May 29
Squeamish Conservatives Slam 'Drag Race All Stars' Queen's 'Top Surgery' Style
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Squeamish conservatives went after "All Stars" 9 cast member Gottmik when the trans "Drag Race" alum celebrated "life saving" top surgery with a look that left no doubt what she was talking about.
"The 27-year-old sashayed down the 'All Stars' runway on Friday night wearing a latex skirt and corset and a pair of fake arms draped around her holding scalpels that moved against her exposed chest, with red streaks representing incisions under her nipples," Entertainment Weekly detailed of the drag artist, a transgender man who uses she/her pronouns when performing and he/him pronouns otherwise.
Gottmik accessorized the provocative look with "a pair of fake breasts inside a bloody plastic bag," EW noted.
"The judges praised the bold look as a moving statement on Gottmik's identity and trans representation," the article went on to add.
The "Drag Race" Season 13 trailblazer – the first trans man to compete on the long-running reality competition show – explained, "This look is something I've been wanting to do for so long, because top surgery absolutely changed my life."
Taking to Instagram, Gottmik elucidated further, calling the look "a piece of art and fashion," and declaring, "This look represents the pain and suffering I went through while all at the some time experiencing complete trans queer liberation in a way that I hope everyone seeing this will feel one day."
"I found my peace within the fashion drag artistry space," Gottmik added, "and I hope everyone finds theirs in one way or another."
Transphobic right-wing commentators were not feeling peaceful, though. Megyn Kelly went so far as to misrepresent trans issues as an "ideology" that she declared was "obviously misogynistic."
"Conservative circles pushed back against the look so much that Gottmik's name trended on X over the weekend," EW noted.
Gottmik matched trolling with wit.
For those who understand that gender is not an "ideology" but a deeply personal and intensely felt reality, Gottmik's runway commentary "resonated," EW said.
Here's what some on X were posting about the daring look.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
