Behind the Werk:
Drag Queens in Orange County
Ms. Victoria Vice
UC Irvine Student
Photos courtesy of Xander Lopez/ Victoria
by Sharokina Mirzaie
Drag Queen
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Victoria Vice, Vicky V., Miss Victoria, V.V., whichever name you chose to call her is a quirky and kooky pretty Drag Queen who says what’s on her mind. She is the free spirited and unhinged (but not the opposite) version of UC Irvine Art student, Xander Lopez.
Accepting and understanding Drag Queens as well as becoming a Queen was a discovery process that unraveled over a few years for the 21 year old.
“Actually, it’s really funny because I was totally sick of Drag Queens when I first was introduced to them. I thought they were absolutely horrendous, like they freaked me out. Like I don’t get it you’re a dude, why are you in woman’s clothing and acting this way?” comments Lopez with a quick laugh.
Originally from a small town in the country side of Sacramento, Lopez grew up in an area where a person’s choice in lifestyle, whether it was coming out about being gay or joining the world of Drag Queens, was an issue that the community did not take likely. Hitting puberty and that awkward stage in life every adolescent teen goes through was a pivotal point in Lopez’s life.
“When of course puberty hit and everyone was like I have feelings her or him or her or blah blah blah, I realized I didn’t have any of those feelings for the opposite sex.”
Realizing this and later developing feelings for a popular guy in school changed the views Lopez had grown up with living in this town about having a wife and 2-3 kids while living in a ranch in the future. In a town that had members who proudly waved the Confederate flag, Lopez faced adversity in school, but luckily had a supportive family who backed him up when discovering his sexuality.
Growing Up
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During his time at school verbal slurs and sometimes physical abuse were nothing out of the norm. Being so new to the idea about being gay put Lopez in situations where crossing the street from school created problems for him.
When a 4 by 4 truck tried to run him over for wearing a princess crown on his birthday, Lopez stood bravely in the street, testing the driver for he knew he could easily duck and avoid being hurt. This event marked a turning point no longer was Lopez afraid, but realized that he was in control of his own life.
At the age of 17, Lopez made a statement by coming out to people that he was gay and virtually was the first person in his town to do so.
“I really gravitated to this idea of creating a culture, even before I was a Drag Queen. And well maybe me coming out and being a strong individual about it will help influence younger generations…and that’s what I really want to do in Drag. I want to push the boundaries from want we normally perceive about Drag Queens and be that voice” declares Lopez.
“Doing drag you have to surrender a lot of lifestyle choices… it was like coming out part 2.”
After moving to San Jose with his family and taking a year off of college, Lopez continued learning more about his character. Makeup is a passion for Lopez and being a traveling makeup artist also helped create a domino effect into his Drag personality because working with makeup allowed him to be as feminine as he wanted to be. This in addition to spending time at the gay bars in San Francisco and talking to Drag Queens, did Lopez begin to learn that being a Queen is an art craft that takes a lot of effort and courage to wear makeup as a man and sparked his curiosity in trying this craft.
“Doing drag you have to surrender a lot of lifestyle choices… it was like coming out part 2.”
Moving from a gay personality to a drag personality was another questioning movement for in the gay community as Lopez describes it, gay men want a more “manly” man than a feminine man, which was one of the components in creating Miss Victoria. This in addition to actually buying a $400-$500 dollar outfit for Victoria was a tricky process. Finding clothes that fit and buying womens shoes all while receiving questioning stares was a game as Lopez calls sacrifice and surrender in discovering this drag personality.
UC Irvine
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Coming to UCI was not a hindering experience or helping opportunity, but it was during this time in college that Lopez finally emerged as his unleashed drag personality.
Choosing not to live in the “Gender Neutral halls, Lopez came out to actually this idea of creating Miss Victoria to his hall mates in October where the girls were for it but the guys didn’t really care for it. It wasn’t until a performance in a performing art class of November of last year that Vicky Vice finally emerged in full drag for the class, a decision that Lopez continues to make in all his performances for class and in shows.
“I’m not saying that I want my sexuality and lifestyle choices to define who I am, but I definitely want to use it as a voice for those who don’t have one or know they have one.”
Vicky Vice is a performing Queen whose more notable performance is transforming from a boy to girl on stage for the audience.
Believing that the community at UCI is something that Lopez feels has potential to grow with the awareness of the gay and lesbian community. This idea and helping others become more comfortable with their sexuality is something Lopez wants to continue to improve in his time at the school and way of life as both a person and Queen.
“I’m not saying that I want my sexuality and lifestyle choices to define who I am, but I definitely want to use it as a voice for those who don’t have one or know they have one."
Ms. Victoria
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Guess Who?
Meet Xander Lopez
