Mercury M. Poisoning

Mercury M. Poisoning is a self-described ballad queen who brings down the house one lip sync at a time. She performs in the St. Charles – St. Louis area and hosts a show at Leo’s Pub & Grill in St. Charles, Missouri.

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Transcript:

To cite this particular interview, please use the following:
Lammert, Madison. 2021. Interview with Mercury M. Poisoning. The Art of Drag, SIUE, March 18. Available URL (https://ezratemko.com/drag/mercury-m-posioning).

Madison Lammert: I think we’re good.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah.

Madison Lammert: I’m going to record on my phone, too. Okay. So, we’re going to go ahead and get started with a few questions that are more specific to your personal story with drag. So, I want to know first, how did you first hear about drag?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah, well, I was first introduced to drag when I was 18 when I came to college. I went to Lindenwood University for my undergrad, and some of my friends wanted to go to The Grove in St. Louis and that was back when Attitudes was open, and they were 18 and up at the time. So, we were able to get in because we were 18. And so, we went there, like, “We’re going to a drag show.” And I was like, “Okay,” and I was terrified, because, like, I came from a small country town, I’d never seen drag before. And, um. it was… I mean, it was scary at first to me [laughs], because it was way out of my comfort zone. But then I, like, kind of, enjoyed it, so I kept going more and more. And then I… you know, finally was just like, “Well, this is wonderful. I love this.” And then I was like, “You know, maybe I should do this sometime.” But I… that was kind of a joke at the time, so…

Madison Lammert: Yeah. So, how did you end up getting to the point where you were wanting to perform drag?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah. So, I actually started a drag show at Lindenwood. I was, kind of, in charge of our GSA, and somebody was like, “Hey, all these other schools do a drag show. Like, you should definitely do a drag show, like, that’d be amazing.” and I was like, “No, no, like, I don’t think anybody here would want to see that. Like, we’re in St. Charles. It’s very conservative, like, I don’t think the school would let us.” And then they did. And so, I was like, “Well, I’m not gonna do this show and not perform.” So, I decided to perform, and loved every minute of it. And I was like, “You know, maybe I’ll just do this for Lindenwood shows. Like, I’m not gonna do it any other time. Like, I’ll just do drag for this.” And then we had another show, did it, and then Pride St. Charles was getting started up around the same time. And they were like, “Hey, we’re doing this show. We’re looking for performers. Would anybody from the show be interested?” And I was like, “Well, I mean, I would,” and nobody else was. And so, then I just, kind of, started doing it there and just kept going, and six years later, here we are.

Madison Lammert: Awesome. That’s so cool. So, you did answer the next question, when did you start performing as a drag artist? But can you elaborate… [phone ringing] sorry… a little bit more on why you started performing?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah.I mean, like I said, kind of, at the time, it was more of a joke. And so, I was like, “Yes, I, I just want to do it because, you know, we’re doing it for the school, I wanna… like, we’re…” we, kind of… we started turning into a fundraiser, so I’m like, “Anything I can do to help raise money for, you know, a different organization and… that’s in need or, or whatnot.” So, it was, kind of, as a joke, but, kind of, as a fundraiser side of things.

But then I just started enjoying it, like, I really liked the feeling. So, after that first performance, like, I felt so powerful on stage, because I was a whole different person. And like, granted, you know, all of my friends were there, so everybody knew who I was. But it was like, I could be a whole different person, and I could be like, “Oh, well, that’s Mercury, so, like, she’s different from Ethan,” you know, like, things like that.

So, it’s funny, but, like… I don’t know. It was a good feeling. And so, I just wanted to keep that feeling up and be like, “Yeah, I have the, the ability to transform, if you will, into a completely different person, that she can get away with doing more things, she can be more confident.” And, you know, it’s okay, because she’s a drag queen. It’s not, “Oh, Ethan to be more confident. He’s just a terrible person,” you know? It was something like that. So… I would say, kind of, those are the, the big reasons.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. How did your loved ones perceive you coming into doing drag?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah. So, um, my parents… like, I told my mom, I was just like, “Hey, just in case you see pictures, like, this is happening,” at least, you know, for the first time. And she was like, “Okay.” And then, I… you know, I slowly did it, so it was, kind of, like, easing her into it. And her and Dad, like, don’t fully understand it, necessarily. I’ve tried to explain it more in terms of that… even, even though this is not a very good representation of it at all, it, it’s not… but for them to understand, this is what worked. So, what I told them was, “It’s like theater, essentially. It’s me playing a character where I lip sync to other people’s songs and, you know, people tip me for it.”

And so, that was how it was… that’s how it was, or that’s how I was able to explain it to them. It’s a little bit easier to explain it that way rather than, “Oh, you know, I feel more confident. I feel like it’s not just drag, it’s about expression. Like, drag’s not theater, per se.” You can use drag in theater, but it… you know, it’s not theater. My brothers… one of my brothers think it’s… thinks it’s completely weird.

My oldest brother has come to shows and supported me, him and his wife. My, um… the brother closest to me in age, we live together, so he’s used to it. But he also comes to a lot of the shows and… well, before COVID came to a lot of the shows and everything. So, they were all good with it. But, like, my parents are still… like, they won’t come to a show, but they did come to, like, the Pride Parade that we did for Pride St. Charles, because I helped host that. So they have met Mercury, they’ve just never seen her perform.

Madison Lammert: That’s cool.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. And then what about your friends? What did they think?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Oh, all of my friends love it. Like, when people find out, even, like, new friends, when they find out I’m a drag queen, they lose their minds and get so excited. And they’re like, “Come do my makeup. Come…” [laughs] you know, “do whatever else.” And I’m like, “Okay, like, if you want to look terrible, I’ll do your makeup.” Like, I can do my makeup, but doing makeup on other people is very challenging.

Madison Lammert: Yeah.

Mercury M. Poisoning: So…But it’s, it’s fun. They’re supportive.

Madison Lammert: That’s awesome. Yeah. And where does the name Mercury Poisoning come from?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah. So, the name was a bit of a journey. [Laughs] When I started, which you probably saw in my email, when I started, I was Mercury Jones.

Madison Lammert: Okay.

Mercury M. Poisoning: And so, that’s why my email is the way it is because I created it back then, and I don’t think you can change it without just creating a brand, new email. Which, that’s fine. I, I don’t care. But I started out as Mercury Jones. And so, Mercury came from Sailor Moon, the…

Madison Lammert: Okay.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Which is, you know, like anime manga. So, it was a show, though, back in the 90s. And I was born in the 90s, but I, I grew up watching reruns when I was a kid. Since I loved Sailor Moon, like, loved the show, and I ended up liking… like, Sailor Mercury was one of the Sailor Scouts. [Laughs] This sounds so nerdy, but she was one of the Sailor Scouts, and she was always one of my favorites. And so, when I would pretend… like, when I… when you’re a kid, you know, you play pretend. So, I would always pretend, and she was one of the ones I was always, like, I was that scout, so I had her powers whatnot. So, I loved that. So, Mercury. And then, Jones, I don’t really know where that came from at first. I don’t know if I saw it somewhere, or if I’m just like, “Well, this has a nice ring to it,” whatever.

