From left to right: Sister Indica without makeup, Chiffon with her old nose, Sidney before his makeover, Poppy before Weight Watchers
It is the time of year to give thanks and we here at WERRRK are obviously very thankful for all of our readers and the support you’ve shown us! Our team and our friends of the site have a lot to be thankful for as well. We’re happy to share this with you all and encourage you to share what you’re thankful for this year in the comments below. Also, almost everyone’s name links to their Twitter accounts so on the day before Black Friday, give yourself a FREE gift and go follow all these great accounts! Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
And before we begin, let us talk a moment to share a Thanksgiving prayer from Betty Bowers, America’s Best Christian….
Chiffon Dior: Its been quite the year and I have a lot to be thankful for. First off I need to thank my family here at the ALL NEW, ALL DIFFERENT WERRRK.com! Thank you all so much for what you do to make this site successful! Second, I’m thankful to the tech support guy in India whose name was almost certainly not Hank like he claimed but still helped me out when I thought I had lost the entire database when we were launching the new site. Third I want to thank all eleven AMAZING queens that participated in the first ever Miss NotSafe4Werk pageant, including our winner, Boxxa Vine! The event was a huge success thanks in large parts to all your efforts! Forth, I’m thankful the amazing friends I met this year that have enriched my life and for all my old friends, you may have lost that “New Friend Smell” but I still love you just the same! And finally, I’m thankful for all of the readers of our site. We put a lot of work into what we do but without you it would all be pointless. Have a fabulous Thanksgiving to everyone!
Poppy Fields: I have so many things for which to be thankful – a closet-full of sparkly dresses, a permanent table at my local coffee shop, and a houseboy that’s hung like a … well, never mind that. But quite honestly, I’m truly thankful that I am happy, healthy, and have wonderful people in my life – particularly my colleagues here at Werrrk.com, and specifically our Diva-in-Charge, Chiffon Dior. My love to all of them and all of you, gentle readers!
Sidney Stokes: The thing I am thankful for this year is support. It was support that gave me the courage to leave a job that was treating me less than one deserves to be treated. It was support that allowed me to find a new job so quickly. A job which I am thankful to have, to get to help people daily, to be an activist. I am thankful to work with incredible people. I am thankful for all the travel opportunities I have had, allowing for incredible life experiences. I am thankful for being able to continue to write for Werrrk.com and be a part of a colorful team that makes a rainbow look grey. I am so grateful for every friend I have, for my family, and my dog who deals with the most. So now that I have said what I am thankful for, I have one more thing to say. Thank you.
Sister Indica: The older I get the more I realize that no Nun is an island. I’m so thankful for the wonderful people I have in me life – supportive family, friends and Sisters. I’m also thankful the Lord made me so fucking beautiful. I mean, I’m really really gorgeous. Thanks God!
Spencer Williams: I am thankful for everyday I live out here in Los Angeles with a new opportunity around each corner. I am thankful for my recently complete education in fashion, burgers, reality television, GOT/AHS/TWD, the taco truck on Grand and Olympic that also makes burgers, my supportive family and friends, and of course all of the readers that have made WERRRK.com such a success. Oh and Cherry Coke!
Crunk Panda: I’m just thankful. I get to meet a lot of cool people and do a lot of cool stuff.
Courtney Conquers: I am thankful for good friends and family members who will spend hours crafting for you, drive your unlicensed ass all over the continent, and help you in any manner when your body falls apart. I am also thankful for the kindness of creative people and their fans, because I just had one of the coolest years of my life!
Emily Meow: I’m thankful for editing apps and faux fur. Oh and like my friends and drag family and stuff.
Shawn Pelofsky: I am thankful for all the beautiful friends and family in my life, Got2Be hairspray and that I still get my period.
Ari Ola: I’m very thankful for drag, makeup, weed, peanut butter and pink!
Meagan Noelle: I am thankful for an asshole corgi that defies all positive standards for his breed type, for my daughter who is growing up much happier and healthier than I did in my own youth, and for friends that tolerate my blissful idiocy!
Faith Michaels: I’m thankful for having friends like you. Someone I could turn to when I need them. It could be to complain about something looking for advice or just need help picking that right wig. It’s nice to know I have someone like you in my corner! (Editor’s note: The check is in the mail Faith!)
