The beloved 9-year-old bb drag princess Queen Lactatia
is the new covergirl of queer artist and designer Brandon Hilton's
fashion label House of Mann. That's the good news. As Montreal's most
fiercely unapologetic beacon of authenticity, what would Lactatia, born
Nemis Quinn Mélançon Golden, ever have to be sorry about? He's
nine, and inspiring.
'Nuff said.
Apparently, all it takes for the underground surge of five-headed swamp
trolls to rise these days is presenting a non-normative identity, and
like, existing. So, the bad news — and it makes us cry — but the
announcement, hailed by a series of iconic shots featuring Lactatia in a
sequined full-coverage onesie — was followed by death threats and
accusations of sexual abuse, ranging from 4chan and Twitter and
spreading to right-wing outlets like
The Daily Caller and Breitbart News. Hilton said he even received anonymous threats claiming someone ordered a hit to kill him via Bitcoin. Severe.
It should go without saying that Hilton and Lactatia have a professional
relationship that seems built on artistry and mutual trust. Hilton, a
professional drag queen himself, had heard about the sensational
9-year-old, and fully intended on making something for Lactatia to wear
from his clothing line. Culturally speaking and for context, this is of
course in line with how up-and-coming drag queens often have more
established drag mothers who look out for them, lending outfits, booking
them as opening acts for their shows, etc. Needless to say it's an act
of love, family, and community. "We were completely planning on making
her something original, but she picked the sequin onesie off the website
and loved it," Hilton said
in an interview with HuffPost. "So we made one in her size and sent it to her. Then her mom took photos of her in it."
Papermag
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