And then about four years ago, I guess, I think, I’m not sure how long ago it was, but I ended up getting adopted. After I started performing in the city a lot more, I ended up getting adopted by Scarlett Syanide, who is also a drag queen. She’s retired now, but she… her last name was Syanide. And so, we were like, “How can we know…? Like, how can we do something that, like, people know I’m in her family but not changing my last name to Syanide?”, which is a very popular thing to do, like, when you get adopted into a drag family, you change your last name to match theirs.

She, she and I agreed that it would be better for, kind of, like, my own individuality to either change my name, but not to Syanide. And so, then we kind of stuck on Mercury Poisoning because it tied with Syanide, which, you know, it’s poison, but… so it tied to that, but it wasn’t using the exact same last name. So, it’s like, “Okay, we’re part of the same family. We just, you know, have our own individual styles,” because Syanide just didn’t fit me, so…

Madison Lammert: Mm-hmm.Yeah. So, can you describe for me a little bit how you characterize your drag? For example, do you use particular labels? And, like, do you have a particular style?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, I know I specifically, in drag… like, my pronouns, I use she/her pronouns, but I’ll answer to any so it really doesn’t matter to me. I’m flexible in that sense. As far as different labels, I [unclear]. I don’t know if I have any other labels. Like I, I guess, kind of, on to, like, your second point, I classify myself as a hot mess. [Laughs] But, but, no, aside from that, I always, when people ask me, like, how I would categ—categorize… that’s hard to say… my drag, I, I don’t know. I would almost say that I’m more of a, um… I, kind of, say, like, a pop princess. I do a lot of pop music.

But I’m pretty versatile as far as, like, genres because I co-produce a show in St. Charles with my drag mom, Roxxy Malone. And she, um, she and I tried to have a lot of different themes and everything for those shows. So, like, we’ve done country; we’ve done rock and roll; we’ve done 80s; we’ve done 90s; we’ve done Broadway, you know, whatever it may be, like, whatever you can think of, we’ve probably done it. So, I can do a little bit of everything.

So, I’m definitely versatile, in that sense. But I, I probably stick at home more with like pop music and things. So, I would consider myself a pop princess. But I’m definitely… um, like, as far as if you go into, like… you know, you have people in the drag world, you consider them looks queens. So, like, their makeup is what they’re best at. I’m not – like, I’m good at makeup, but I I’m not like up-there amazing. I’m definitely not a full comedy queen, but I’m, kind of, funny. So, like, that’s mixed in there. Um, but I would say where I shine at is my lip sync specifically with ballads. So, I would almost call myself a ballad queen. I don’t know, I’m just really good at it, so… [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: Cool.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah.

Madison Lammert: Um, you said, “hot mess,” can you tell me a little bit more about what that means?

Mercury M. Poisoning: [Laughs] Yeah, I just say that to myself, probably because I’m a very, like, self-deprecating person, you know, just to, kind of, make a joke. That’s what I… that’s how my humor goes. But I always say, “hot mess” because, like, I’m not super great at styling hair. So, like, I can make my hair look presentable, but it may not look the best. So, it’s, kind of, like, one of those situations where I’m like, “Eh, it’s good.” But it is something that I’m actively working on to try to get better at, so then I won’t say I’m a hot mess anymore.

But there’s just little things that, like, I’m super nitpicky, ’cause I’m a perfectionist when it comes to certain things. And so, in drag, I’ve had to really, like, be like, “I can’t fix some of these things” or you know, whatever. So then it just, kind of, falls under the hot mess category.

Madison Lammert: Mm-hmm. Okay. So, who or what has influenced your drag?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, oh, um, that’s, uh, that’s a good question. Let’s see. Also, sorry, I just changed my name on my… I realized it was still my name from a previous trivia night I was a part of. So, anyway, so I changed that. But, um, who has influenced? Um, I don’t know. I mean, I feel like a lot of my influences come from things I see on Drag Race. Because even though, like, you know, there’s a lot of things that have happened with RuPaul, you know, and comments that she’s made towards different communities, or, you know, different populations. So, like, not… maybe not the best, but I watch it for the fashion and for the queens that are using their platforms to change and make a difference and things.

But, like, I really, really enjoyed, um, like, Raven when she was on her season, who has gone on to do so much in drag, and, like, Bob the Drag Queen, who’s a comedy queen, but does so much, like, activism and things like that. But it’s like, as far as performance styles, I would say I probably lean more towards, like, kind of, how Bob the Drag Queen does it or even, maybe… I don’t know. I’m not even sure who else.

But I, I mean, as far as, like, celebrities go, I always… I, I mean, I enjoy… like I do a lot of Dua Lipa, so I feel like her music, specifically, and probably her, you know, because it’s her music, has influenced me a lot, um, ’cause I love performing her music. Or I just look at some of the old, like… I don’t know, like, maybe some of the artists from the 90s, maybe, because I don’t do a lot of 90s but, like, I like that style, so… But I, I don’t know, that’s always a hard question for me to answer, so I’m sorry it’s not a super great answer. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: What about Bob the Drag Queen? You said her performance style? Can you describe that a little bit to me?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yes, she’s always like, um… she’s a comedy queen, so it’s, kind of, like, there’s like a funny aspect to it where she’s, like, just very, um… she makes a lot of expression with her face and with her mouth, because she… like, she does really well with her lip sync. So, I feel like I do similar things. She can dance and things, but she doesn’t always do that. Like, sometimes she just does a little bit of, you know, movement or expression with her hands.

And I definitely do that because I am not a dancer, by any stretch of the imagination. And, and I’m, I’m aware of that, and it’s okay. I, I try but, like, it’s, it’s, uh, it’s not some of those, like, you see people that are, like, kicking and twirling and whatnot. I just can’t do it. It just looks awkward when I try to do it. The best I can do as a cartwheel. But, but Bob the Drag Queen does that expression and, like, really knows her lip sync, so I… that’s why I like to think that I’m a little bit like her in that regard. But, definitely, very, just like, overexpression is, kind of, the main point of hers.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. Okay. Um, do you consider your drag to be political?

Mercury M. Poisoning: I would like to say no, because I hate politics. I keep up with it enough to be… like, to be knowledgeable, so I know what’s happening and can make my own informed decisions. But drag in itself is kind of a political move, I would say, because it is something that’s challenging the binary as far as, you know, trans rights go and, and nonbinary rights and things like that. It is challenging that binary of, “Oh, it’s just male and female,” which is not the case. You know, it, it’s showing that people can be fluid, or, you know, they can be solid, and their identity, whatever that identity may be, but they can still be fluid enough that they can express their gender in different ways, if they want to.

