We were lucky to catch up with Shirley Delta Blow recently and have shared our conversation below.
Shirley , appreciate you joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?
As a drag performer, people often misunderstand the art form and therefore misunderstand its purpose and its possibilities.
Some drag is only appropriate for adults. That’s true. The same can be said for movies and TV shows and books and photographs and dance concerts and plays and musicals…. any art form. But some movies and TV shows etc. are appropriate for children. The same is true for drag. We don’t eliminate all books because some are only for mature readers. We shouldn’t eliminate all drag because some is only for adults.
I often hear the criticisms, “Why would a grown man want to spend time with children?” “You’re confusing and sexualizing our children!” People throw around words like evil, indoctrination and groomers without having been to my events with children. It’s ridiculous. In the last couple of years, people have been engaging in protests at my story times, standing outside dressed in black, faces covered with masks, saying horrible and hateful things to the families with children who are coming to the venue. In the name of protecting the children, they are traumatizing the children. Then there’s me prancing by in a rainbow dress, a gigantic foam wig, wearing glittery eye shadow and smelling like cotton candy. We sit together and read wonderful stories about positive messages and rainbows and unicorns and cupcakes. Who would you rather spend time with? It’s a no-brainer.
In the seven years I have been reading story time to kids, no one has said they have a problem with any of the books I read. Not once. They are not protesting the librarian reading the same books. They don’t protest when the teacher reads the same books. They don’t protest when the professional athlete or celebrity reads the same books. So I have to conclude they have a problem with me.
They don’t have a problem with what’s in the book, they have a problem with what’s in the dress.
But enough with the protesters. I wanted to give that context: I won’t give them any power.
Drag events, especially those for children and young adults are life-giving and life-saving.
Many times at my readings, I have people come up to me. “I have never seen myself in public before.” “Thank you for coming to our community. We need more people like you.” “I haven’t felt joy like this in a long time.” Comments like these reflect a deep need for young children who are discovering, exploring identity need to see themselves in public spaces. An image on a screen or a description in a book are great places to start, but children live in a world where image seems to take priority over substance. They need to see what their lives can be like. Sally Ride said, “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.”
I am an out and proud gay man who dresses in drag to create a fun and joyful character. She moves boldly through the world with a shining confidence. (In wigs and heels, I’m at least 7 feet tall.) I like to think that maybe Shirley is a beacon of hope for the future generations. I came out at the beginning of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. I’ve seen and grown and survived institutions, people and attitudes that don’t want me to exist. Yet here I am. My life is evidence of the possibility all people have, especially our queer youth. They can be and should be free to live their own life, however they see fit. I had a young person tell me this, “Because I saw you living your best life, I saw what was possible for me to be.”
People accuse drag performers of trying to make people queer. That is absolutely not true. I’m not trying to make anyone queer. I want queer kids to grow up to be queer adults. I want queer kids to feel loved and supported and protected. I want kids to be kind, compassionate, thoughtful, reflective. I want kids to have a beautiful world to grow up into.
Drag for children is about joy and imagination and creativity. Drag helps kids to see diversity and community and inclusion and possibility.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hi. I’m Shirley Delta Blow. I’m a drag performer who lives in Denver, CO. My business card read “performer, hostess, queen.” Shirley is all of those things. I perform at all kinds of events. I lip sync, read Drag Queen Story Time, host drag cabaret shows, bingo events, and a variety of fundraisers. Shirley got her start as part of the Miss Queen of Aces pageant, the fundraiser for the Colorado Gay Volleyball Association. One her first time out, she won the pageant and she took off from there. She’s performed on some of the biggest stages in Colorado; the DCPA, Arvada Center, and Center Stage at PRIDEFest.
