Living Like a Queen

Adorned in a crimson gown ornate with sequin detailing and a glittering gold crown, Angel Dust, the Mother of the University of Southern California, would grace the stage at the university’s tenth annual drag show. The category was: bring it like royalty. She would indeed.

Before Angel Dust became the Mother of USC, Angel Zayas would scrounge build rapport by performing in even the smallest gigs while simultaneously navigating college life, constantly working for Angel Dust’s big break.

Financial insecurity among college students, including Zayas, is all too familiar. According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators, about 72% of students feel stress about their personal finances. Nearly 60% of students worry about having enough money to pay for their education upon graduation as well.

Struggling students who aspire to sashay down the runway often find themselves torn between using their money to heighten their drag career or purchasing necessities. Sometimes the chance to perform involves forgoing necessities in order to pay for costumes. Like Zayas, many young drag artists have to choose between their comfortability and their career.

“There are even times where I will put myself in situations to [purchase drag items],” says Zayas. “I'll be like, all right, I will have struggle-meals for five days if it means I can get this wig.”

Zayas soon developed more adroit methods of budgeting his money. Foremost, Angel Dust was fortunate to have a drag mother— a more seasoned drag queen who takes a newcomer under her wing— who taught her the ropes of drag in addition to helping out financially, before Zayas transferred to USC.

“USC is not where I started drag. [My] first time in drag, drag was Ithaca College before I transferred,” Zayas says. “I started drag there because my residential assistant was a drag queen—Vanilla. She is my drag mother now.”

Vanilla would also help to kickstart Angel Dust’s career by offering direction and occasionally paying for costumes. “If I needed $20, I could always ask for that from my drag mother. Like I can always call them and they can give me advice and stuff like that.”

Soon, Zayas would leave his drag mother and New York after transferring to USC. However, upon enrolling, he seized the new privileges he had as a USC student that would help him financially. By serving as both a residential assistant and housing staff member, he was able to obtain free housing and create more room in his budget for drag.

”A huge part of my budget that I would be spending on rent can now go towards costumes, wigs and all kinds of things,” says Zayas. “All of my loose income that doesn't go towards food or hanging out goes back into drag.”

Financial burden of drag

Drag queens need money to make money. The necessities for ensembling a drag look casts an additional financial burden to oftentimes already struggling students.

Angel Dust in one of her favorite looks.

Most people know queens need basic materials to impersonate a female: makeup, wigs, and a dress. Ancillary needs that enhance the performance including curve-building shapewear, sturdy men-sized heels and sometimes even a manicure are often been overlooked. While having accessories beyond the rudimentary necessities might only separate the good queens from the great queens, Zayas says he wants Angel Dust to be the best. It’s no surprise Zayas is very particular about every detail of the ensemble.

”Drag is really expensive and I spare no expense. I want the best items... I'm really anal about how things look,” Zayas says.

In the past, costs for Angel Dusts’s outfits cost between $350 and $800. Plus, wigs can run from $100 to more than $300 depending on the length and the density. While Zayas doesn’t hold back for hair and costume, he believes makeup is ultimately most important. “Drugstore is not going to cut it. When you're doing your makeup to transform from male-presenting to female-presenting it’s very, very difficult.”

Once queens manage to assemble their look, and perform, the gig payout is oftentimes minuscule. Zayas complains that the among of money earned after a gig doesn’t compare to the amount of put into crafting the production. Low-payout gigs even negatively impact east coast queens as they struggle to maintain relevancy within their community.

The Race for Fame

Neighborhood drag queens like Angel Dust dream of the day they are cast in the wildly successful reality show, RuPaul’s Drag Race, as it unlocks a world of opportunities for them. Queens who are cast in the show are able to charge much higher prices for booking fees and appearances, even if they do not win.

Reports show that famous Drag Race queens make anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 per appearance. But the show is a double-edged sword because until they finally make it onto the show, it’s quite difficult to receive equal pay from gigs.

“They're getting paid way more and the local performers are getting paid dirt,” Zayas says. “When I say dirt, I mean sometimes it's free. It's not paid at all.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race has nonetheless provided a massive platform for drag queens. With 11 seasons and over 140 contestants, the show has been lauded by critics for its exposure to the art form of drag. Plus, it has won nine Emmy Awards since its premiere in 2009, with near half of these wins happening in 2019 alone.

The steady increase in popularity of RuPauls’ drag race has also led to the increased inclusion of drag into mainstream culture. Most recently, pop star Taylor Swift performed at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards alongside drag queens who had also appeared in her most recent music video. Now opportunities for queens are not limited to just LGBTQ audiences, as media becomes increasingly appreciative of the art.

Recognizing how RuGirls could bring drag to new audiences, particularly at USC, Zayas would become assistant director for the Queer and Ally Student Assembly (QuASA) and raise enough money to have ten former contestants judge at USC’s annual drag show. Bringing in over 800 attendees in 2019, the show gives student queens and kings a stage where they can garner rapport.

A Mother’s Legacy

Angel Dust performing in USC's Conquest concert in 2019. She would be the first queer performance to ever take the stage during this event.

Fortunately for Zayas, his family was supportive of his sexual identity and career choices, but many incoming students abandon their hometowns because of lack of support. In fact, 42% of queer youth currently live in communities that are unaccepting of their identity. Resultantly, they are more than twice as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to experience a mental health condition.

QuASA helps to provide a platform for those aspiring to sashay down the runway but also generate a community for the LGBTQ students. QuASA plans monthly programing to give students a sense of support they may have never experienced before.

The assembly also puts on several events highlighting the drag community, but their most anticipated event is the annual drag show. It provides a safe environment for new drag queens and kings to make mistakes in addition to a professional-quality stage without the rite-of-passage of being on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Plus, it is the largest collegiate drag show in the country

Zayas has witnessed the evolution of the drag community at USC firsthand. When Angel Dust first began performing, there were sometimes as little as a dozen people in the audience. After five years of hard work, the community can now give experiences to upcoming drag performers that Zayas never had.

“Being the mother of USC has come with a lot of sacrifice. It's not all great things. But, I don’t regret anything,” says Zayas. “I am so happy everyone has allowed me to be their queen and I hope someday the world will allow me to be theirs as well.”