Because, you know, for drag, like, for a lot of people, drag is just expressing a different gender, but for other people, it is a full exploration of their identity. Because some people get into dr– into drag and then, you know, later on, realize, um, you know, “This feels right in drag, like, this, this feels like who I should really be.” And a lot… you know, a lot of trans people go through that journey. Not, not all of them, by any means, but I’ve known several trans people that have gone through that journey of starting out they’re like, “Oh yeah, I’m just doing drag because it’s something I’m interested in.” And then, you know, that interest came from the fact that they’re… they are trans and maybe didn’t know it yet and, you know, kind of, go on that journey and figure that out. So, so yes, probably, it is, whether I want it to be or not. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: Yeah. That’s something we’ve been talking a lot about in class. So, I mean, these questions are all given from the professor because it’s, like, a research study, you know? Um, but I was particularly excited to see your response to that one.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. So, um, so, um, you had mentioned being part of a drag family and, um, how…? Can you tell me a little bit more about how that works?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah. So, I’ve been a part of two different drag families. You know, my first one was Scarlett Syanide, and we were part of what we called the House of Defiance because none of us say… or none of us have the last name, but normally, you know, everybody will have the last… same last name or, um… so, like, I don’t know if you watch Drag Race at all, but, like, this most recent season that’s still happening, there was, um… I can’t think of her first name, but her last name was Iman. So, there was the House of Iman, so all of her children, their last name is Iman, or Iman is in their name somewhere. And that’s how you know they’re all together. And that happens a lot too with, you know, other families. So, it might be, like, I don’t know the… right? Or in St. Louis, like, the House of Control, they were… there are a ton of Controls. They all change their last name. But we didn’t do that. So, we all kept our own last names or… if we had one, and just named the house a different name.

And then I left that family. Scarlett, I still consider to be my drag mom, but I have another drag mom, who’s Roxxy Malone, who… she is very… you know, she’s very well known in St. Louis and everything. And so, I added, like, to my name… just, like, side note, I added an M into my name. So, I’m Mercury M Poisoning.

Madison Lammert: Okay.

Mercury M. Poisoning: So, that way it, kind of, has the Malone feel. So, I’m tied in there. But didn’t change my last name to Malone or anything. So, um, didn’t, didn’t want to change my name again. And she was fine with that as well. And so, in that house, like, we call ourselves the Dynasties, so we’re the, um… well we’re the Dynasty.

But basically, kind of, how it works is when… a lot of times when… in a situation when you have a drag mom, it’s because they saw something in you, they see promise, they see, you know, something, and want to either help you reach your goals, or they want to give you advice. Or, it may just start out where they’re just giving you advice, and then it slowly comes, and then you make it official, or you may never make it official. But, you know, a lot of times it comes from a place of mentorship. So, a drag mom or a drag dad or whatever it may be, would mentor you, give you tips, give you advice, help you out.

You know, we’re lucky because Roxxy has… uh, her fiancé also sews and does a very well j—like, does very well at it. So, we’re able to, you know, work with him to get new costuming and things like that, and have a little bit better access to it that, you know, other people aren’t always able to. So, we don’t have to order it from somewhere; we can have a completely custom piece made, you know, as long as he’s willing to do it, which that’s fine, because it’s his… you know, it’s [laughs] his right to say yes or no, but… um, because I have some crazy ideas sometimes and they’re, they’re all out there every now and again.

But, when you’re in a drag family, like, I have drag siblings, and so, you know, we… I have… Roxie Valentine is my drag sister, Lucy Couture is my drag sister. Then I was adopted. So, I’m the third. And then Brother Daniel was adopted. And so, he is a drag king, and I consider, um… I just call him my drag sibling, because out of drag, he uses they/them pronouns, in drag, he’s fine with they or he pronouns. And so, I always just call him my drag sibling, and we’re considered the twins, him and I are.

So, [laughs], so, it, it’s very much like a real family dynamic, because, like, we all hang out, we have a group chat, we all help each other. But Roxxy’s our mother, you know, the main reason, kind of, the part that ties us all together. And then we each have our own relationships with each other and, and still help each other and give advice, whether we want it or not, to each other. It’s a very… like, a regular family dynamic. We even hang out. Like, we do Christmas every year and do, like, a little gift exchange and, uh, we try to get together every now and again as a family and, and things like that, so…

Madison Lammert: That’s so cool. Is it…? So, you said that you, uh, switch families? Is that something that, like, most drag artists will do? No?

Mercury M. Poisoning: No [laughs]. It was very, um… it’s a weird situation, really. But it, it’s not something that’s super common. It may happen. And it may happen more than I’m aware of, but I don’t think it’s something that is super common. Just, it was… when I did it, just… you know, like, I, I don’t mind talking about it. Um, so, like, when I did it, it was very much… I just didn’t feel like I fit in anymore. In that family, it was all kings, and then…

Madison Lammert: Okay.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Me and Scarlett, who were queens. And not that that… there’s anything wrong with that. Because I can learn a ton from kings, but they also don’t know female drag, necessarily, because that’s not what they’re doing. Like, you know, they’re presenting as male or a more androgynous look, just depending on which performer it was. And it was… like, I didn’t feel like I was growing, and I didn’t feel like I was being pushed. And so, then I just decided I didn’t… I… and Scarlett agreed, and I was like, “I’m gonna leave the family,” and you know, talked about it. And they all took it very personally and thought it was something they did, which it wasn’t. Like, it was all very much… it was something I needed to do, and I’m glad I did it, you know, to this day I’m still glad I did it. I love being part of Roxxy’s family. I love still having Scarlett as an influence and a… you know, a, a mother in my life, but it was definitely a better choice for me, and it’s, it’s worked out for me.

Madison Lammert: Yeah.So, where do you and your family perform?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah. So, the show that I coproduce with Roxxy is at Leo’s Pub & Grill in St. Charles.

Madison Lammert: Okay.

Mercury M. Poisoning: It’s… uh, we, we’re actually celebrating our three-year anniversary in April. So, we have a big… a big to-do gonna happen for that, you know, brand new costumes and we’re… I’ll let you in on a little secret, we’re doing a little photoshoot soon to change our… kind of, our branding for it. So, that’s, that’s gonna be exciting.

And then Roxxy has a weekly show at the Grey Fo– uh, the Grey Fox in St. Louis called “See You Next Tuesday.” So, it’s every Tuesday. So, I’m, I’m sometimes there, you know, the family is sometimes there. Some of us perform at Rehab every now and again. Roxxy also coproduces a show on Fridays and Saturdays at Bar:PM in St. Louis. So, we are all there every now and again as, as well. You know, if they need people, we get cycled through. Because, you know, there’s a ton of people in St. Louis that do drag, so it’s… you got to cycle through who is doing that. Not everybody’s performing right now because of COVID, either. So, like, you see a lot of the same people right now, but once COVID is hopefully over, fingers crossed, we will… you know, that’ll, that’ll spread out to where we have more performers coming through.