Madë Beautiful: I am thankful for coconut oil, Medicaid, and PrEp.
CoCo De’Ball: I am thankful for freedom, happiness, and love. I am blessed to live in a country that I am allowed to be who I am, and to have a family that extends larger than I could ever dream, and to be able to spend the holidays with the man I love and who loves me in return! Oh and gluten-free poppers.
Jenn Witek: I’m thankful for finally having the support system I’ve been needing, and for all of the incredible people who have come into my life this past year that immediately became my biggest supporters. Oh, and I’m also thankful that I can finally walk in heels without busting my ass and that I didn’t have a hangover the day after my birthday.
Anastasiya Kochetova: I’m grateful for my family and their kindness and patience – both the family I’ve chosen as well as the family I was born into. Grateful for my amazing workplace, and the people who have come into my life with it. I’m grateful for being able to work with art and the people who support and join me in my artistic endeavors. And I’m grateful I’m still here and have stuck it out to see it all come to fruition. (Editor’s note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!)
Fifi DuBois: I’m thankful for finally breaking my Susan Lucci losing streak and getting my first pageant title. As Miss’d america I’m also thankful for 301 lashes, ab rhinestones, and alcoholics for coming to my shows and paying bills.
Marti Gould Cummings: I am thankful to be able to perform and do what I love for a living. It is such an honor to be able to do what I do and I am deeply grateful for it everyday. And being able to use my platform to help organizations like the Ali Forney Center for homeless LGBT youth.
Cake Moss: This year at this time in my life, there’s a lot I’m thankful for, and for once understand thanksgiving. I’m thankful for my health, the few friends I hold very dear(Melissa Brown, Hector M, Evan Lee, Courtney Conquers(and just because you weren’t mentioned doesn’t mean I don’t love you)) I’m thankful for my sister Laganja and for her introducing me to one of the most loving humans, Miley. I’m thankful for my drag, cause it saved me by helping me find who I am. I’m thankful for my mother, and just everything good in my life. Boom. And weed. I stay high,
Deven Green: I am thankful for YOU. If you think it means YOU personally, YOU are correct. Without YOU I would have no one to thank. –DevenGreen.com
Robbie Turner: When it comes to this time of year, I reflect on what I’m thankful for in my life & drag career. I think I’m most thankful for health and also the one year anniversary of my Hard Rock Cafe show the Robbie Turner Revue. It has taken me many years to reach this goal & I am so pleased to finally share it with the world. There’s something so satisfying about realizing your creative dreams & being able to grow through comedy, song & audience interaction. Oh! And iced tea. I’m so thankful for iced tea.
Scarlett Bobo: Hmmmm. I’m very thankful for stretch lace front wigs, e6000, cheap rhinestones from China, Botox, lip injections and being able to fit into a women’s size 10. I’m also grateful for my awesome sisters in Toronto and all around the globe, especially you!!
Maria of NYC Stilts: I’m thankful for Krylon TV paint stick and mounds of rhinestones along with a tube of duo eyelash glue for when I have an early morning gig and was out all night with queens who think I can put away as much alcohol as they can, I’m a woman goddamnit…a real woman! LOL! I am in fact thankful for the above but I am mostly thankful for my friends for keeping me sane, keeping me motivated, and pushing me to be the greatest version of myself. For them I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Cupcake Canne: I’m thankful for the people in my life that support drag and respect it as an art form.
Jiggly Caliente: I’m thankful for yummy delicious food I ate this year and will eat for the rest of my life. Thank you.
Terra Grenade: Living in Harlem I have the option of taking so many trains home from work. But none of them are as reliable as the D train. I would like to give all my thanks to that special D. I spend many nights riding the D, it’s so long and sturdy and feels amazing when I sit down on it. Sometimes I ride one D, stop for a minute, and ride another D just because I can! I ride the D so long sometimes I never even get off!!!
Rhea Litre: I’m really thankful that the train wreck of RuPaul’s drag race season 7 is over and that all stars is coming. I can’t even remember who the top 3 were. They really had to make up for that disaster and I think they will with the star-studded jaw-dropping all star cast!
