'Drag Queens' Den' is a podcast by Radio 1, hosted by Glyn Fussel and the show airs once a week. It is a very new podcast and only started this year, as the first episode- 'Drag Me Out The Gutter' was aired on 7th January 2019.
I listened to the show's fourth episode, 'Dude Looks Like A Lady' which was released on 28th January 2019. Hosted by Glyn Fussel, the guests were TeTe Bang, Amy Zing, Nick Grimshaw and Scarlett Moffatt. The overall topic for this episode was female drag queens- an aspect of drag culture that is often seen as controversial and less spoken about. Despite this, the podcast maintained an informal and humorous tone throughout.
As female drag queens themselves, TeTe Bang and Amy Zing were brought onto the show to give a more accurate and in-depth view of what it's like. As a listener, it was very interesting to hear the first-hand experiences from them. They spoke about how they see drag as their self-expression and found a sense of community in the drag world. This shows how the podcast appeals to the audience- a minority group of people who may feel as though they don't fit in or those who wish to educate themselves on the art of drag. They also discussed the difference between a female drag queen and a drag king- a drag king being someone who explores and plays on the male gender, however a female drag queen is simply a woman in drag. I liked the fact that they also aimed to educate the listeners who may not be too familiar or knowledgeable about drag, as I am someone who falls into that category and it reveals a more educational side to the show whilst remaining funny and entertaining.
Around nine minutes into the episode, it transitioned into the 'Dragony Aunt' segment of the show- this week's featuring Nick Grimshaw. The guests asked him a few light-hearted questions, such as what his drag queen name would be. This section lasted for a few minutes before returning to the main part of the show.
Discussion then turned to the fact that female drag queens are not allowed to compete on the popular series, 'Ru Pauls's Drag Race'. Both the host and guests disagreed with this idea, as they believe that it should be open to all as it is a form of self-expression and shouldn't be restricted for one gender.
At roughly 20 minutes into the podcast came the 'dragony aunt' part- this time featuring Scarlett Moffatt. She spoke about her love for drag queens and her experiences with drag. I loved that they brought a more mainstream celebrity onto the show, because it could attract a wider audience and it reveals how anyone can love and enjoy drag as an art form or purely just for fun.
The podcast lasted for around 35 minutes in total, which I believe to be a reasonable length. There was a lot of content packed in without the conversations becoming tedious or boring and it continuously kept my attention. Overall, I would highly recommend this podcast to anyone who is intrigued by drag and wishes to learn more, or already is a fan of drag and watches shows such as 'Ru Paul's Drag Race'.
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