Nothing Faux About Me is an interview series putting female drag artists all over the world into the spotlight. We will talk about feminism, what it is like being a woman and doing drag, and their artistic expression.
Sophie Smith, or better known as Venus Dimilo, is a drag queen that got her start in early 2014. Since then, she has made amazing advances in her career and her look.
For the first installment of Ailurophelle’s new interview series, Nothing Faux About Me, I had the pleasure of talking to Venus about her background, what inspires her art, and what it is like to be a woman in the drag community.
Lauren:
When did you start doing drag?
Venus
Dimilo: About two years ago now! At first it was just for
fun- the very first time I did drag was at a
Paris is Burning inspired
event. It wasn’t even drag I feel, it was just me in a wig and this paper thing
that I made, but it was so much fun. After the show, I went to one of my
sisters and said “I want to do drag but I can’t because I’m a girl, it’s so
unfair.” Then she said back to me “Of course you can, it doesn’t matter if you’re
a girl.” It all started from there.
L:
I know you are apart of a group called Shade in Newcastle; tell me a little
about it.
VD:
Well, the whole scene in Newcastle is small compared to the likes of Manchester.
It is comprised of about seven bars and every queen knows each other. We all
talk, cover our shifts if we need to, it’s really nice. Shade started by us, meaning
some of the alternative queens, wanting to perform more. A lot of the queens here
are more traditional, so we wanted one night where every queen can go and be
themselves. Over the past year we have had a lot of Drag Race queens, but
recently it has been just us again, just as we started, and everyone seems to
really like what we are doing. We call ourselves the Shady Bunch.
L:
Who are your biggest drag inspirations?
VD: I do not know who mine would be, there are so many. I actually look to my friends a lot, and also at myself, what I am doing, and get inspired from that. I look at what many queens specifically do, how they operate, and pull inspiration from that. I like a more darker/gothic style, but I also like girly too. I think I am still figuring out who my exact inspirations are.
VD: I do not know who mine would be, there are so many. I actually look to my friends a lot, and also at myself, what I am doing, and get inspired from that. I look at what many queens specifically do, how they operate, and pull inspiration from that. I like a more darker/gothic style, but I also like girly too. I think I am still figuring out who my exact inspirations are.
L:
How did you come up with your drag name?
VD: I was actually given my name; my friend suggested it to me. We were thinking of trying to change it to sort of be a play-on-words type of name, but I realized I liked it just the way it was. It was actually a couple of months before I had my name too, I think that is really important! A lot of queens start out with a name and fully developed character right from the beginning and I let myself go nameless and figure out who I was as I went on.
VD: I was actually given my name; my friend suggested it to me. We were thinking of trying to change it to sort of be a play-on-words type of name, but I realized I liked it just the way it was. It was actually a couple of months before I had my name too, I think that is really important! A lot of queens start out with a name and fully developed character right from the beginning and I let myself go nameless and figure out who I was as I went on.
L:
That’s so interesting- it makes a lot of sense! Why would you want to put
yourself in a box so early? As you go on, what happens if you realize you do
not like the box you put yourself in at all?
VD:
Yeah, exactly!
L:
How would you describe your personal style?
VD:
I love colored wigs; I do not have many natural colored wigs. My makeup was
quite bright in the beginning, but I have actually been trying to tone that part
down a little bit. I always need big lips, big eyelashes, and always tend to
dress on the skimpier side. In drag, I actually tend to show off the things
that I am self-conscious about, which sounds strange but is a huge part of my
aesthetic. I am still developing my look, really.
L:
Describe to me who Venus is right now.
VD:
She is kind of like the drunk version of me! She’s loud, she says whatever she
is thinking, she is everything that is inside of me that I am too afraid to put
out there as soon as the wig and makeup is off. I am much more reserved in real
life.
L:
What has been the most gratifying moment in your drag career so far?
