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As the art of drag becomes more popular, so do various forms surface, making the whole scene richer, more interesting, and layered.
Enter Alternative Drag, a type of drag that defies traditional roots of female impersonation and mainstream art.
This is what Ateneo de Manila University Art Management Major Jacob Arabes chose to study, taking interest in the life of Isla Saavedra, better known as the Alternative Drag icon Worshipthegays, or Worship for short.
"Essentially, drag in the Philippines has been a source of entertainment, [but it's] not just entertainment because it also has its political subversion in their performances," Arabes told GMA News Online in an interview.
"May gap in terms of the knowledge and scholarly material in Filipino Drag, that's why I pursued this thesis," he added.
Chronicling the life of Worship and focusing on Alternative Drag allowed Arabes to uncover precisely the reason why drag exists in the first place.
Meet WorshiptheGays
Saavedra started to explore drag in 2020. Known for her quirkiness and unconventional art style, she created the persona of Worshipthegays.
"I describe myself as a suppressive drag artist and I do express myself through experimental, provocative, and transgressive art," Worship said.
"I always try to think outside the box and I'm a very political queen. Lagi siyang tumataliwas doon sa mga kasama niyang drag queen," she added.
According to Worship, "alternative drag is meant to maintain the defiance of the art form."
“Because when something becomes mainstream, aminin naman natin na lumalabnaw siya. Alternative drag — siya 'yung nagpapaalala na kailangan nating balikan 'yung roots ng drag," Worship said.
Drag is the art form of female impersonation with some scholars saying it is an acronym for “dressed resembling a girl.” It has given a large contribution in the LGBT movement, hitting mainstream through the reality competition series “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in 2009.
But Alternative Drag is different. It is typically known to be "spooky and horror," and according to Worship, it does not seek validation from the general public.
“I'm not here to seek validation. I'm here to make a mark and to say, I'm okay with being different and defiant,” Worship said.
The defiance, however, has made things hard for the Alternative Drag scene to gain momentum because they are deemed not “marketable and palatable.”
In 2020, around the same time she started exploring drag, Worship spearheaded the "Night of Worship." While the Covid-19 pandemic forced her to halt operations, she returned to hosting the event in 2022, which allowed Worship to strengthen the identity of her drag persona and introduce the art of alternative drag to a wider public.
That’s why when the opportunity arose to immortalize her art through Arabes’ thesis, Worship took the opportunity.
The Book
“Worshipthegays | Radicalizing Drag: Examining the Filipino Drag” is a thesis project by Arabes chronicling the drag of Worship and how she defined Filipino alternative drag in her own lens.
“Ang daming taong nagti-thesis sa drag pero ang hirap humanap ng literature about drag. So basically 'yun 'yung isa sa gusto din naming contribution,” Worship said.
While the story focuses on the art of Alternative Drag, Arabes made sure to contextualize and talk about the history of drag and the historical accounts associated with drag performances in the Philippines.
The book shows every documented performance of Worship ranging from out-of-box numbers like the “Jus Ko Pop” performance where she drank her own pee to the “P*******o, Iselda Marcos,” which echoed a political message.
Crafting the book allowed Worship to realize how she was able to help give a platform to the art form. “Dahil din sa proseso ng libro na 'to, mas nakilala ko 'yung sarili ko bilang artist. Kumbaga, dahil doon sa practice ko ng art ko, nabuo ko kung ano 'yung Filipino alternative drag,” the artist said.
“Kasi actually kaya ko rin sinasabi na I am the mother of Filipino Alternative Drag kasi I am making space for the alternative community,” Worship said.
Arabes concludes the book with “The Manifesto of the Filipino Alternative Drag” written by Worship, enumerating the definition of the art form as cultural decolonization, anti-commercialization, anti-homogenization, radicalizing the self, and radicalizing the space.
For Worship, the manifesto iswas the foundation of Alternative Drag: “Mas nagkaroon ng pillar, 'yung core value ko bilang drag artist nabuo siya kasi natulungan din ako ni Jacob na ma-proseso kung sino rin ba si Worshipthegays.”
Worship says there are different kinds of drag. "It's not just mainstream, it's not just club drag. We also have Filipino Alternative Drag. They coexist at the same time. They have their own spaces of existence. But essentially, they're all drag,” she added.
As of writing, Arabes is still in the process of looking for ways on how to produce the book in the hopes to share it to the public.
With his project, the art management major wishes to elevate the education of the public on the art of drag and the struggles of the LGBT community.
“We are still generally a Roman Catholic country and our faith is embedded in our living. It's important to be educated about drag because I hope that it's not just tolerance that will happen after this. I hope eventually it translates to acceptance, not just general acceptance in the head. In the way we encounter people, but also in our policies, in our laws, there should be protection for our performers in terms of this,” Arabes said.
He adds, “[Perhaps this is] a start to the future that we want to achieve. To educate people about this type of performances, this type of artists, this kind of artists. And not just to accept them as I mentioned earlier, but to legalize them in a way. Because they're also artists and we should pay our artists and recognize them more than anything,” he added.
Worship is glad to share her story as an alternative drag artist which she hopes to inspire others to use their voice for the people.
“Gusto ko rin na kung ano 'yung na-develop sa akin ng alternative drag ay mabahagi ko rin sa ibang tao na pwede pala siya. It's important to document what we are writing and doing right now kasi mahalaga sa future generations na makita nila na may kahalagahan lahat ng hakbang na ginagawa natin,” she said.
“Kahit itong simpleng librong ito, mahalaga na ma-document 'yung ginagawa ng mga drag queens kasi sila 'yung nagpapamulat sa kaisipan ng mga tao. Power tool 'yung alternative drag bilang aktibismo, self-liberation, and community building and basically nire-rewrite ng Filipino alternative drag what it means to be a drag queen in today's society. It's more than aesthetics, it's a movement." — LA, GMA Integrated News