But they also… like it’s just other random, like, one-off ones. You know, there’s other days at Grey Fox that we’ll perform. Brother Daniel hosts the Monday Night Show, which is drag karaoke. So, a lot of Grey Fox performances, a lot of Bar:PM, a lot of Leo’s performances. I think there’s a place in Soulard, oh, Bastille, on… which is on Monday nights that they occasionally perform there as well. I haven’t performed there yet, but maybe one day. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: So, like, St. Charles, St. Louis areas is where you guys are?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah, that would be the main place. And then, every now and again, there’s different gigs. Like, I’ve been booked to work at, uh, Illinois College, I think it was. I’ve been booked to work there before, so, like, you know, maybe different, like, school shows that are in different areas. But… and then, like, I do… I’m lucky enough that I, I got to do, um… that I’ve been hired to do some different, like, bingo nights and trivia nights. So, like, I’ll get all dolled up in the drag, and then I’ll host a bingo night for different schools and, um… or trivia nights for different schools. So, that’s a lot of fun, too.

Madison Lammert: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that’s really awesome. So, can you tell me a little bit about what goes into getting all dolled up in drag?

Mercury M. Poisoning: [Laughs] Yeah, there’s a lot. Um, so, you know, kind of, my routine, I, I always like to shower before I get ready, because I have to shave my face and everything. And so, I shave as close to possible, because I am one of the unlucky queens where I have a lot of… or I have, like, thicker facial hair that grows pretty quickly. So, I always have to shave, like, as close to possible as, like… as I’m getting ready. And then I also actually shave off my eyebrows, which you can, kind of, tell, but there’s light from a window happening right now, but… so, I shave my eyebrows off completely. I used to not, and I just found that it saved me at least 30 minutes, if not more time, getting ready if I just shave them off. Because otherwise, you have to glue them down with, like, glue sticks and everything, and it just takes a lot to do that and make sure they’re covered and don’t look chunky. And I was tired of that, so I was like, “Yeah, you’re gone.” [Laughs]

And then, after that, of course, it’s just getting ready. So, for me, I can do it in about an hour, hour and a half if I don’t have time. If I do have time, I like to take a little bit longer, and usually it’ll take me two or two and a half hours. But yeah, like, brief… like, how I do is, you know, I shave everything, and then I have to color correct my beard so it doesn’t show through, and then foundation. And then, from there, I do my eyes. So, I powder everything… or no, actually, I powder everything, and then I do my contour, so I powder contour to make my lines on my cheek, my forehead darker, like, under my chin.

And then I go through my eyes. And so, it’s… my eye shape is usually the same. My drag sister, Roxie Valentine, recommended, like, with my eyes shape, I should try a different style. So, I’ve been trying something new lately, where I cover my entire eyelid in eyeliner, and then my, like, crease of my eye is a little bit higher, kind of, on, like, my brow bone almost.

Madison Lammert: Okay.

Mercury M. Poisoning: And so, that’s how I do that. So, I do all my eyes. And then once my eyes are done, really, the only thing left I have is blush and then my lips. And so, I, I do all of that. And my, my eyes, of course, are what takes the longest, because that’s what you see the most probably, and they’re the most detailed part of the… of the drag. [Laughs] So, I, I do that, and like I said, I can do it in about an hour. If I’m new, it definitely takes longer because I don’t want to mess up, and I want it to look pretty. And then I usually end up messing up and panic a little bit, but we get it sorted out in the end.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. I feel like that’s like, every time I do my makeup, I feel like there’s one thing.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Exactly.

Madison Lammert: No, I feel like that’s just like, everybody goes through it. What would you say are the biggest challenges to doing drag and being a drag artist?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah. I guess I didn’t finish, like, one thought about the other one: After I do drag, like, I do my face at home and then I go to the bar. And then I, actually, wear five pairs of tights. So, I have pads, so think like a couch cushion, on either side of my hips to give me bigger… like, to give me bigger hips and a, a bigger butt. And then I have four pairs of tights, over top of that, I have a corset. And then I have a pair of tights that are, like, netted, that are like fish nets, but they’re nude, so they match, like, make it look more like by skin tone, rather than shiny. Like, ballet tights make your legs shiny. So, it, kind of, cuts down on that shine. And then, I have a bra, and then I stuff my bra with, like, Beanie Babies, basically, like, it’s the stuff from inside Beanie Babies.

Madison Lammert: Okay.

Mercury M. Poisoning: I mean, so that’s what gives me the volume there. And then I put a shaper on over that. And then it’s my costume. So, there’s a lot that’s happening underneath the costume to, kind of, give you that, like… for me, I, I’m all about… like, I want that, like, hourglass figure. Not everybody does, but I do. And so, that’s why there’s so much [unclear]. But anyway, back to your next question, which was… hold on, repeat the question again. I lost all train of thought.

Madison Lammert: The biggest challenges?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yes. Okay. So, the biggest challenges, of course, are staying… I want to say, are staying current. So, a lot of queens… and I mean, I’m still bad at this too, but a… and not even just queens, but a lot of performers, once they find something they’re good at, they tend to stick with that. So, like, once I started doing cartwheels, I was like, “Oh, I can do this.” So, I would do it every single show. So, like, my drag mom is like, “Hey, do you realize that you’re doing this all the time?” And I was like, “No, I didn’t at first, but now I definitely do.” So, like, trying to find other things I can do, so, where I’m not… so, like, maybe once every three or four shows, I’ll do a cartwheel, instead of doing it every single show. Like, yes, everybody loves it, but, like, it gets boring after a while, like, “Oh, she’s gonna do a cartwheel.” Like, you know, you don’t want to be predictable.

And then it’s also, like, staying current with songs. So, like, everybody, you know, a ton of people do, like, old songs, like, they’ll do classic songs; there’s songs that are specifically, like, you know this is a drag song. You know, and a lot of people do those. But also trying to stay current where you’re doing new music, but not overdoing it and, like, you’re keeping up, like, building up your library of performances.

Like, I have… I use Apple Music, and so I have an entire playlist of all songs that I’ve done before. And then, you know, if it is someplace new, I may bring out one of those instead of learning a new song. But I’ll bring out one of those and be like, “Oh yeah, I’ve done this before,” and, you know, usually still have the costume or whatever. And so, I can cycle through all of that. So, I’m still showing either new things or old looks, but I haven’t worn them for a few, maybe, months or a few weeks or however long. That way you keep up the variety, and it doesn’t get boring. You know, you never want to bore your audience. So, uh, it’s… that’s, I want to say, the biggest challenge.

Of course, you always also deal with a lot of people that are stupid, in my opinion, of, like… you have people that don’t know drag that are just, like, very judgmental of the fact that you do drag. Or you have people that, like… like, my personal big… like, the thing that I always struggle with is, like, I’m single which, whatever. But I find a lot of people that, when they find out I’m a drag queen, don’t wanna date me after that point. And so, that’s a bigger struggle for me as well, that not everybody faces, but it’s definitely something that I face and, like, have to work through all the time.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. Why do you think that is?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, I, I don’t know. I’ve never figured it out. Like, the thing I always hear is, like, people are like, “Oh, well, I wanna date a man that’s a man,” which is like, that’s super toxic [laughs] [unclear].

