Drag Pedagogy: Queer Performance as Educational Practice
Lil Miss Hot Mess, Maiden China & Grace Towers
March 15 | 4-5pm PST
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Do you ever wish school had a little more … sparkle? Join us on March 15 at 4pm PDT to close out SOGI UBC’s Transformative Education Speaker Series with a special event on the queer art of drag and the possibilities it offers as a form of public pedagogy. This event will feature a lively panel discussion with Lil Miss Hot Mess (a Drag Queen Story Hour founding queen), Maiden China (a local Vancouver drag artist known for disrupting identity expectations) and Grace Towers (a San Fransisco artist), facilitated by UBC’s own Dr. Harper B. Keenan, the Robert Quartermain Professor of Gender & Sexuality Research in Education. Don’t miss out – this event is sure to be fabulous!
About Lil Miss Hot Mess
Lil Miss Hot Mess is one of the drag queens behind Drag Queen Story Hour, and author of the children’s book The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish (Running Press Kids, 2020). Known for her activism and high-concept performances, she also helped lead the #MyNameIs campaign against Facebook’s so-called “real names” policy, and has performed everywhere from San Francisco’s legendary worker-owned bar The Stud to Stanford University, SF MOMA, and Saturday Night Live. Her writing has been published in publications like The Guardian, Wired, and Salon, and her work has been featured in media around the world. By day, she is a PhD student in Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University, where she researches and teaches on digital media, surveillance, and media arts.
About Maiden China
Maiden China is an intersectional feminist drag performance artist who disrupts identity expectations and liberates audiences by inducing vulnerability. As a trans-non binary performer, their drag explores the concept of the “hyphen”, liminal states of embodied being, and incorporates elements of classical Chinese opera, queer theory, resistance politics, poetry, and intimate contact performance art. They perform regularly as a member of the House of Rice, an all Asian drag family in Vancouver, BC, as well as one of the Darlings, a non-binary drag performance collective.
About Grace Towers
Grace Towers is a San Francisco based Artist. For the last eight short-but-fabulous years in San Francisco, she has made a deep impact on the life of the city by carving out queer spaces and nurturing the queerdos who frequent them. She has Graced the city with her signature sabor latino, innumerable commanding performances, generous philanthropic endeavors, transformative mentorship programs, and legendary genderfuck bending style. Through her unwavering commitment to community, she encourages self-acceptance, creative expression, body positivity, and the use of DRAG as as a portal for connection—all with effortless Grace, style, and poise. Learn more at gracetowers.com
The SOGI UBC Transformative Education Speaker Series (TESS) brings together leading scholars and artists working at the nexus of anti-racism, Indigenous education, and SOGI education to consider the possibilities for the future of anti-oppressive teaching and learning in North America.
