A couple days before Anchorage’s Pride festivities, Golden Delicious was gluing tiny rhinestones to spandex, while a remake of “Dallas” played on the TV.
“If anyone says ‘bedazzling,’ they're not, most likely, a drag performer – just saying,” they said, laughing.
The correct term, it turns out, is “stoning.”
Golden Delicious is the alter ego of Brooks Banker, but most people know them as “Goldie,” whether in drag or not.
Goldie doesn’t create new looks for every performance. The second bedroom of their Airport Heights apartment is already packed, racks straining under the weight of so many costumes.
But this weekend’s Pride celebration in Anchorage is an event worthy of hours spent stoning. For Goldie, Pride is always an opportunity to try out new outfits and new performances, to immerse in the excitement and joy of being with their queer community and celebrate who they are.
The desire to celebrate identity comes partly from an all-too-common childhood experience of shame, they said.
“The teasing that would happen happens to a more feminine little boy, people telling you you're weird,” Goldie said. “Even as a child, you catch and recognize the side glances from the people around you.”
At 3 and 4 years old, they would repeatedly steal their sister’s pink tutu. Then their dad would take it away and put it in the top shelf of a closet. Goldie said that early reaction made them realize they were different. And they said a lot of shame can come from people disapproving of the way queer kids express themselves.
Pride can be a push-back against that, Goldie said.
“If you're somebody who hasn't had that community initially, hasn't felt affirmed in who you are, has only ever experienced shame or bigotry in that identity, Pride is where you can go to feel less shameful, more affirmed and supported,” they said.
But for Goldie, Pride feels different this year. They feel less safe as a result of policies around the country that target LGBTQ people. Last week, the Supreme Court upheld state bans on transgender care for minors. In January, the Trump Administration issued executive orders banning transgender people in the military and rolling back LGBTQ workplace protections. The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking nearly 600 anti-LGBTQ bills around the country.
“It's nerve wracking,” Goldie said. “There's anxiety around getting in my car and driving in drag makeup, for instance. I don't feel comfortable doing my makeup at home and even driving while in face.”
Goldie loves getting into a look at home, surrounded by all the glitter and flounce of their drag room. But that doesn’t happen much. Instead, they do it all at the venue – nearly two hours of makeup, then the wig, the outfit, and always last, the press-on nails.
Afterwards, they’ll use coconut oil and hand soap to take it all off before they leave.
Goldie is not just fearful for their own safety, they also worry about the people in the community they love. And that fear has changed their aesthetic a little. In the past, rainbows were never really their vibe, but lately they’ve started to embrace the symbol of queer pride.
“I wanted to bring that imagery of safety, of a safe space, of a community, into my drag a bit more,” Goldie said. “I might do a song in a rainbow dress that relates to, you know, loving yourselves, like I might do ‘Beautiful’ by Christina Aguilera.
They held up a full-length gown, layers of rainbow fluff cascading to the floor.
“It’s explosive, right?”
The Anchorage Pride Parade takes place Saturday at 11:30 on the Delaney Park Strip. The Pride Festival goes until 5 p.m. at Delaney Park. And Mad Myrna’s is hosting a Big Pink Party at 9 p.m, with a Pride drag show, and a Pride afterparty.
