive but adorably clueless dad midway through the first episode, Vinny opens up about the discomfort he feels when people stare at him in the mall. “I like the attention. It’s good to be seen,” he begins reluctantly. “But there are times when I don’t want to be seen in the wrong way. Just the slight tiny look is what can easily throw off the fun I have.”
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It’s one of many vulnerable moments we get with Generation Drag’s incredibly generous young subjects as they share their love of drag as well as the realities of their day-to-day experiences as queer teens and tweens.
The six-part series follows the drag kids as they prepare to perform at Dragutante, a nonprofit event in Denver that brings LGBTQ+ youth from all over the country together to meet others who share their passion for drag. It’s also about their families as they navigate raising LGBTQ+ kids who want to explore drag, many of them having to learn to break free from their comfort zones to be the parents their children need.
In addition to Vinny, the show stars 12-year-old Nabela, a trans girl from a conservative Catholic Mexican family whose drag name is Dunkashay Monroe and who is obsessed with RuPaul’s Drag Race (several of the kids credit Mama Ru with getting them hooked on drag). There’s also Jameson, aka Ophelia Peaches, a 17-year-old who currently uses he/him pronouns but is experimenting with gender fluidity. Jameson’s mother, Robin, founded Dragutante. The second episode introduces Noah, a soft spoken 16-year-old trans girl who goes by the drag name Poptart, and Bailey, a 15-year-old trans boy whose drag persona is called Nemo.
While the parents featured in Generation Drag are, for the most part, incredibly accepting of their children, they are open about the fact that it wasn’t always that way. They’re candid about the struggles their families have encountered, like being shunned by friends and relatives, worrying for their kids’ safety, and feeling ill equipped to guide their aspiring drag queens on matters of fashion and makeup. One storyline centers on Nabela’s grandmother refusing to come see her perform. It’s utterly heartbreaking to hear the 12-year-old say that the lack of acceptance makes her feel “invisible” compared to her cousins.
But there are plenty of wholesome, heartwarming moments, too, so we recommend watching with a tissue box close at hand.
Vinny’s deeply straight, conventionally masculine dad will inspire audible “awws” when he helps his son decide between glittery silver combat boots and furry, Pepto Bismol pink platforms covered in googly eyes. Another sweet moment comes when Nabela explains that her younger brothers immediately accepted her when she came out as trans in fourth grade, correcting their dad whenever he used the wrong pronouns. As the family has an impromptu dance party in the park, one brother says, “I’m inspired by Nabela because she makes me want to dance even more.” I’m not crying, you are.
Of course, the family narratives are interspersed with footage of the kids performing and putting together amazingly creative homemade drag looks. They expertly contour, apply swipes of dramatic winged liner, and arrange gemstones on their faces to create makeup looks that put those on Euphoria to shame.
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Bailey’s ambitious vision for his Dragutante costume is essentially a science experiment complete with two different wigs and a hidden smoke machine to make him look like a malfunctioning robot. “What I love about drag is the glitz and the glam,” Nabela explains in her intro, pausing emphatically on each word. We’re pleased to report that Generation Drag delivers plenty of both.
All six episodes of the uplifting docuseries, produced by Tyra Banks, are available to stream on Discovery+ on Wednesday, June 1. Coming at a time when the rights of LGBTQ+ kids to simply be themselves are under constant attack, Generation Drag is an important celebration of unapologetic self expression
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