DragNet and how a generation of drag artists came of age.
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Jason Ruth, now known as Merrie Cherry, needed help.
In 2012, there werent that many young Brooklynites clamoring to get into drag.
He didnt even have a name for the party.
Ugh, thats a horrible name, his friend Donovan said, shaking his head.
He and another, older regular named Gary exchanged a look.
Lets ask grandma what you should call it.
Gary put the phone on speaker.
Hello, a hoarse, elderly voice answered.
Grandma, how are you?
Im good, just watchin TV.
I hate it, the voice cut him off.
What should she call it then?
The phone went quiet for ten seconds.
Jason could hear the person on the other end inhale again.
DragNet, Garys grandma announced.
Thank you, Grandma, Gary said and hung up.
He turned to Jason.
Mother Flawless Sabrina just blessed your party.
And the name was, indeed, perfect.
Jason began to post on Facebook every few days, then every day as the party approached.
His tone was unhinged: One more day until the crowning of the first Miss DragNet.
Expect pure creativity and magical cunt power.
Bring your Depends because you may lose control of your bowels.
But by show night, Jason, now in drag as Merrie Cherry, was panicking.
At least the bar was packed.
Everywhere Merrie turned, she recognized someone.
Helloooo people, she shouted from the stage which was all of six feet wide.
Hamm Samwich broke a chair.
The crowd went crazy.
Lip-syncing at Metropolitan, Merrie tried to keep her performance classy.
She moved her hands in circles in front of her face and twirled as the music swelled and trilled.
Someone stole Sheza Lushs smoke machine.
Blindly stumbling ahead, Merrie had busted kick off the doors of Brooklyn nightlife and invited the amateurs in.
Drag, Merrie realized after this night, meant people knew your name when you went out.
It meant they noticed you when you walked into the bar.
But shed brought none of that polish or professionalism to DragNet, and it hadnt mattered.
By DragNets third event, competitors were showing up in droves.
Ooof, who are these girls?Merrie thought.
I am Aja Injektion Marie Von Teese, Aja said and cocked her head, sizing up Merrie Cherry.
This is Kaos Marie.
An older woman from the neighborhood, who lived near Metropolitan, would sometimes let him stay with her.
Hed shown her pictures of him and Aja in drag, and the woman lit up.
A place that threatened to grind down anyone who couldnt break free and find their way across the river.
Esai and Aja lived there because they had to.
But at some point Brooklyn had become a symbol of creativity, coolness, and rarefied consumerism.
The Williamsburg of Ajas and Esais childhoods had been populated by Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Hasidic families.
Aja had been working hard on her looks and persona.
Some queens approached their eye makeup with surgical attention to detail.
Aja at seventeen was more of a butcher.
Properly applied, drag makeup both enhances ones natural features and creates a fantasy.
For the eye shadow and the lips, Aja took inspiration from manga and video games likeZelda.
The look was, as she once put it, alien-warrior-princess realness.
The larger point, though, was to mix ugliness with beauty.
How to successfully do ugly things while being beautiful was Ajas biggest challenge.
When you paint a downward face to snatch, it doesnt go up.
It goes to the side.
So I look like Im grilling everyone.
I look like I hate you.
In the bars, Esai would tell Aja to fix your face when she seemed to be scowling.
This is my face; its the only face Ive got, shed reply.
Before drag, she had tried to butch it up, fronting that she was tough and masculine.
And she was certainly tough, but performing masculinity was exhausting.
Then, one morning, Ajas mother woke her up.
I had such a weird dream about you last night, her mother said.
You were sleeping in my bed, and there was a woman putting smushed brains under your pillow.
In the dream, her mother had removed all the gore and beaten up the woman.
Aja listened to the story and noticed that she felt good.
The anxiety and fear were gone.
From that point on, Aja said she had the spirit of Fuck you.
As Ajas drag began to elevate, she felt stronger and more confident on the streets as well.
And most of the time she meant it.
That night at DragNet, though Aja was just a drag baby, no one could resist her.
She performed This Joy by Vernessa Mitchell.
I think they had never seen anything so Black at Metropolitan, she said.
She won and advanced to the DragNet finals.
Theyd loudly read Merrie for her thrift-store looks, for wearing flip-flops onstage or having a powdery beat.
Like two troublemaking teens at the back of the classroom.
Which is who they were.
But they kept coming back to Metropolitan week after week, and audiences came with them.
At Ajas urging, Kaos entered the next round of DragNet.
Wade in the Water played.
The whole thing was a mess.
Merrie would later describe it as so not PC but fun.
Though it was laughably offensive, confusing, and sloppy, Kaos was committed to the performance.
By the end, they were cheering.
Untitled and Kaos tied that night, and Kaos was elated.
We some badass bitches, she told Untitled.
Picasso come to life was how shed later describe Untitleds aesthetic.
They would both compete against Aja and three other performers at the finale the following month.
The first DragNet finale took place on a steamy night in late August 2012.
The stakes were high.
For the occasion, Merrie Cherry had upped her game slightly.
Ajas confidence was growing and growing.
Theyd brought friends to cheer them on.
Even Kaoss mother and older sister had come in a rare attempt at support and reconciliation.
Her energy was infectious; she was clearly the strongest dancer and knew every word perfectly.
And yet it seemed to Merrie that Aja wasnt sharing the stage.
No one was polished, but Untitled had a vision.
To Merrie, she seemed like a star.
Aja heard the crowd chanting her name.
Well, I think its clear who won tonight, Merrie said.
The audience gave a tepid cheer.
Clap for my girl, Merrie exhorted.
Aja stormed past Merrie and off the stage, barely concealing her anger.
Merrie found Aja after the show.
You were great, she said, trying to smooth things over.
Its not shade, girl.
You understand, right?
You know what, Merrie?
I cant talk to you right now.
If I do, I will punch you in the face, Aja snapped.
The sputtering, red-hot frustration that lived inside her began to pour out.
Disrespect and disappointment were always lurking.
Well, do you want to go outside?
Merrie stood up tall, wishing she hadnt taken off her high heels.
It seemed to Merrie that Aja was surprised shed stood her ground.
Im leaving, Aja announced.
Merrie wasnt worth her hands.
Merrie was gagged by the intensity of Ajas anger.
Of course, Merrie had no idea that Aja and Esai were teenagers.
She had never seen them out of drag, had never actually wondered about the rest of their lives.
Everyone had aspirations, and everyone definitely had an ego.
To Merrie, Aja and Kaos just seemed to have something else that made them pop off so easily.
Aja and Esai stormed out, shouting about nepotism and favoritism.
