OK Boomer, OK Zoomer: Queens Etcetera Etcetera and Cindy Pastel on how drag has changed in Australia

As a closeted 10-year-old, drag queen Etcetera Etcetera first encountered the film *The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert* and desperately tried to avoid watching it. She recalls feeling like the film was coming at her in 3D from the television because she had never seen drag before, which frightened her because she felt "that's like me." This initial apprehension highlights the internal conflict many young LGBTQ+ individuals face when confronted with representations of themselves.

It wasn't until she was 18 that Etcetera watched the film in its entirety, fearing that watching it would "open Pandora's Box." As expected, the film had a profound impact on her. At 22, the drag queen competed in the first season of *RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under*, where she shone brightly. This experience propelled her into the spotlight and solidified her path as a performer.

Today, Etcetera reflects on the history of drag with legendary drag queen Cindy Pastel. Cindy Pastel's real-life experiences of balancing drag life with fatherhood inspired Hugo Weaving's character, Tick, in *The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert*. Born forty years apart, Cindy and Etcetera share their experiences in ABC iview's new series, *OK Boomer, OK Zoomer*. This show pairs an older LGBTQ+ person with a younger LGBTQ+ person to explore how queer life has changed over time. The intergenerational dialogue provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of LGBTQ+ identity and culture.

Australia's drag scene flourished in the 1960s and 70s, with the popular revue *Les Girls* captivating Sydney's Kings Cross. The star of the show was Carlotta, a transgender woman affectionately known as "Queen of the Cross," whose risqué antics won public attention and adoration. Cindy recalls, "She was flawless, absolutely flawless. Imagine a little boy like me seeing her in the 70s... I was mesmerized." Cindy's brother took her to see *Les Girls* when she was 17, an experience she credits with changing her life. The impact of Carlotta's visibility cannot be overstated, as she provided a powerful example of self-expression and defiance during a time of societal prejudice.

"He kicked me under the table and said, 'Is this what you want to be?' Then Stan Munro sang 'There's Always Something There to Remind Me'. I saw the comedy in it and thought... 'That's exactly what I want to do'." In the 1980s and 90s, Cindy became one of Sydney's most iconic drag queens, a period coinciding with the peak of the AIDS epidemic and when homosexuality was still illegal in parts of Australia. "I remember sitting on the couch one day thinking, 'Who else have I lost this week?' Then I started counting, and I'd lost 27 close friends." It was a devastating time for the LGBTQ+ community, and a time when drag, joy, and risqué performance were needed more than ever. "I just had to find that inner strength to go out and entertain, and that was my job, to make people happy." For Cindy, even if she could only give people a few minutes of levity by making them laugh, that was enough. "I often say that everyone I lost went into my body and gave me the strength to go out and do it." The resilience and spirit of the drag community during this era served as a vital source of comfort and resistance.

Etcetera Etcetera grew up in an era when *The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert* had already achieved global acclaim, *RuPaul's Drag Race* was on the rise, and social media was taking off. YouTube vloggers were their generation's Carlotta and Cindy. "We weren't seeing these people on TV, but in a medium that we were connected to in our world, who were our age, going through the same things as us." Troye Sivan, now an international pop icon, first made waves in Australia's youth when he came out on YouTube in 2013. "I remember going to school the day after he posted the video, and everyone was talking about it." It sparked so much conversation in the schoolyard that people were even directly asking, "Are you gay?" Etcetera says that seeing YouTubers like Troye made them feel like they "had a gay friend, even though I didn't have any gay friends in real life." "I was like 12 or 13, really struggling with my inner self. I would literally hide under the covers at night with my laptop watching their videos so my family couldn't hear... it was like a little secret world." The power of online representation cannot be underestimated, as it provides a lifeline for young people seeking connection and validation.

Growing up between genders, Etcetera didn't realize they were non-binary until college. "When I look in the mirror, I think of myself. I don't think of myself as a boy, a girl, a man, or a woman. I just think of myself as me." The drag queen later became one of the first openly non-binary people on Australian reality television and became a source of hope. "I received messages from people aged 15 to 50 saying, 'I never knew what this feeling was, but seeing you talk about it on TV made me realize that's me'." Cindy says that living so openly as a father, a queer person, and a drag queen, and having that reflected in *The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert*, has also had an impact. She says strangers come up to her and thank her and thank her for helping them come out to their wives or families. "Sometimes you think you're the only one in the world, but unfortunately, there are thousands of other people thinking the same thing." The ripple effect of visibility and representation is profound, fostering a sense of community and empowering individuals to embrace their authentic selves.