Strawberry Fields: I’m thankful for the endless support of my friends and family. It’s not everyday you ex-military father gives the gift of a lace front wig!
Trixie Mattel: I’m thankful for alcohol free mouthwash. The threat of gingivitis is always high.
Alexis Michelle: I’m thankful for memory foam, my nutritionist, my dog, my friends and family, and the sickest bunch of queens I call sisters.
Alaska Thunderfuck 5000: I’m thankful for my family… I’m thankful for my friends… and I’m thankful for my loved ones. I’m also thankful for all the many people who bought the new album “Christmas Queens” and my hit debut solo album “Anus”– both of which are now available on iTunes.
Paige Turner: I am thankful for selling out the Laurie Beechman this past fall and being invited back for my big Christmas show “Hurry Down My Chimney” #itsbettertoreceive …get your tix here!
Violet Chachki: I’m thankful for beauty, glamour, creativity, and people who thrive on the above!
Dusty Ray Bottoms: This year I’m thankful for my sisters who Iv become close with. This industry isn’t the easiest or nicest. It’s nice to have someone on your side going through the “same” things. Thankful for my audience that have followed me and continue to show up week after week or even from out of state! MOST IMPORTANTLY MARC my boyfriend. I wouldn’t be as happy as I am or where I am today without his love and support! I owe so much to him and am so thankful and lucky!
Ginger Minj: I am so incredibly thankful to have found such a great balance of friends, family, love and career for the first time in my life! The struggle is definitely real, but everything has finally come together in a wonderful way.
Justin Luke: This year, more than ever, I am thankful for my family. Specifically my mother, stepfather, cousin and brother. They have always been there for me, supported me all along the way, and celebrate my successes and help get me beyond my non-successes every single day. I’m a total family boy. I am blessed to have come up in the loving, intelligent, spectacular clan in which I did. I love them with every cell in my body, and am beyond thankful for each of them.
Dallas Coulter: I’m thankful for the ability to block people on the Internet.
Erika Klash: I’m thankful for all the drag opportunities that have come my way, but also thankful that I landed a post-college job I really love and care about.
Raja: I’m thankful for coconut milk rather than almond, at Starbucks.
Britteny of NYC Stilts: I am thankful for the hand I was dealt. I am grateful for the parents I was born to, and the husband I have married. I am grateful for my friends that have stuck with me. I am grateful for the line of work I have fallen into and I am grateful for my outlook on life. I love all my experiences and stories. And I love that I laugh…a lot!!!!!
Shirley U. Jest: I’ve gone through so much growth this past year. I’m thankful for the ability to recognize my own strength in becoming a more truthful and remarkable me. Also, whiskey.
Judy Darling: I’m thankful for too many things to name – especially this year, it’s really been a dream! But if I had to pick one big one… It’s even though our world is often uncertain, I am thankful every day for the freedom and ability to create art and all of the magic that creation invokes.
Anita Procedure: I’m thankful for eyelashes that are big enough to cover up the most fucked up of eye-makeup… and I’m thankful that I live in an age where drag is celebrated and enjoyed by a huge audience!
Maci Sumcox: This year I’m thankful for the love and support of a small group of fabulous queens and personal friends who helped me heal and reminded me to start chasing my dreams again.
Logan Hardcore: I am thankful for my fiance my family/friends and the fact that by my wedding I’m gonna have a brand new set of teeth!
Holly Dae: I am thankful for all the straight men in low lightening and a few cocktails in, think I am a real woman!
Dr. Jen of Atomic Cosmetics: I suppose ‘I’m thankful for my evil geniosity so that I may bathe in the blood of my enemies’ might be too much? Okay seriously, I’m thankful that the worldwide shortage of rosehip oil is over. That was really stressing me out.
Samantha Hale: I think of the things I am grateful for every day, which helps keep me present and focused on what matters. And this year I am particularly thankful for the friends I truly consider my family.
Christopher Logan: I’m thankful for patience. Mine with people who scold others before taking any actions themselves to better or change their lives…and the patience of others who’ve supported and helped me just by being there while I’ve worked through my big ol’ mess o crap.
