Mixed Greens
In this short film, queer drag nun Mixed Greens talks about how they use genderfuck drag as a roadmap to understand and explore their non-binary identity. As a person who considers themselves a-gender, they they explain how and why they use their makeup to blur the lines between femininity and masculinity.
"When I'm dressed up in face, or dressed up in drag, I feel so powerful and comfortable in my own skin. I forget that my face has painted up to look different because I feel like people are treating the way I want to be seen and respected and viewed as, especially if I'm wearing something that's a little more covering down below. So people don't always know-- like, Oh are those that person's real breasts, or is that person naturally flat? I like being questionable and I like being an enigma to people. And so the more garish and painted up I am, the more people see me more as a walking piece of art instead of as a human being with these characteristics that are expected of them or looking a certain way... Mostly people just call me daddy, which I'm really okay with."
"I remember the first drag show I ever went to, I think I was just barely 18... I went to this show in Memphis and I was standing agog at the front of the stage, just jaw dropped. I didn't know anything about the etiquette. I didn't have any singles. I didn't know what to do. I was just staring awestruck. And I was like, This is amazing. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. And I pushed that down because I was really shy and I was really introverted and I figured I could never--I could never even sing solos at the church, let alone get up and dance and lip sync and put on a good show, but that's always stuck with me. And since then, I've always seen drag shows as a really safe place for me, where I can come in and kind of blend in with everyone else and just shower the performance with my love and my iteration and be a big fan girl.... And so being there like there's a little baby gay, it kind of made me feel like I belonged to, like there were mentors for me there and it kind of makes you feel a little bit less alone too. It's heartwarming."
When Mixed Greens moved to St. Louis in 2015, they were looking for a community to get involved with, and by 2018, Mixed Greens joined the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
"They immediately became my family. When I first met them, they said, Oh, well, we're going out to this event. You should come out with us. And I said, What should I wear? And they said, Just be festive. They gave me their address, and I went to their house and I was so scared. I really want them to like me. They gave me a chair and handed me some homemade mead they made themselves. And I watched them smoking and swearing and painting their faces... It was pure magic. I said, I want to be a part of this. I want in."
"And when they told me at my ceremony to become a postulate, which is your first step in becoming a sister, they said, Oh, Taylor, you know, we're going to require a blood sacrifice. We're going to have to prick your finger. I was like, yeah, that sounds fine. I'm down. I'm a little gullible. They all laughed at me. And then we had dinner and drinks together. And there was no bleeding just to put that out there, but that's how ready I was. I was like, I would do anything for these people. They're still my family. I love them all really dearly. And we check in. I'm their missionary down here in Mississippi now, trying to spread the good word of the Sisters and there's other local houses as well. I've run into other people here in Starkville who have recognized the Sisters and given me a big hug. It's an international sisterhood. I've been treated like gold. It's been amazing."