VD: So much has happened this past year. I started performing more rather than solely working on the side, so that is helping me take my drag to the next level. Shade, like I said, has had a lot of amazing queens that really have helped us step up our game. We had Alaska come back in November 2014 and ever since then our audience size has tripled. We did DXP in Manchester and it was massive for all of us. Also, what has happened with Sharon Needles has been huge for me. When I saw her in London I ended up on stage with her, and I was also the youngest queen out of our group. It was so surreal.
VD: So much has happened this past year. I started performing more rather than solely working on the side, so that is helping me take my drag to the next level. Shade, like I said, has had a lot of amazing queens that really have helped us step up our game. We had Alaska come back in November 2014 and ever since then our audience size has tripled. We did DXP in Manchester and it was massive for all of us. Also, what has happened with Sharon Needles has been huge for me. When I saw her in London I ended up on stage with her, and I was also the youngest queen out of our group. It was so surreal.
L:
And it is only the beginning for you! How has doing drag helped you in your
life? Has it been healing?
VD:
Very much so. It’s funny you ask that because I was just lying in my bed the
other day looking at all of my messages from 2012. It is amazing how different
things are now. There used to be a night in Newcastle called Club Kids, and I
went to the very last one, and that night is when I first became interested in
drag. I went from that girl who was excited over just going out for a night in
Newcastle to the one working it. I never used to go out- I had one, maybe two
friends at most. I was always home. I used school as an excuse for not having a
social life. Since I started drag, I did a complete 180 with my entire life. I
would not know where I would be if I had not done it.
L:
When you tell people you are a drag queen, what are some reactions you commonly
get?
VD:
A response I get a lot is “You’re not a drag queen, you’re a girl.” I also get
a lot of people telling me that I am so pretty and do not need to wear all of
the makeup that I do. They don’t understand that I am doing drag; if I don’t
get paid to look like this, I don’t look like this. I tell people that drag is
not about gender anymore; it’s all about expression.
L:
So you think women can do drag, right? You are living proof of that! What
advice would you give to other women, or anyone who is not a cisgender male,
that wants to pursue drag?
VD: I would say definitely go for it. Don’t worry about other people’s opinions! Find a crowd of people, or a queen you like that you can learn from, and watch what they are doing. Get as much guidance from people in the community and as much support as you can. You need people to work with and to work off of.
VD: I would say definitely go for it. Don’t worry about other people’s opinions! Find a crowd of people, or a queen you like that you can learn from, and watch what they are doing. Get as much guidance from people in the community and as much support as you can. You need people to work with and to work off of.
L:
Also, how do you feel about terms such as “faux-queen” or “bio-queen”?
VD: I don’t mind them all too much. Around here, you usually just hear people using “faux-queen”, “bio-queen” seems to be more of an American term. However, I really prefer to just describe myself as a drag queen. It sounds better, it’s more accurate. To me, “faux” implies that what I am doing is fake. What I create takes the same amount of time to do as any other drag queen. It’s real
VD: I don’t mind them all too much. Around here, you usually just hear people using “faux-queen”, “bio-queen” seems to be more of an American term. However, I really prefer to just describe myself as a drag queen. It sounds better, it’s more accurate. To me, “faux” implies that what I am doing is fake. What I create takes the same amount of time to do as any other drag queen. It’s real
L:
What are your goals for the future?
VD: In Newcastle, I hope to not sell shots forever, ha ha. I hope to perform even more. I’d like to travel more around the country too. As for more long-term goals; I would really like to try America out. I would like to see if I could make it in New York, even if it does not last for too long. I think one year there could really benefit me.
VD: In Newcastle, I hope to not sell shots forever, ha ha. I hope to perform even more. I’d like to travel more around the country too. As for more long-term goals; I would really like to try America out. I would like to see if I could make it in New York, even if it does not last for too long. I think one year there could really benefit me.
L:
When you get to New York, I’ll make sure I am the first one to greet you.
Venus, thank you so much for talking with me.
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