Growing up, Ella Lamoureux always had a fascination with drag 91裸聊视频� she described it as an escapism that allowed her to experiment more with her femininity.
91裸聊视频淏ut I never wanted to do drag because I had this sense of shame of femininity because I always dressed a bit feminine,91裸聊视频� said Lamoureux, whose 91裸聊视频渃olonial name91裸聊视频� is Dustin Dufault.
91裸聊视频淢y father essentially was like, 91裸聊视频楾his is who you can91裸聊视频檛 be.91裸聊视频� So, anytime I wanted to do drag, I just pushed it aside 91裸聊视频� this isn91裸聊视频檛 something that I want to do.91裸聊视频�
Originally from Ross River, Yukon, Lamoureux is a member of the Kaska Dena First Nation and identifies as Two-Spirit, a term that refers to an Indigenous person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit.
91裸聊视频淚 separated Dustin and Ella quite strongly when I was younger. One91裸聊视频檚 the feminine side of me; one91裸聊视频檚 the more masculine side of me,91裸聊视频� she said.
91裸聊视频淎s I became more accepting of myself and my culture, I realized that they91裸聊视频檙e one and the same.91裸聊视频�
When she was 19, Lamoureux watched a performance by Two-Spirit drag queen Argentina Hailey in Calgary, with whom she recently performed at Banff91裸聊视频檚 Indigiqueer Drag Show on Oct. 9.
91裸聊视频淎 lot of my journey is because of seeing him,91裸聊视频� said Lamoureux.
In 2012, Lamoureux created a drag scene in Kelowna alongside her friend and fellow drag queen Sasha Zamolodchikova. Drag at first, Lamoureux said, was a way for her to explore and figure out who she was.
91裸聊视频淲hat I learned about myself is that I can embrace my femininity; there91裸聊视频檚 no shame in it. There is power in obviously both sides of the spectrum 91裸聊视频� masculine and feminine,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淏ut what I91裸聊视频檝e learned is just knowledge of myself.91裸聊视频�
Now, she said drag is a continuing example of who she is and who she can inspire.
91裸聊视频淚 like to inspire people,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淪eeing a healthy Two-Spirit person excelling 91裸聊视频� that91裸聊视频檚 what I want other Two-Spirit people to see.91裸聊视频�
READ MORE: Kelowna91裸聊视频檚 drag story
There are now around 30 drag performers 91裸聊视频� both kings and queens 91裸聊视频� in Kelowna who thrive off of the scene that Lamoureux helped create. One of them is fellow Indigenous drag queen Jenna Telz, who91裸聊视频檚 also known as Grayson Nordgren.
In her debut performance in 2016, Telz won Kelowna91裸聊视频檚 Next Drag Superstar, a competition that Lamoureux created. But in the summer of 2015, Telz, a queer person raised in a Jehovah91裸聊视频檚 Witness household, was kicked out of her house by her parents at the age of 20.
91裸聊视频淚 basically started trying to do drag six months after I got kicked out. It was the thing that saved my life,91裸聊视频� said Telz.
91裸聊视频淏eing kicked out by my parents, I was so suicidal. I lost everything overnight 91裸聊视频� I lost my family, my friends, my job, my home. It was really hard to build back from that. It was through drag that I was able to figure that out.91裸聊视频�
Similar to what Lamoureux had done, Telz further established a name for herself by organizing and hosting her own drag shows in town, which not only gave her the opportunity to perform but gave other queens a stage as well.
91裸聊视频淓lla created a platform for so many people to start drag, and eventually, those people created a space and an environment that I was able to start drag in,91裸聊视频� said Telz. 91裸聊视频淚 went and did the same thing.91裸聊视频�
Born in Quesnel, Telz is Cree from the Papaschase First Nation in Edmonton, Alta. And while she said that she identifies as gay 91裸聊视频渋n white terms,91裸聊视频� she also identifies as Two-Spirit.
91裸聊视频淏ut that term means something different for everyone. It91裸聊视频檚 easiest for me to describe it as I identify as a gay man who dresses up in drag,91裸聊视频� said Telz.
Drag not only gave Telz control over her life, but she said that it gave her the confidence that she lost after being kicked out of her home.
91裸聊视频淕rowing up, being a Jehovah91裸聊视频檚 Witness, there was a lot of things you can91裸聊视频檛 do because the religion says it91裸聊视频檚 a no-no,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淒rag, to me, was the complete opposite of that. That was embracing who I was for the first time and being able to express myself however I wanted to.91裸聊视频�
Both Telz and Lamoureux, the top-performing drag queens in Kelowna, are drag 91裸聊视频渕others91裸聊视频� running their own drag 91裸聊视频渉ouses.91裸聊视频� The terms refer to pocket communities within drag, in which a drag mother takes a budding drag queen under their wing and mentors them.
91裸聊视频淵ou teach them etiquette, teach them manners or you help them with makeup. You help them along their drag journey,91裸聊视频� said Lamoureux.
91裸聊视频淚 have people that are under my belt that I help get into drag to help finesse their art, just like (Telz) has a lot of drag children under hers 91裸聊视频� double what I have.91裸聊视频�
And while she dreams of being an internationally renowned drag queen someday, Lamoureux said that her goal is to become a Two-Spirit spokesperson in Canada in the future.
91裸聊视频淏ut I never wanted my drag to do that part. I do feel like my drag will eventually let me get to being a Two-Spirit talker across Canada, which I91裸聊视频檓 hoping is,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淏ut what I mean when I say I don91裸聊视频檛 want to get my drag involved is I don91裸聊视频檛 want to have to get into drag to have a Two-Spirit talk with someone. I want to be able to go as myself.91裸聊视频�
For Telz, she said that her favourite thing about being a drag queen is the platform it provides her to educate people on several topics that she91裸聊视频檚 passionate about, including politics, Indigenous issues and the history of colonization.
Before the pandemic, she said she would meet with youth groups or high schools and share her experiences with them.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 someone with some pretty passionate views on things. I feel like, because I91裸聊视频檓 a drag queen, people listen to me and it gives me an opportunity to use my voice and help impact the world around me,91裸聊视频� said Telz.
And as a drag queen, she said that she91裸聊视频檚 accomplished her biggest goal of making an impact. She described having 13 drag children and watching them do what they do as one of her biggest joys.
91裸聊视频淚 just honestly want to do this for as long as I can,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚 think now, I91裸聊视频檓 more focused on myself and where I want to take my drag. I think my goal is the journey itself.91裸聊视频�
She added that it91裸聊视频檚 when people tell her that she91裸聊视频檚 made a difference in their lives that makes her cry.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 why I do it. This is why I do it. It91裸聊视频檚 for those moments,91裸聊视频� she said.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 the moments where I91裸聊视频檝e been able to empower someone or help someone else. Those are the moments I care about.91裸聊视频�
READ MORE: Kelowna drag queen to step onto national stage
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