Deaf Drag queens Mary and Danielle are making waves with their work to highlight the art of Deaf Drag and GSV (Gay Sign Variant). GSV is a flamboyant variation of BSL (British Sign Language) that incorporates more stank face and protest. It reflects identity and has a rich culture, much like Polari.

If you don’t know about Polari, it is an almost-lost secret language that queer people used to communicate in secret. Today, the language is being kept alive in part by The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The gay and trans nuns use Polari in their ceremonies.

The LGBTQ+ community has commonly seen fit to create new forms of communication to combat the oppression of our people, such as Polari, the hanky code, and GSV. Drag and gay signs go hand in hand for Mary, a deaf drag queen at the heart of Deaffy Drag Queeny.

Mary has been doing drag for 40 years. Her drag awakening occurred during a nativity play in her all-boys’ Catholic school, where she played the Virgin Mary and found she liked wearing feminine attire. She moved to London in the ‘80s, where she became involved in the gay deaf community and learned GSV. Mary worked as a nurse during the AIDS epidemic and used GSV to communicate with patients.

She has now taken on a protege to continue her legacy .“I want to be the first Deaf Drag queen in the world to be on Drag Race,” says Danielle, Mary’s younger collaborator, in an interview with the BBC. The fight for LGBTQ+ rights and the fight for disability rights are one and the same. Where the LGBTQ+ community struggles for better representation in media, the Deaf community struggles even harder.

Their drag show at Edinburgh Deaf Festival, in collaboration with Fringe, paralleled the direct positive action of local cafes providing deaf-friendly service during the festival. Deaf Action is developing the Broughton Street area into a Deaf Quarter, much like a gaybourhood. Their show Deaffy Drag Queeny: Glitter, Gags and GSV is a “show that promises to entertain and empower”, according to their Edinburgh Deaf Festival description.

Here’s hoping it is a sign of more to come.

Did you know we have a team of wonderful runners taking part in this year’s Dublin Marathon and raising funds for GCN? You can support our athletes at this link.