Eureka talks drag culture and it's uplifting power during quarantine

Brut America

"Drag saved my life." In the HBO show "We're Here," drag queen Eureka O'Hara descends on small town America to share the benefits of drag culture with local residents.

Transcript

00:00We travel across this country to take people from who they are to what they can be.

00:05Whether you're a heteronormative male or just a feminine female or,

00:10you know, a trans person, whatever, everyone has, like,

00:13male and female attributes, so it's not really about gender.

00:15Who you are is the person that has to live in everyday society.

00:31Who you can be is whatever character you want to create on stage,

00:35and that's kind of like this magical part of it.

00:38For me, drag saved my life, really.

00:39I mean, there's so many elements to my life and through my process of

00:44growing up that I wouldn't have had a place

00:47in life or anything to really fall back on without drag, so

00:51I'm just a different, maybe a different story, but I don't know.

00:55Maybe not at the same time.

00:56It's definitely made me more confident.

00:58I used to be a lot more introverted when I was younger,

01:01afraid to really show my personality.

01:05It taught me how to be able to.

01:08And also, as a bigger person, it gave me confidence and made me feel

01:11sexy and pretty before I did out of drag,

01:16but it kind of taught me to also carry that over into, like, my everyday living, you know?

01:25It's a queer show presenting drag, but presenting drag in an interesting way,

01:46because we're not really trying to fix people, we're just trying to give them

01:52some support and some self-love and more like guidance,

01:57because we've experienced a lot as queer people.

02:00I hope that it has come in a time of need, and I hope that people

02:05are able to find some hope and some comfort in the show,

02:09especially during this dark time, honestly.

02:12And I hope that people see not the importance of me, Bob and Chandler.

02:18It's not about us as hosts or stars of the show or whatever people want to label us as.

02:24It's about these stories that we're listening to in these smaller communities

02:28that normally don't get told, and that conversations

02:32aren't happening as consistently as they need to.

02:36And that's referring to the situations within nervous families

02:41and not being able to communicate about issues or levels of acceptance.

02:46We don't show the awkwardness that is the unacceptance within a family.

02:51You know, also the struggles of a heteronormative person

02:55trying to find out how they can be an ally to a mother,

02:58to queer people just trying to figure out their place in the world, period.

03:02So I just hope that people are able to take from it what I've taken from it,

03:08because I've learned a lot about myself and just listening to these stories.

03:12It's been a really beautiful experience, you know?

03:14I remember my first time in drag,

03:18I really just got dressed up to go out to the club and party

03:21because I just wanted to fill my fantasy.

03:23But if I was going to say like, and that's like adult drag,

03:26but my first time in drag probably would have been like,

03:30honestly, like 10 or 11 years old,

03:32because I used to like steal my mom's like stretchy nighties out of her room

03:37and like go hide in my room and dress up.

03:39And I would like duct tape a towel to my head

03:41and whip it around like I had a giant ponytail.

03:45So I probably started pretty early.

03:47I grew up with three women, you know, I was the only non-female in the house.

03:52And I just remember always like wishing I could just be one of the girls

03:56because I hated trucks and I hated like all these things

03:58that I was supposed to like as a boy, you know,

04:01and for Christmas or birthdays or whatever.

04:05I always wanted to be one of the girls.

04:07So like, you know, it was just kind of like this released freedom of femininity

04:13that like I had to hide most other times, you know what I'm saying?

04:16So it's weird how like when even if it's not 100% of who you are,

04:22just getting to release a side of yourself that you don't normally get to show,

04:25it's just such a freeing feeling.

04:27So it just makes you feel free.

04:29During quarantine, Eureka expresses herself through my anxiety attacks.

04:35No, I'm just kidding.

04:38Now, online really, social media is very helpful.

04:41I love being a role model for my fans as they like to put me in that role.

04:46But I don't know, I don't really try.

04:48I just, I want to make people laugh right now.

04:50My advice to people always is like, be open.

04:55My advice to people always is like, be open and honest as you feel comfortable.

05:00And just remember, it's okay to be afraid and nervous.

05:05But the quicker you are to being honest with the people that you love,

05:09the quicker you are to a resolution and to a comfort place.

05:13And if you're just honest about who you are unapologetically,

05:17your tribe will find you.

05:18You don't have to go out and find it.

05:24You don't have to go out and find it.

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