PRIDE
“Through the decades, in the face of hatred, activists raised their voices and spilled their blood so that you could live with pride.”
-RuPaul Charles
The riots at The Stonewall Inn in New York City in 1969 marked an act of rebellion by members of the LGBTQ community. 50 years later, eight legendary queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race gather at Stonewall to celebrate the ancestry of their LGBTQ family with a photoshoot by photographer Marco Ovando. Each queen represents a color of the original pride flag, created in San Francisco in 1978 by queer artist Gilbert Baker. The colors of the original flag all symbolize something integral to the community— sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic/art, serenity, and spirit.
“It’s kind of always been my intent to be like ‘Fuck that. I want to be me and be very, very queer and very loud about it.’”
Detox
Seasons on Drag Race: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5, All Stars
Pride Color: Hot Pink
Pride Anthem: “Dive In The Pool (Let’s Get Soaking Wet)” by Barry Harris
Detox
“Drag Race is taking what we used to do in the shadows, what we used to do in tiny cabaret spaces at two o’clock in the morning, and it’s on primetime television.”
Bob the Drag Queen
Season on Drag Race: RuPaul’s Drag Race
Pride Color: Red
Pride Anthem: “Pride (A Deeper Love)” by Aretha Franklin
Bob
“We are all proud of who we are and we’re really putting it out there for everyone to see.”
Tatianna
Seasons on Drag Race: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 2, All Stars
Pride Color: Orange
Pride Anthem: “Cut to the Feeling” by Carly Rae Jepson
Tatianna
“In our community, as in any other community, I feel like [we] just need hope and sunlight and sunshine. What does sunshine do but create life?”
Jujubee
Seasons on Drag Race: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 2, All Stars Season 1
Pride Color: Yellow
Pride Anthem: “Unspeakable Joy” by Kim English
Jujubee
“I felt the need to start doing drag because it was just empowerment. I needed to be a voice for these feelings, this pride, being queer, being Latin, and being saucy.”
April CarriÓn
Season on Drag Race: RuPaul’s Drag Race
Pride Color: Green
Pride Anthem: “Espiritu Libre” by Ednita Nazario
April
“Art, like drag, [is] the power to transform yourself or to create a version of the world that’s beyond what you can see or maybe what you have seen before, is so powerful.”
Sasha Velour
Season on Drag Race: RuPaul’s Drag Race
Pride Color: Turquoise
Pride Anthem: “This Is My Life” by Dame Shirley Bassey
Sasha
“Queer people have always existed in every space, but we’re in control of those spaces that we are occupying now.”
Peppermint
Season on Drag Race: RuPaul’s Drag Race
Pride Color: Indigo
Pride Anthem: “Pride” by C&C Music Factory
Peppermint
“I’m always moving through a progression of eras. Just like all the greats do! Madonna, Cher… You just move through it and hope that each time is better than the next.”
Milk
Seasons on Drag Race: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6, All Stars
Pride Color: Violet
Pride Anthem: “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor