or Marge Simpson high but a perfect
round afro. Mzz B is already an icon to me.
Mzz B catches me staring at them
several times as everyone is introducing
their drag persona, one by one around
the circle, with names and pronouns.
I’m not confused; I’m just an overly
curious person. So when they say
the name and pronoun for their drag
characters, I want to ask:Who are you
when you aren’t in drag?
I think of the famous Shakespeare line:
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
I’ve changed my name once already,
when I was seven.
Now nineteen,
I’m being asked to create
a new identity
for a different purpose:
a stage name.
Just like Onika Tanya Maraj
became
Nicki Minaj
and Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
became
Lady Gaga.
But Madonna, Beyoncé, and RuPaul
didn’t need new names: they simply dropped
their surnames, left them backstage
in the wings with their family and friends.