Something I’ve come to believe is that drag should be everywhere. Shirley bring over-the-top fun costumes with colorful sparkly glitter. She’s always ready with a smile, a hug, a laugh and a joke. There is a need for joy in our world today. I’ve had the pleasure to perform on big stages all over the state. I’ve also had the honor to be with people in their most vulnerable moments. I sat and read to a woman in her hospital bed as she neared the end of her life. I read a daughter’s favorite story at her memorial service. Even in our dark and private times, there is room to find hope, joy and life.
Shirley’s tagline is “I LOVE THAT STORY.” Shirley wants everyone to live their most authentic self. Because when we do, whether we ever see it or not, we give permission to other people to do the same.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
One thing I find to be incredibly rewarding is the opportunity to work with so many other creative, inspiring, joyful people. Whether they are collaborators putting on a show or corporate employees bringing me in for an event. There is always something to learn from someone’s experience. (I love that story.) When I work with my costume designers, we come up with a great look together. I can’t do that on my own. I don’t make my wigs but I am so thankful to the craftspeople who do. My life is better because I get the chance to work with other amazing people.
Another aspect I can’t ignore is the joy I am able to bring to people. To see a face light up when they see my 7 foot frame come prancing up the sidewalk. To see the smile on a child’s face when they connect to a book I read to them. To bring comfort to a person in grief with a bright, colorful appearance and a kind word. These things are the most rewarding.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
For a long time and before I did drag too, I relied on other people’s opinions of my work to gauge my success. When I auditioned for plays, I needed the director or producer to validate me as a good actor/performer. They were producing the show; I needed to get cast. They opened or closed that door. While I was an average actor, I got cast regularly. I worked at my craft and I got better. I learned valuable lessons and even made my living as an actor for six years. I still never got cast at the big theaters in town. I was knocking on the door but it never opened for me.
The trap I fell into is that I didn’t know that I was good at what I do. I was always waiting for someone to tell me. I read reviews of my work and let someone else’s opinion of me affect my feelings about myself. I had to learn that even if I didn’t get cast, it didn’t mean I wasn’t a good actor. I just wasn’t right for the part. That was a difficult lesson to learn. Artists deal with all kids of rejection. I went from desperately needing to be in a show to call myself an actor to declaring myself to be one and picking what I wanted to do. I had to put value in myself before valuing getting cast or a positive review.
This lesson was helpful when I started doing drag. While my drag career started slowly, it soon took off in ways I could never imagine. I didn’t have a drag mother or come through the traditional pageant system. I was never in a drag house. I was pretty independent. It took years to break into the drag scene. Success was a roundabout way for me. For several years, I did shows on my own, produced them with a few performers I knew, cut me teeth at hosting. Then all of a sudden, the DCPA Theatre Company started calling, that’s the big Tony-winning, regional theater in Colorado. Now I have 8 credits to my name there. I often say, I’d been trying to get on stage at the DCPA for 15 years. If all I had to do was put on a dress, I would have done it ages ago.
Of course I realize it was more than the dress. It was who I had become. I wasn’t concerned about everyone else’s opinion of me. I wasn’t waiting for someone to open the door. I found another door. I crawled through the windows. I went to a different house. Most importantly, I made my own doors. If I couldn’t get cast in a show, I produced my own shows. I was doing things differently. My age, my experience and my point of view were different than the norm. I started to stand out because I was so different. I focused on having fun, laughing, and spreading joy. I went from the little baby drag queen who seasoned queens made fun of to her face to a force to be reckoned with walking down the street holding my head high. And the success followed. Last year, I made 165 appearances between shows, Bottomless Bingo Brunch, story times and corporate events. All the validation I need now is from the smiles I get walking down Larimer Square, a hug after a show from a young queer person, or taking a picture with the mom of a trans kid who found a safe space with me.
The lesson: Because I know I am good at what I do, I don’t need anyone else to tell me that. I am free to get out there and do my thing and spread more joy!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shirleydeltablow.com
- Instagram: @shirleydeltablow
- Facebook: Shirley Delta Blow
Image Credits
Christopher Cleary, Joann Kappel, Stu Osborne