Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: Miss Coco Peru

Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip:

Miss Coco Peru

In my own personal big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to the Ladies Of Comedy. Theses are the gals who made us laugh and, on occasion, brought a tear to our eyes. They are visionaries, capturing aspects of the human condition while holding up a mirror to the world. Their characters, style, and phrases have helped form our daily vernacular in ways we are not even always aware of - but that is the power of comedy and the magic these ladies all possess. Breaking ground while breaking all the rules?

One such alluring siren of kitsch?

Miss Coco Peru!

What becomes a legend most? 

Apparently a red wig with a That Girl flip.

Ask Coco. She has opinions on everything and each pearl of wisdom comes with a side of chuckle.

Whether she's shopping, stomping for a favorite charity, doing stand-up, guest-starring on a television program, doing voice-over work, or appearing in a stage show... this diva has it going on!

I am a Coco Puff. I adore every curl of her knowing lips. There's integrity to be found behind every roll of her gorgeous eyes.

You like smart? You like committed? You want professional? You'll like this gay icon, who remains one of the most established brands in drag history.

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The Topic: Current Events

"As someone who struggled with gender identity as early as kindergarten where, for example, I was directed to play with boy toys when I was naturally going for girl toys, and later being bullied everyday and teachers ignoring it because they weren't trained on how to deal with a boy like me. I find it offensive that some people have told me to stop overreacting when posting my thoughts about what has been labeled as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill. I had a strong understanding from age five that who I was was somehow wrong to everyone around me. I got those messages every day from the hetero normative world I live in and then reinforced by the name-calling. Perhaps some of you can't relate to this, but telling me that I'm 'overreacting' or 'sensationalizing' this issue feels awful."

These bills are part of their 'anti-woke' movement and they're popping up all over and they are meant to erase what should be our healthy LGBTQ identity that, for me, began as early as I can remember. This what this is about, our erasure. Banning books, words, history, truth. They see trans and non-binary children living their truth and it terrifies them. Our truth makes them cringe. Why aren't we all 'overreacting'?

 

"Oh, and one other thing... QUEER! The fact that this comes from people within our community and people who identify as allies, makes it feel even worse. I even had one person tell me that my use of the word Queer makes him cringe and asked me to stop using it. Really? That was our rallying cry during the AIDS Crisis: "We're here, we're queer, get used to it." AIDS wasn't a crisis until angry, desperate LGBTQ made it one. I'll never stop 'overreacting'. I wish there had been one children's book that told me that I wasn't alone, one teacher that could've told me I was okay. I searched for that affirmation everywhere. Closest I got was discovering the album A Chorus Line in the library. This is not about teaching sex education to children, this is about acknowledging that we exist. I existed as a non-binary child before I was aware of sex."

 

"Pay attention, darlings! They're terrified of us and the steps we've taken towards our healing, our safety, our freedoms, our rights, our joy and so they're going to go after the most vulnerable now. My insides are tangled with rage. Protect trans youth."

"All of those people afraid of drag queens, trans people, and anyone that they see as other, they're killing their own minds. We can't let these haters and willfully ignorant people take us down with them. It's exhausting, but we always prevail. Keep living your truth!"

"You spend your whole career trying to create a safer place for LGBTQ people, and then have to witness these anti drag bills popping up, it's not only disheartening, it's ENRAGING! I find myself numb. My drag/trans sisters/brothers are amazing people. Survivors."

"If you're not bothered, you're not paying attention."

Coco Goes To Walmart

Coco Goes To A Thrift Store

Coco Goes To Walgreens In Search Of A Panettone

And one last parting shot...

"While you're in this world, make pretty things. As time goes by they become more meaningful in ways you didn't expect."

"Even if people are laughing at you, and mocking you, just send them a good wish. You take them out of their reality for a few minutes. You actually gave them a gift. You took them out their hateful, boring, day-to-day awful reality. Think of it that way. You just gave them a gift."