"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.
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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.