Madison Lammert: Yeah.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Because I’m like, you know, I still identify as a man, I’m a cis, uh, you know, cis gay guy. So, I, you know, identify with the, the gender and the sex I was assigned at birth, and I do identify with that. I just enjoy getting dolled up and looking pretty and having people tell me I’m beautiful. And, you know, I enjoy that. But that doesn’t mean I’m trans. It doesn’t mean I identify, you know, any other way. Because I’m not trans; I don’t identify as trans. And like, usually, that’s what it comes to. They’re just like, “Oh well, you’re too feminine for me,” is, like, how it usually comes to.

Madison Lammert: Yeah.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Like, I don’t see that… like, yeah, I’m a feminine person, but, like, I embrace it or I try to at this point, just because otherwise I’ll go crazy, so…

Madison Lammert: Yeah, yeah. We read something about that, too. So, I, I guess, like, if you thought you’re the only one, you’re not. Like, that’s like a phenomenon or something.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah.

Madison Lammert: And we were all trying to figure it out in class. Is there anything unique to the drag scene where you live compared to other places?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, I mean, I would say St. Louis is very different in the fact that we have a lot of drag kings…

Madison Lammert: Okay.

Mercury M. Poisoning: As well. So, I, I would say I can’t speak on, you know, behalf of other populations. Maybe they do have more kings, and I’m just not aware of it. But St. Louis has a lot of kings that do really well. But, but they are also very underappreciated, I would say, because, for whatever reason… which I, I also think this is stupid, is that people don’t appreciate drag kings the way they appreciate drag queens. And I’m like, I don’t know why, because, you know, they still have to have makeup skills to, you know, make their… make themselves look more masculine. And I don’t know if it’s just because they don’t typically wear the big hair, or maybe they don’t wear, you know, like, the big costumes. They, you know, they wear more, like, suits and, um… or, you know, vests and things like that. But, like, they’re still doing every… you know, they’re still doing all the work, and not getting the same payout, which I, I don’t think it’s fair.

So, I know we always try to… like, with the shows I do, we always try to, um, you know, incorporate drag kings, so that way we can have that representation and that variety, because it’s not fair. But I would say we’re lucky, though, in that sense, that we do have a lot of, of kings represented, that other places don’t necessarily have that.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. Okay. Um, and I think you touched on it a little bit, but can you explain a little bit more about how COVID-19 has impacted your life as a drag artist?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah. I mean, a year ago is when kinda, you know, the shutdown happened. And at that time, all shows were canceled everywhere. And so, we didn’t start back until, I want to say, sometime in June. And so, St. Louis opened up enough that they started having shows, but they were at earlier times. So, we bumped up our show times. And so, we’re done a lot sooner, which is nice, because we get to go home sooner. But it starts sooner, so it’s harder for people that work… that may work like a day job. Not everybody has a day job, or they have different ones where they’re able to get off sooner. But, like, I work until 6;00. So, an earlier start time means I don’t have as much time to get ready, which is fine, we, we make do with it.

But, so, that’s been an impact. But you know, to try and still do drag, we would try to do virtual performances, which were good, but I don’t know how well they went, ’cause people found it awkward to, like, tip you, like, “Oh, I’m gonna just tip you $3,” which is… you know, a lot of people just tip $1 for… per performance, and then you do three performances at a show, normally. So, you would make, like, $3 a person, essentially. And so, it’s really awkward to just be like, “Oh, I’m just gonna send you a dollar.” Or people didn’t have excess money because COVID, and, like, didn’t have jobs or whatnot. So, that made it difficult.

But then, I mean, as soon as we started up, like, other things that made it difficult is, like, in St. Charles, there are no mask mandates. You know, everybody’s encouraged to wear their masks. The businesses can have a mass mandate if they want to, but it’s not required, like it is in St. Louis. And so, like in St. Louis in the bars, you have to wear a mask, you have to be, you know, six feet apart, you have limited capacity. St. Charles just did limited capacity, but not necessarily anything else.

And so, you know, like, the bar I have, they… she doesn’t have to regulate it the same way they do in St. Louis. And so, like, we don’t have to wear a mask if we don’t want to. We encourage all of our patrons to wear a mask, but it’s not enforced because the city doesn’t have anything saying they have to. And so, we get a lot of issues with that, because people think they know better, and I’m like, “I understand we’re in a pandemic, and we’re doing our best, but like, we also have to have a show because somehow– sometimes this is the only way some people are surviving.” Like, you know, this always supplements the rest of my income to make sure I have enough for my bills. And so, like we deal with that of people thinking they know more about our show than we do and making comments that they think they know better, but really, they’re just irrelevant, and they’re bitter about that fact. And so, they’re just trying to make it problematic for everyone else.

But, like, we always tell our performers they can wear their shields if they want to, and we encourage them to wear their shields, but if they choose not to, you know, they don’t have to, because they’re… we’re not in a place that it’s required. And so, we’re just following our own rules and regulations, but we are giving that option. I mean, of course, now that people are starting to get vaccinated, less people are wanting to wear them anyways, so I mean, there’s only so much we can do. But, it’s definitely different. Performing with a face shield is hard because it gets fogged up, or you get makeup on it, or [laughs] you can’t see, depending on the type of one you have. And so, it’s just made it more challenging, but we’re still able to do it, and, you know, still have a good time. So, one day maybe we won’t have to wear them again, which I hope, because they rub my makeup off all the time, but other than that, like, they’re manageable.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. I feel like that would be really interesting, but… so, you guys won’t be in… like, you won’t be performing in, like, an actual mask, right, that covers your…? Like, how…? Is that even possible to do that?

Mercury M. Poisoning: I would say, no, that’s probably not possible, because you wouldn’t be able to see our face. So, we have face shields. So, they have some that are like a headband that cover your face. It’s just like, you know, a thing of plastic. I have one right now that, like, do you know Hannibal Lecter, like, the little mask thing he had over his mouth? Do you know what you’re… do you know what I’m talking about?

Madison Lammert: Sorry, I muted myself because my sister is playing music, even though I asked her not to.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Oh. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: Um, so if it bothers you could just tell me to mute…

Mercury M. Poisoning: Oh, no, you’re good.

Madison Lammert: Um, but, like, are you talking about the ones where he couldn’t, like, bite people?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yes.

Madison Lammert: You have one of those?

Mercury M. Poisoning: So, it’s kind of, like, that but it’s clear, essentially.

Madison Lammert: Oh! Interesting.

