This dataset consists
of 55 transcripts and audio files
of interviews with drag artists
with their personal drag stories
and their ideas about drag.
I taught Sociology of Drag in Spring 2019 at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. As part of the course, my students each interviewed a drag artist. These were semi-structured interviews that used a common set of questions we developed as a class. The first file below is a Word document containing transcripts of these 22 interviews, along with an appendix with the survey instrument. The second file is a PDF version.
This is a public dataset – we collectively went through the Institutional Review Board process and our research participants consented to the interviews and to the transcripts being published.
In Spring 2020, my student Destiny Baxter conducted eight additional interviews with drag artists, using the same survey instrument, and intentionally reaching out to drag artists that would expand the diversity of representation in our dataset. The third and fourth files contain those eight interview transcripts, in .docx and .pdf forms respectively.
I taught The Art of Drag in Spring 2021 at SIUE. Students again interviewed drag artists. The questions were the same as in 2019 and 2020, with the exception of an additional question about the pandemic. A graduate student working with me also interviewed three drag artists. There are 25 interviews from that semester. The fifth and sixth files below include first a Word document and then a PDF with these 25 transcripts.
You can go to https://ezratemko.com/category/drag/drag-artist-portrait/ to find links to each individual interview, which include audio files of the interviews. There is also a link to the webpage where the audio file can be accessed at the beginning of each transcript in the database document.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!
2019 interviews (Drag artist name, artist’s location, date, interviewer)
Kyra Banks, St. Louis, MO, April 7, Sam Huster
Crystal Clear, Edwardsville, IL, April 9, Alizeja Gipson
Roxxy Malone, St. Louis, MO, April 11, Devon Kaminski
Jenna Cydal, St. Louis, MO, April 13, Valla Diskin
Mahogany Knight, Springfield, IL, April 15, Marliena Robson
Lady Luscious, St. Louis, MO, April 15, Seth Walker
Logan Zass, Chicago, IL, April 16, Jazsmine Towner
Charlotte Sumtimes, St. Louis, MO, April 23, Hayley Mickelson
Brother Daniel, St. Louis, MO, April 23, Henry Schilling
Rachel Michaels, Paducah, KY, April 24, Emily Love
Diana Tunnel, Chicago, IL, April 24, Sam McKeehan
Ginger KaiKai, Rochester, NY, April 28, Nikki Scoggan
Cece Drake, Evansville, IL, April 28, student
Tiki Vonte, St. Louis, MO, April 29, Emily Dant
Aime Vanite, West Reading, PA, April 29, Sandhya Jacob
Janessa Markstone Mornette-Highland, St. Louis, MO, April 29, Rhian Baker
Dixie Que, Peterborough, ON, April 29, student
Khatrina Jackson, Lafayette, LA, April 29, Tyler Hartman
Heaven Leigh, St. Louis, MO, April 30, student
Jessica Leigh Foster, St. Louis, MO, May 2, student
Regina Steelheart, St. Louis, MO, May 4, student
Sabrina White, St. Louis, MO, May 10, student
2020 interviews (Drag artist name, interview date, drag artist’s location, interviewer):
Amoura Teese, April 13, San Francisco, CA, Destiny Baxter
Bella Noche, February 12, New York, NY, Destiny Baxter
Die Anna, February 12, Los Angeles, CA, Destiny Baxter
Gigi Gemini, February 12, Las Vegas, NV, Destiny Baxter
Mick Douch, February 18, Chicago, IL, Destiny Baxter
Tomahawk Martini, April 16, Albuquerque, NM, Destiny Baxter
Twinkie LaRue, February 23, Toronto, Ontario, Destiny Baxter
Wendy Warhol, April 28, Montreal, Quebec, Destiny Baxter
2021 interviews (Drag artist name, interview date, drag artist’s location, interviewer):
Bijou, February 13, Cologne, Germany, Heidi Masching
Breanna Burns, March 30, St. Louis, MO, Cory Stieb
Ceduxion Carrington, March 25, Decatur, IL, Julia Goren
Claire Voyant, March 22, Chicago, IL, student
Cyller, March 12, St. Louis, MO, Natalie Lyon
Holly Haliwell, March 30, Herrin, IL, Carson Brimm
Ivy Tabou, April 1, Collinsville, IL, Claudia Beebe
Jade Sinclair, April 7, St. Louis, MO, Terranisha
Jakki Love, April 10, Chicago, IL, Baylee Dornbach
Johnny Ford, April 27, Chicago, IL, Rachael Quaritsch
Liam Laughin, April 12, Charlotte, NC, student
Liz Anya, March 26, Columbia, MO, Ian Hafley
Lorilie, March 29, Columbia, MO, student
Luna Steelheart, April 4, Kansas City, MO, Connor McDonald
Mercury M. Poisoning, March 18, St. Charles, MO, Madison Lammert
Nadia Bizness, March 23, Kansas City, MO, Camryn Salmon
Odette Dynasty O’Hara, April 1, Granite City, IL, Sabrina Muir
Paris Starz, March 8, Evansville, IN, Kealie Jenkins
Peach of the Midwest, April 9, Champaign, IL, Chelsey Bohnert
Roxie M. Valentine, April 2, St. Louis, Maggie Koeller
Salem Graves, April 1, St. Louis, MO, Heidi Masching
Sheffield Belmont, February 9, Chicago, IL, Heidi Masching
Sofonda Cox, April 6, Springfield, MO, Joshua Harris
Spjork, March 31, Iowa City, IA, Makenzie Pickett
Trina Diamond, April 1, Des Moines, IA, Amy Hurley