For many drag performers, the easy access to party drugs and alcohol in the queer bar scene can lead to regular substance use and addiction<\/p>\n\n \n\n
I<\/span>n the first episode of<\/strong> Canada\u2019s Drag Race<\/em>, the fledgling spin off of the wildly popular RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/em>, a solemn pre-runway conversation between contestants Juice Boxx and BOA was underway. While patting foundation onto their faces, the two Toronto queens exchanged stories about their struggles with substance use and addiction.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u201cI was just a mess,\u201d BOA sighs, dabbing her brush in powder. \u201cI was just like, \u2018I need to quit drinking. I need to get my shit together.\u2019\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u201cI was an asshole when I was drunk,\u201d Boxx chimes in. \u201cI wasn\u2019t a nice person.\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe show cuts to Boxx giving an out-of-drag confessional. She\u2019s been sober for two years, she explains, and calls it the best decision of her life. \u201cI\u2019m super proud of myself for making those decisions,\u201d she says, her voice cracking and tears welling up in her eyes. \u201cAnd I\u2019m super proud of myself for kind of sticking with it, you know?\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe episode continues, and the subject quickly shifts to how each queen is feeling about pounding the Drag Race <\/em>runway for the first time. But BOA and Boxx\u2019s conversation<\/a> looms over the confection that is a typical episode of Drag Race<\/em>; by candidly discussing their journeys with sobriety on television, they joined a growing group of prominent drag performers speaking out about substance use and addiction in the LGBTQ2 community.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nA 2011 U.S. study<\/a> suggests that lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals are at a greater risk for substance use disorders (neither trans nor Two-Spirit people were included in the study\u2019s methodology). Another study<\/a> from 2019 found that LGBTQ individuals are at an increased risk for opioid use disorders. Both studies point to the increased stress of living in a homophobic and transphobic society as a potential explanation for why queer and trans folks are at a higher risk of living with addiction.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAnd the ongoing pandemic seems to have made matters worse: In a more recent report, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction found that the pandemic has restricted access to life-saving addiction supports<\/a>. Another study<\/a> predicts the stress associated with the pandemic will \u201csurge\u201d substance use, and says marginalized communities are at an increased risk of experiencing addiction.\r\n\r\n \u201cWith the growing popularity of shows like Drag Race<\/em>, queer folks and drag performers are using their new and bigger platforms to bring substance use disorders into the open.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\r\n\r\nThese studies point to a situation that is dire yet often left unspoken. And with the growing popularity of shows like Drag Race<\/em>, queer folks and drag performers (who have always been among the community\u2019s most visible spokespeople) are using their new and bigger platforms to bring substance use disorders into the open.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBOA says she has been the \u201cdrunk friend at the party\u201d since she was 16 years old.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe boisterous drag queen, whose name stands for \u201cBitch on Arrival,\u201d moved from Windsor, Ont., to Toronto in her teens. Back home, she was just a kid who liked to drink with friends; onstage at a gay bar in Toronto\u2019s Gay Village, she was a superstar.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBut stardom came with a price. BOA admits her drinking was a problem in Windsor, but says it got out of control when she became embedded in Toronto\u2019s big-city drag scene.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u201cDoing drag, you get drink tickets and people want to buy you drinks,\u201d BOA says over Zoom. \u201cI started doing that. And then drugs would be flowing, so I would partake.\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nShe says she never went out with the intention of getting wasted, but that it often ended up happening. She soon got caught in a \u201ccycle\u201d of substance use that seeped into her personal life and her day job.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u201cI would wake up hungover and then I would go to work. And then I would get ready for a show after and I would still be hungover so I would have a drink to kind of make myself feel better.\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nShe knew she had hit \u201crock bottom\u201d when drinking stopped being a social activity and started to become a crutch.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u201cIt got really, really bad to the point where I was secluding myself just to drink,\u201d she says. \u201cI had nothing going on and I was probably just masking some other problems.\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n "I'm not completely found, but I'm not as lost as I used to be."
\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBOA is not the only drag performer to develop an unhealthy relationship with drugs and alcohol. The working conditions of a drag artist are often a trigger: Cisgender, heterosexual people have always had plenty of substance-less spaces to meet each other, but queer people have historically been limited to connecting in bars and clubs. And while some famous queens have the opportunity to perform in theatres, most entertain in bars and clubs where alcohol is readily available. They\u2019re often the main entertainment at the venue, the life of the party\u2014and as a result, staff and guests frequently tip queens with free booze and party drugs.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race <\/em>alumni like Jujubee<\/a>, Katya and even RuPaul <\/a>himself have shared their sobriety stories on the show. Given Drag Race<\/em>\u2019s immense influence<\/a> over contemporary queer culture, it\u2019s no small thing for queens to openly discuss their experiences with addiction\u2014a subject that continues to be shrouded with substantial stigma<\/a>.\r\n\r\n
Sending you so much love and support @jujuboston<\/a>, thank you for sharing your story. \u2764\ufe0f #AllStars5<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/EKTzY2Vo8q<\/a><\/p>— RuPaul's Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) July 11, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>