Mercury M. Poisoning: So, like, it hooks over your ear, and then it just sits over your nose and your mouth, but it’s clear, so you can see everything. But we always joke and call it, like, the Hannibal Lecter mask because that’s, kind of, what it looks like, is that one so he won’t bite people. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: That is so int…! You can make a costume out of that.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Honestly. I mean, and I’m sure somebody has. I probably should do that. That’d be fun. But yeah, then other ones they have are, like, little goggles, so, like, you… or not goggles, but they’re glasses. So, you put glasses on, but it’s still the plastic. Those ones are really hard to see out of because the lights glare off of it. So, some people have started cutting out, like, the eye portion, so you can see out without any problem, but you still have the rest of the mask covering, or the shield covering your nose and your mouth. So, I don’t know if it helps, but, you know, we definitely wear them to make sure that we’re not, like, spitting on anybody.

Madison Lammert: Yeah, that is interesting.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah.

Madison Lammert: Okay. So, switching gears now into more of your personal identities. So, what pronouns do you use in and out of drag?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah, so in drag I use she/her pronouns; out of drag, I will use he/him pronouns. But I really will answer to pretty much anything. So, I mean, if somebody wants to use different pronouns for me, like, I’ll answer to them. Because, like, out of drag, even when we’re with our drag family, we still refer to each other as our drag names. So, like, you know, I may not be in drag but, like, I’m gonna go hang out with Roxxy, and then later I’ll still call her Roxxy, she’ll still call me Mercury, and we still use like, the pronouns we use for them in drag, we still use those pronouns.

So, they, when they refer to me, they use she/her pronouns. Like, I don’t care, like, it doesn’t bother me any. ‘Cause, you know, I, I’m solid enough in my own identity that, like, I’m flexible and I don’t mind that. But, you know, there are some people that it, it is particular, like… and maybe not particular, like, I don’t want to seem like it’s a bad thing because it’s not. Because, like, Brother Daniel uses they/them out of drag, but in drag, is okay with he/him. But they don’t necessarily like it out of drag, per se, because they are going for… or not going for, but they, you know, they identify more with the they/them pronouns. So, it’s, kind of, knowing, knowing your person and asking what’s comfortable. So, like, it’s different for everybody. But, like I said, mine are… mine, I’m flexible, I don’t care, whatever, [laughs] whatever you want to call me.

Madison Lammert: Perfect. Has drag influenced your sex and gender identities in any way?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, not for me, I would say. I mean, the only way… it’s kind of, like, what I touched on as far as, like, relationships, but not my own personal identity. I mean, if anything, I’ve come out of my shell a little bit more, but other than that, I would say no, it didn’t really change anything.

Madison Lammert: Yeah.Okay. Um, has it influenced the way you think about gender?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Definitely. Because, I mean, I… like I said, I grew up in a very small town, that it was very male and female, people aren’t different, predominantly white, like, zero diversity. Like, the most diversity we had, we did have some Latinx families, and we did have some other families of color, but we didn’t necessarily have… it was mostly white people that are farmers. And we had some Amish as well, like, we had a big Amish community. But still, again, the Amish are predominantly white. It was just a different, like, religion, essentially, if that.

So, I wasn’t exposed to a lot. So, I was very much stuck in that, like, yeah, it’s male and female; there’s nothing else. And so, it’s really helped open my eyes and meet a lot of different people that are exploring their genders and their sexualities and stuff in different ways for me, but I am able to ask, or, at least if I hear about it, be like, “Okay, I don’t want to be offensive, necessarily, and ask them, because they probably get asked questions like this a lot. Like, I’ll go educate myself and if I need clarification, I know I have people that I can ask clarification questions on, you know, for something. So, I would say yes, it really has opened me up to a lot more that I wasn’t aware of, and I’m glad that I, I’m… have that knowledge now.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. And on the… like, kind of, flipping it around, have your personal and sex and gender identities influenced your drag?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Oh, I mean, I don’t think so. I don’t think so. I mean… I don’t know, I always… you know, when I’m on the mic, hosting, since, you know, I coproduce, I host that show as well with Roxxy; we both host it. I mean, it definitely comes out at that point… because, like, you know, I always make jokes about… even though I’m dolled up and, you know, presenting more feminine, I always, you know, still make jokes as, like, a gay guy would. But, you know, I… so, I guess a little bit, but I don’t think it does, like, to a great extent I would say.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. Okay. So, these are more fun questions, in my opinion. How has drag impacted your confidence as a person when you are out of drag?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah, so I would say it still hasn’t. I would still say it has influenced me but not, like completely. But my confidence is definitely a lot higher. Once I started doing drag, I came out of my shell a little bit more, I do speak up a little bit more for myself. I can still be very timid and shy and afraid to do things, but, like, as Mercury I feel like I can do anything. And I don’t know what the difference is. I don’t know if it’s just ’cause I’m in makeup, so I do look a little bit different, so not everybody always knows who I am. Which is nice, but, yeah, I would say I’m definitely… I’m more confident than I was previously, so I have seen a difference, but…

Madison Lammert: Yeah, awesome. And if you could go back in time as Mercury, what advice would you give her?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, I would say to Mercury… I would tell her to start doing her, her own makeup sooner. I didn’t start doing my own makeup until, like, two, two years in or so. Start performing sooner in the city, start doing your own makeup sooner, and learn how to sew [unclear]. Like, this would be back in, like, high school, like, go back to high school, learn how to sew starting in high school, and start getting there, so when you get to college, you can just do it for fun. And because now I’m in that mode… like, I mean, I’m 27, so, like, now I’m in the… kind of, that place where I’m like, “I don’t want to learn a new skill.” So, yeah, I would say learn how to sew, start doing your makeup sooner, and don’t care what anybody says, like, Mercury is going to be amazing, and people are going to love her, so just keep letting her grow.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. Awesome. Um, is there…? Are there any other ways that you would say it has impacted you or changed you?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, I mean, I would say, it’s just given me a really amazing chosen family that… you know, I’m very [inaudible] my, my blood family. And so, it’s very… like, I’m lucky, in that sense. I do have… even though, you know, my parents don’t come to shows. Like, my mom still asks how my shows are like. Like, she’ll still look at pictures, watch videos. They just don’t wanna see it in person, necessarily, which I can… you know, I can handle that, like, at least she’s been supportive and asking. It’s not like she’s being negative about it. So, I would say like, like, I have a great blood family and support system there, but I have, like… I’ve come to the realization that I can have a really great chosen family that, like, I love and I care for, that is supportive, and we act just like my blood family would act with each other.

And so, I, I’ve, you know, been very lucky in that. And so, I do have this amazing support system, like, throughout my entire life, that I have so many people that I can go to, when I have issues or I have questions, and, you know, and, and if they’re able, they’ll drop everything in that moment, and come help me out with what I need, or give me advice in that moment. Even if it was just a quick FaceTime, like, Roxxy gave all of us keys to her place, to her and Ryan’s place, and so if we ever needed to just get away, all we have to do is call or text and say, “Hey, can I…? I’m on my way.” And they’re like, “Yeah, you let yourself in, like, you’re good.” And so, like, we have that place to go, um, which is amazing.