Tranna Wintour: I’m thankful for used record stores, they are my refuge from the craziness of the world (and the awful state of today’s pop music). I’m thankful that Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand and Cher are still alive. I’m thankful for all the love in my life. And of course, as always, I am thankful for hot men who love to take their shirts off and hamburgers.
Juicy Liu: I have to say I’m super thankful for Garageband, key changes, Velcro and shirtless selfies of Max Emerson on Instagram (sigh).
Mariette Moure: This year I am thankful for all of the opportunities I have had! Having performed bucket list roles in big cities all over the world has been a huge blessing! From all the people I have met, old friends I’ve reconnected with and being able to enjoy what I do is also what I am thankful for.
Miz Cracker: This year, I’m thankful for shady friends. Who would I be without their backhanded compliments? If I kept pleasant company, I’d have no one to tell me where I need improvement.
Diana Dhzaketov: This year I’m most thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given to reach out to the community and build a real, true family of supporters who believe in me and my path. Oh, and cheese. Mostly cheese.
Kareem McJagger: I’m thankful for (in no particular order): Brands that make heels in a size 14/15, Insoles, Bathrooms that lock, Friends with discounts on cosmetics, New Yorkers who get the concept of tipping performers.
Lady SinAGaga: I am grateful for all the amazing people that have helped me along the way and encouraged me to follow my passions and push myself creatively (ie my amazing boyfriend, cuz drag husbands just don’t get nearly enough credit)
Cher LaWealth: I’m thankful this year for meeting you and growing in the community as a female impersonator. Not only was this my first year being on cast, but my first year doing an online pageant. It may also be close to the end of the year, I’m very happy to ran into someone that cares and shows as much affection as I do. Wakes up every morning with a ”Good morning” and a kiss! Hehe! There you go. What I’m thankful for this year!
Boxxa Vine: Thanksgiving every year reminds me how truly thankful I am to be accepted by my family. I know how often after coming out people are rejected from their families but my experience was completely the opposite. My family not only accepts me but also accepts my drag and really helps to push me to do more. My time competing in Miss Not Safe 4 Werk they were behind the scene with me filming, helping, offering emotional support, and constantly driving me to do more and really be myself. I am so thankful for every single one of them and everything they’ve done for me. On the subject of drag, that’s another think I’m so thankful for. It’s this creative outlet I’m so glad I found as its opened so many doors for me and helped me realize I have more skills then being a Pokemon master. There is a million and one things I’m thankful for, but the things that stick out in my mind are the things I think of every day. My friends, my family, my man, and my drag.
(she/her) Despite being a drag journalist for over a decade, Chiffon only recently realized that she missed a golden opportunity back then to change her drag name to Rhoda Story.
“I’m sort of a Kandy Muse-ian figure. I’ve lived 30,000 lives.” On this episode, your hosts Martyr (@dragthemartyr) and Cate (@ctepper) sit down with everyone’s imaginary friend, Nostalgia! They discuss Nostalgia’s life growing up as a native Brooklynite, their love for Lady Gaga, being crowned by Bianca del Rio and “liminal spaces.” Later, we hear more about evolving drag identities, “Sissyfest,” “Let’s Watch A Movie,” and their love for hosting shows and watching movies. + Get tickets for “Let’s Watch A Movie”: https://nitehawkcinema.com/williamsburg/film-series/lets-watch-a-movie/ + Follow them: @nostalgiarama on Instagram and other social media platforms ~ tinyurl.com/wiggingoutpodcast This episode is proudly sponsored by MOTTO- the new queer dating app! Tired of the endless scrolling? With Motto, Motto sends you daily matches of people who match your interests and kinks. There are no fees, no ads, and no nonsense. Use invite code: ZVOGS when signing up. ~ Follow the pod on Instagram and Facebook @wiggingoutpodcast and on twitter @wiggingoutpod Thots, comments, and dick pics? Please send to dragthemartyr@gmail.com Cover art: Madeline De Michele – www.madelinedemichele.com Music: “Club” by Andrew Huang (www.youtube.com/channel/UCdcemy56JtVTrsFIOoqvV8g) under Creative Commons. Edits by C.Tepper