Lipstick Clapsticks: A yarn and a Kiki with an Aboriginal drag queen. (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Farrell, Andrew
• Is Part Of: Alternative. Volume 12:issue 5(2016)
• Page Start: 574
• Page End: 585
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: drag -- Aboriginal -- gender diversity -- Queer -- LGBTIQ -- make-up; Indigenous peoples -- Periodicals; Maori (New Zealand people) -- Periodicals; 305.8005
• DOI: 10.20507/AlterNative.2016.12.5.10
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1177-1801

Abstract

With Aboriginal drag queens you never just "spin a yarn"—you have a Kiki. As depicted in the film Paris Is Burning (Livingston, 2005), having a "Kiki" means to discuss, chatter, gossip, and have a good time with your "good Judys", your girlfriends. It is a term created by transgender and Queer people of colour that I respectfully adopt in sharing my stories and experiences as a Queer-identified Aboriginal Australian who practices and enjoys the multifaceted art of drag transformation and performance. In the spirit of a Kiki, this article will give you an insight into my world as a gender-defying Queer Aboriginal drag queen.