Madison Lammert: That’s awesome. [Background conversation.] Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on with my phone today. Um, I don’t know why we still have a home phone, but apparently, something got charged. It’s probably a scam.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Oh yeah, you’re fine. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: I’m, like, sitting here and what this is twice in this meeting. Like, this never happened. Um, so yes. So, you were talking about the chosen family. Okay, perfect. Okay. Um, this is a long question. Okay. I’m curious if and how your social identities have impacted your experience of drag or vice versa, or how drag has impacted your identities? Can you share about how one or more of your social identities such as gender, race, class, age, geography, religion, size, sexuality, disability, etc. and/or the interaction of the social identities have impacted your experience of drag, and/or how drag has impacted your experience of social identity?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah. I think… I think I’ll… I think I’m answering it the way it needs to be answered. But, uh…

Madison Lammert: Yeah, it’s such a mouthful.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah, no, that’s okay. Um, I… basically, where I’m at is, I think like, when I started drag, and even before I started drag, like I told you, I had a very… um, I had a very uneducated, narrow mind, because it was based off of the area I lived in, and I didn’t realize there were other… like, there were other options, there were other people out there that were much different from me. I mean, I knew I did, but I didn’t have as I didn’t have quite as an understanding as I thought I did.

And so, you know, like doing drag has definitely opened my mind to various other identities and learning about different identities and different cultures, because there’s so many different places that do drag, and it looks different in different areas of the world as well.

And so, there, there’s… I would say, I have a greater understanding, and that it has shaped me to be, I want to say… I want to think a better person that is more knowledgeable of different cultures, different backgrounds from myself that I can… and then, that I… I understand that I have privilege, you know, based off of the fact that I’m white, and I’m a drag queen. So, in the drag community, that’s top of the food chain. Unfortunately, because that’s why people, like… I don’t know, I don’t even know why. But I’m under– I understand that I have that privilege and that having a show of my own, you know, with Roxxy, that we’re able to give, you know, opportunities to other people that don’t always get the opportunities to perform because of either the color of their skin or because they’re a king, which are, you know, for whatever reason looked down upon. And so, we’re able to, kind of, combat that and, and give opportunities to people that didn’t necessarily get them at first.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. Okay, perfect.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Hope that answered that [unclear].

Madison Lammert: Yeah, I think it answered it perfectly. Um, so now, I have a few more questions that are more about your ideas of drag in general. So, if someone were to ask you to define drag, how would you define it?

Mercury M. Poisoning: I would define drag as expressing gender in a way that may be different from what you… how you express it normally, and doing it in an exaggerated way to make everything bigger, better, brighter, more fun, and exciting, plus 10 pounds of makeup. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: Yes, of course. What do you think is drag’s purpose?

Mercury M. Poisoning: I think that varies depending on the performer. So, you know, for some people, it’s a source of income, and it is the way they make their living. For people like me, it’s, uh, it’s a fun way to be a different person for a few hours, while also be entertaining and you know, stroke your ego just a little bit by having people tell you, “You’re great,” and “You’re pretty,” and that they love you, when you don’t necessarily always hear that. But then it’s also, like I said, supplementing my income. So, it’s… um, while it’s not something regular, I don’t do it, like, super regularly, I mean, I have my… you know, the show every other week at Leo’s, but, you know, it is a… it is, kind of, a nice, little, like, supplemental income to help cover the rest of my bills that my day job may not cover, so… but yeah, so I would say it varies for people.

Madison Lammert: Yes. Do you think that drag is sexual?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, yeah. [Laughs] We have, in the community, what we call chasers. And they are, um… and I don’t want to be stereotypical, but a lot of times they are, like, slightly creepy men that either think you’re a real woman… because it happens a lot to drag queens. I don’t know, I can’t speak for kings, I’m not sure, I’m assuming it happens to them as well. But it does happen a lot to queens where they’ll just be like, “Oh my gosh, you’re so gorgeous,” and they’re in, like… you know, they’re in your DMS, whether it’s on Instagram or with, I don’t know, Facebook, if you have a Facebook page. And then, of course, they started sending you inappropriate pictures, because they’re just, like… yeah, it’s not fun. So, that happens a lot. So, I would say, in that sense, yes, it is sexual to that point, ’cause to that person it’s very sexual. But, like, with performances and everything, I… you know, a lot of queens, a lot of kings play up that, like, sex aspect of trying to make things a little bit more fluid, sexual movements, you know, messing with people. So, I would say, yes, it’s very… I would say, yeah, it’s sexual. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: Yeah, perfect. Um, and you, kind of, touched on it a little bit, but how do you feel about RuPaul’s Drag Race?

Mercury M. Poisoning: So, I mean, I still like RuPaul’s Drag Race. I may have different feelings about RuPaul. Like, she’s gorgeous, and she does give a lot of opportunities to people that may not have had, and has really brought drag to the forefront. But, you know, some of her own views about trans individuals and, you know, different… other different performers hasn’t always been the best.

And so, I’m hoping that she’s slowly trying… or, you know, that she’s trying to learn and do better. You know, I don’t know if she is, but I hope she is, but I still… I really enjoy watching it for the fashion because these queens have so many ideas based off of these different runways challen– runway challenges, that, like, they take it to places that I didn’t think drag could go. And it’s just getting those ideas and seeing, like… being like, “Oh, that’s a really good idea. How can I take this idea and make that my own, so I’m not just ripping off what they did? But I’m able to, you know, also express myself in a similar way because that matches my aesthetic,” or whatever. So, I still like RuPaul’s Drag Race. I watch all the different variations. So, like, right now, UK is on and the US. And so, I’m watching both of those. But it is nice. I would… I would say I like it. There, there could be better shows, but I still like it. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: Yeah. Do you watch, like, the Untucked episodes [overtalking]?

Mercury M. Poisoning: No, not Untucked. I should, but I don’t. I just watch the regular episodes, and then I don’t watch Untucked. I’m lazy. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: Okay. No, that’s… I mean, we, for our class, um, we get to watch Season 9.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Okay.

Madison Lammert: So, it’s kind of funny ’cause I have homework that’s to, like, go and watch the Untucked that pairs with it, you know?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yes. I love that.

Madison Lammert: And I’m like, this is my favorite homework. Like, this is the best homework I’ve ever…

Mercury M. Poisoning: No, that is amazing. I love that.

Madison Lammert: Yes. So, I mean, that’s why I’ve been watching Untucked because I didn’t even know it existed before, you know?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yes. No, I support…

Madison Lammert: Mm-hmm?

Mercury M. Poisoning: I support that. I love that. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: Yeah, it is so fun. It’s… yeah. Um, I never imagined that we would have, like, college classes about some of the stuff we do now, and it’s so amazing. You were talking about some of RuPaul’s own views being kind of problematic. You mentioned her views on trans individuals?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yes.

