RuPaul’s DragCon NY: Day Two – What We Learnt

Written by AdamMaidment

Photography by Matt Bernstein

Day two of RuPaul’s DragCon New York at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center was just as extravagant as the first, further demonstrating the excellent craftsmanship and art skills of the drag community and its fans alike.

The second day saw panels featuring the likes of season eight winner Bob the Drag Queen, season seven winner Violet Chachki, Connor Franta, and nightclub personality Merrie Cherry.

Whilst we weren’t greeted with a wedding unlike the first day, we had an in-depth discussion about gay rights and activism, a preview of Trixie and Katya’s new talk, further political nods, and even a conversation about costumed rats.

Here’s all the tea and ALL of the shade that occurred during the second day of RuPaul’s DragCon New York.

Trixie and Katya are about to take over your TV

Following on from the cult success of Trixie and Katya’s web series UNHhhh, the season eight duo are heading to VICELAND on November 15th at 10pm with ‘The Trixie & Katya Show’.

The half-hour show will see the infamous duo take on everything from porn to death, where they will also be joined by experts. We can already guess just how well that’s going to go down…

Katya, speaking of the show via “FaceTime”, said that “if you miss it, you’ll probably drown in a pool. Because I’m going to push you and hold you down”. So, there we have it.

Drag Queens Get Given Some Weird Gifts from Fans

With a little bit of fame comes the inevitable bit of fandom, and it seems that drag queens aren’t without the occasional odd gift from fans.

During the ’Fangirls Run the World’ panel, Cynthia Lee Fontaine shared a story of receiving a dildo from a fan. Derrick Barry mentioned that a fan had got a tattoo of her on his arm whilst, the iconic henny herself, Stacey Layne Matthews really felt strongly about her gifts of fried chicken.

Derrick Barry, Farrah Moan, and Violet Chachki all discovered they’d encountered the same fan, who respectively gave them all plush toys recreating some of their famous outfits – albeit, in rat form.

The Looks Were Still Served Up

Fans and stars of the show both continued to bring their best drag to play, despite a few sore heads from the night before.

From Bombalicious Eklaver serving up oriental empress, to Katarine Mirage showing us the true Wicked Witch of the West, there was plenty of talent to be seen amongst the crowds.

Bob The Drag Queen gave us clown realness that Bianca Del Rio would be proud of, Jaymes Mansfield turned up in a fabulous pink leopard print outfit, and the Boulet Brothers brought the spooks with matching gothic Maleficent-inspired costumes.

Drag Is Political

Whether it was the giant, 15 foot-high inflatable ‘Trump Rat’ taking centre stage on the convention floor, or the many comments from the queens themselves, RuPaul’s DragCon New York was the opportune platform for many to highlight the current political climate.

In fact, drag was raised out of a need to fight politics. Aja, who appeared on season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race stated that “partying is a form of protest”. Nightclub legend Hattie Hathaway agreed, by relating the current situation back to Reagan’s presidency in 1981, that “we’re going to do everything in our power, in our nightclub, to fight it”.

DragCon turned out to be an important opportunity not only to encourage attendees to seek out reasons why they should vote but to also see how those in power can affect members of the LGBT community and what can be done to help those members of the community.

During the ‘How to Fight Back: Activate Your Activism’ panel, Bob the Drag Queen stated that “if you want to help, the best place to serve the community is to go to your local LGBT centre”.

A Weekend of Drag

The very first RuPaul’s DragCon in New York has been an absolute success. With over 30,000 attendees, it’s been massively popular as an opportunity for members of the LGBTQ+ community to come together, embrace one another’s spirits, and delve into the fun world of drag.

If this weekend is anything to go by, New York better get ready as it’s likely DragCon will be returning soon.