Nashville Drag Queen Speaks Out Against Anti-LGBTQ Legislation
Vivica Steele is one of the queens who made a surprise appearance at Ashley McBryde's 'Lindeville Live' last month. We talked about what Tennessee's public drag ban means for her.
A couple weeks ago, as I was putting together my story for The Boot on Tennessee’s new public drag ban and its implications for queer country performers, I reached out to Nashville-based drag performer Vivica Steele on Instagram. I wasn’t sure exactly how she’d fit into the story, but I had just watched Vivica and her fellow “country queens” steal the show during Ashley McBryde’s “Lindeville Live” event at the Ryman, and I knew I had to talk to her.
We ended up chatting right before the story ran, so I wasn’t able to work her quotes into the piece, but I found our conversation so moving that I asked Vivica if I could print it in its entirety here.1 She agreed, and the following is a lighted edited transcript of our conversation:
It seems like country music is at a place where it can’t really decide whether or not it wants to support LGBTQ people. With that in mind, can you tell me about how the performances you did at “Lindeville Live” came together?
Well, I can't speak for country music or their support. What I can speak for is the love and support that we have around us. Ashley [McBryde] and T.J. and John [Osborne] are friends of our family, and they saw that we needed to do something. They called me and asked me if I wanted to participate in the show, and then I was able to find some of my other sisters and bring them on board. We were very happy, in the midst of everything that’s going on, that we were able to make such a positive impact. I’m very, very grateful for the opportunity that we had.
I’m curious, as a drag queen in Nashville, how often do you sort of rub elbows with people in the country music world?
Actually, my partner's father is a country music artist. So, we are in that family. Personally, it’s not something I consider rubbing elbows. We give a lot of hugs to the individuals in country music here in Nashville, Tennessee.
Oh, that’s amazing. There seems to have been a shift recently in that a lot of mainstream country artists are afraid to publicly interact with LGBTQ people in a way that wasn’t necessarily the case a few years ago. Do you get any sense of that?
Well, I don’t think that we can really combine everyone in the industry together. For example, last night [at “Lindeville Live”], I think everyone there was amazed by what we did. We also need to understand that sometimes the support that we want people to give us isn’t necessarily what they’re able to give. But I can tell you for sure that there are individuals in the country music industry who are very supportive of their brothers and sisters when it comes to the LGBTQ community.
What does it look like when someone gives support in the less overt way that you’re talking about?
My partner’s dad wrote a song, and it wasn’t in everyone’s face, but the message in that song was, “You keep doing your thing and I’ll keep doing mine.” Artists get frustrated, and they put their message into their songs. Drag queens, we’re loud. We’re born to be loud. But with musicians, their real talent is putting their pain and their frustration into their songs. If you listen to the types of songs coming out by the Brothers Osborne and Ashley McBryde and Kendell Marvel, they clearly have a message of support.
There’s different roles for everybody. Not everybody needs to march, and not everybody needs to be onstage at the Ryman, but everybody needs to be doing something to move people’s mindsets in a positive direction.
Absolutely.
We also can’t get distracted by who isn’t showing up. The other day, we had a march, and people were really focused on who wasn’t there. But we really need to be grateful for the people who are showing up and know that if someone isn’t there, they’re probably doing their own thing somewhere else. It takes a lot of components when it comes to something so ruthless. Tennessee has some of the most conservative laws in the country, and it’s not just around LGBTQ issues. We continue to suppress our voters here with laws that make it so hard for individuals to even maintain their right to vote. There are other fights going on.
Stepping away from country music a bit, can you talk more about this drag ban and how it could affect your career and livelihood?
I will tell you this. I don’t care about this law. They're probably going to pass this law, but what we need to focus on right now is making sure we have the right local candidates in the position to make sure that this law is not enforced. The law is going to pass, and the question becomes: What do we do now? We need to hold our local officials accountable and make sure that people are not being prosecuted under these laws.
We can't lose sight of what the mission is, and the mission is to make sure that we protect ourselves and our loved ones. I believe in Nashville and that gives me hope, but it’s just so sad to see everything happening the way that it is. It’s crazy that this is happening, and the truth is, we're all scared. As drag queens, we’re strong people. But in the midst of this crazy storm, even a lot of us are thinking, “What the fuck?”
That’s something I think a lot of journalists are trying to balance as well. On the one hand, you want to show queer people’s resistance and joy, but you also have to recognize that it’s just a really scary time.
You can’t sugarcoat it. You have to receive it for what it is, and that means asking what we’re going to do now to make sure we continue to protect ourselves. My heart goes out to my brothers and sisters in rural counties here in Tennessee. I’ve had the opportunity to go down and visit some of the rural schools here, and it’s crazy to see some of these kids in the situations they’re in. It’s a lot, and we’re really maximizing our stress points. But we will keep building. I believe that.
Vivica Steele is a local drag queen in the heart of Nashville. You can catch her hosting The Queens of Broadway drag brunch at Tin Roof and Drag Bingo at Acme Feed and Seed on lower Broadway. Vivica and her fellow queens will also be joining several country and Americana performers at “We Will Always Be: Celebrating Nashville’s Queer Voices,” a benefit for Inclusion Tennessee set to take place at City Winery Nashville later this month. Tickets are available here.
Filed Under Late-Night Performances That Have Made Me Cry
Act Naturally
I got interviewed for two of my favorite newsletters this month! I always relish the chance to chat about country music journalism, and it was a lot of fun (but also a little strange) to be on the other side of things. Check out my conversations with Todd L. Burns in Music Journalism Insider and my queer country compatriot Rachel Cholst in Rainbow Rodeo:
For reference, this conversation took place after the bill—which restricts where drag shows can be performed—had passed through the Tennessee Senate but before it had made its way through the House. It has since been signed into law.