Madison Lammert: Can you explain that a little more to me?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah, um, basically, kind of, what’s happened… or not necessarily what’s happened, but she just said, and it was a couple of years ago, um, but there was… there were questions about like, “Why haven’t you had trans women or trans men or anything on Drag Race? Why don’t you have drag kings?” And she basically said some things along the lines of that, you know, if you are a trans woman, and you’re doing female drag, you’re not a real drag queen because you’ve most likely… and this isn’t always the case, but you’ve most likely had work done or something to, kind of, give you more of that feminine feature, because, you know, you have… if you have fully transitioned, you know, you might… that might be the case. And so, she thinks that’s, kind of, giving a leg up to the, you know, the game, um, rather than being like a cis guy who does drag like I do, where you have to put on the pads and the… and the boobs and everything. So, she just said some things like that about how she wouldn’t ever really let trans individuals on there. And she has had some trans individuals in the past, but they weren’t out on the show. They came out after the show.

And so, like, one season, she did have Gia Gunn back for… and after… and so, after her original season, season, she came out, and then they had her back. So, then, I think Ru thought that was fixing everything, but it wasn’t. And then, this season, the most recent season, they have Gottmik who is a trans man, and he does female drag. So…

Madison Lammert: That’s interesting.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah. And so, he does that. And so, that… I think they also thought that was helping, which it is, like, I mean, it’s giving more… you know, it’s, it’s progress. It’s just not necessarily the progress we want to see. And like, why don’t you have kings on there? Like, you know, people love kings, and they can compete with the best of them, so why not? But right now, they just don’t. That’s kind of where all that stemmed from.

Madison Lammert: Okay, perfect. Um, if you could change one thing about drag, whether it be in the drag scene, or the community, what would it be?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, let’s see. One thing I would change… Um, I would change all the… I don’t know, I feel like there’s just a lot of pettiness that comes from people, that if someone’s successful, like, why we can’t just be happy for them? Why do we always feel like we have to tear everyone else down if they are successful? Because that happens a lot. If you… um, you know, if you see other people being successful, instead of being like, “Oh my gosh, that’s amazing. Congrats,” half the community is, like, against you for some reason. The other half may be supportive, but for some reason, like, we like to turn on each other or turn each other against each other. And I just wish that didn’t happen.

Madison Lammert: Yeah, that is very sad, especially since drag is such, like, an expressive art form, you know? Yeah.

Mercury M. Poisoning: I agree. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: Um, what do you think are some misconceptions that people have about drag?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Hmm, misconceptions… Um, I think people think it… uh, you know, people that don’t know a lot about drag, do think that people that do drag are trans. Um, and like we’ve said before, not all people are, you know, some people are doing it just for the expression, or maybe it is the ability to have a little bit more of a performance, whatever it may be. So, I don’t know. It’s… the big thing is, is that, is, like, just assuming that because you dress a certain way, that that means you identify that way as well. Um, and that’s not always the case.

The other, I guess, misconception is that, like, if you do drag, that means you’re hyper feminine, or… you know, specifically on the queen side of things, that means you’re hyper feminine and that you either want to be a woman or that, like, out of drag, that also means you’re super feminine. Like, don’t get me wrong, out of drag I’m pretty feminine as well, but, like, I definitely try to play it out more when I’m in drag. And so, that’s kind of where I’m at.

Madison Lammert: Where do you think that these ideas come from?

Mercury M. Poisoning: I think they are just, um, preconceived notions that are based off of either where somebody grew up, or, um, they… you know, people that just haven’t been exposed to the drag community very much, and haven’t had the chance to learn or haven’t done the research themselves or talked to somebody about it. Um, I think that’s, kind of, where that comes from, it’s just preconceived notions.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. And what do you think would help fix it?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, mean, I definitely think more education on drag, like, making it not… like, yes, making it mainstream can be scary, but also, like, understanding… like, I don’t know, giving people the opportunity to ask these questions or, like, making it okay to correct people, if they come up, and they’re just like… like, I will say, you know, I made a joke about it earlier, but the biggest thing is when you’re in drag, and you go up to somebody, they’re just like, “Oh my gosh, I want you to do my makeup.” Well, we’re not all makeup artists, like, [inaudible]. I, I paint other people. It doesn’t look terrible, but it is definitely not my best. And so, it’s just assuming that because I can do my own makeup that we can paint everybody else, and we want to do that too. And we don’t. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: Yeah.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Like, I [unclear]. If somebody wants me to paint them, I’m happy to go on that journey with them, especially if they’re gonna pay me to do it, because a lot of times I have had offers to do that. Um, but I, you know, always tell them, I’m like, “It’s not gonna look the same, like, ’cause your face is different from my face. So, I have to learn how to do your face.”

Madison Lammert: Yeah. That’s so interesting. Yeah. And if there’s one thing that you want people to know about or learn about, drag, what is it?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, I would say that it’s just a good time. Like, go out and support your local performances. Because a lot of people that love drag might have found out about it because of Drag Race. And so, don’t just go out and support those queens, because they’re making a lot more money doing it. Not saying you shouldn’t go support them at all, because, like, you should. Like, if you want to see your favorite queen, go see her… um, from Drag Race, you know, go see her. But you don’t always… like, you should still… like, if you love drag that much, you should also be knowing… learning and knowing about your own drag culture, like, in the area you live in, and go and support those performers because they’re… you know, for a lot of them, they’re just trying to make a living and have a good time. Um, so, go support them and, and, you know, go on that journey with them.

Madison Lammert: Yeah. That’s, that’s a great way to end this, like, a cute little thing. Um, yeah. So, those are all the questions that I have. Is there anything else that you think I need to know?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Um, I don’t think so. I think we’ve covered pretty much anything I could think of.

Madison Lammert: Okay, perfect. And, um, so, as part of this project, we will also be collecting, like, media of you. So, like, if you have any favorite pictures, like, or videos of performances, or flyers, like, anything you’re super proud of, I’d be happy to go ahead and put those in there.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Okay.

Madison Lammert: Do you have a drag Facebook?

Mercury M. Poisoning: I do, um, it’s…

Madison Lammert: Okay.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yeah, it’s just Mercury Poisoning.

Madison Lammert: Okay. And may I pull from that too?

Mercury M. Poisoning: Oh, yeah, fully. Yeah. I try to post pictures on there. Um, you can also… the page that I… or that you messaged me on, the Ethan Todd Miller one, you are most welcome to friend me, if you want. And then, I post a lot of my pictures there too.

Madison Lammert: Okay.

Mercury M. Poisoning: But yeah, you can pull anything you need.

Madison Lammert: All right, perfect. Well, thank you so much. It was so nice meeting you and talking to you.

Mercury M. Poisoning: It was nice meeting you too.

Madison Lammert: And maybe, you know, after the pandemic clears, you’ll see me in the audience or something, I’ll wave to you or something.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Yes, yes, come visit. [Laughs]

Madison Lammert: I will for sure. I’m so excited.

Mercury M. Poisoning: Perfect [unclear].

Madison Lammert: Have a wonderful day.

Mercury M. Poisoning: You too. Bye.

Madison Lammert: Bye-bye.