I feel like the hate that I got
pushed me to be who I am today
Hi, I’m Tianah Tucker
I’m a sixteen-year-old drag queen from Glasgow
Hi, I’m Paul and I am Tianah’s ‘drag dad’
‘Drag dad’ is really just a phrase that I’ve coined
because I was this dad of an underage drag queen
My role has been to support and direct largely
In terms of the shows, I mean
you have to be accompanied because, at the time
you were fifteen
So, I go to all of the shows with you
I sit in your room and video your practices
and then help you critique yourself
I’m there to comfort you when your eyelashes don’t stick
or your wig gets tangled
Halfway through primary school I really realised who I was
I played the Ugly Sister in Cinderella
and, yeah, we went out shoe shopping
we bought a dress, we bought a big blue wig
that was horrific
I thought it looked really good
Uh
But yeah, it just sorta, it was ok to do it there
because it was funny, it was in the context of a school play
people came to see it, people were expecting it
and then it sort of just kinda pushed me to do it
outside of school
But I didn’t really have the courage
to like, obviously, come out
until around my first few years of high school
I genuinely think that from a very early age
maybe nursery age, we had a good idea
To say though that we knew that you were gay is not 100% accurate
because it did take a lot of time
for you to actually grow into that
It’s difficult to label something from that kind of young of an age
You had to grow and develop
and interact with people around you
and understand going through school
and all the different good and bad experiences that you had
When I was younger, I did experience a little bit of bullying
I feel like the hate that I got
pushed me to be who I am today
because if that hadn’t have happened
I really feel like I wouldn’t have came out when I did
When you were comfortable with it, you told your gran
and then you turned up at the house in drag
and she was a little bit taken aback
and then she started buying you make up and dresses
And then when we told the other cousins
obviously we had conversations with other members of the family
they were like “yeah we kinda knew
we saw it on Facebook but we didn’t want to say anything
until he was comfortable”
So everyone’s been really supportive I think
in the immediate family
So, it’s been really good
I do drag and drag isn’t for everyone
and I can’t make it
like I can’t force it down people’s throats
and if it’s not your gig then it’s not your gig
Like fair, I’ll respect that
What I’ve got out of drag
I’ve just became who I am as a person
and it’s just boosted me
What I’ve got out of this whole drag experience
has been a way to connect with Tianah
on a level that we didn’t have for a long time
because you were quite introvert
with all the stuff that was going on in school and everything else
But it’s also helped me understand a community
that I didn’t know a lot about
and meet so many amazing, creative people
I mean it’s really just given me a new lease of life
For any parents that have children who are looking to be expressive
or creative, who want to come out
who aren’t necessarily the football kids or the academic kids
or, you know, they want to do their own thing
to kids that want to put on make-up and wigs and dance
They’re your kids
Love them, and I’m sure most parents do
It’s just about supporting your children
and making sure that they have every opportunity in life
to be themselves and to achieve their full potential
To anyone who is wanting to pursue drag or just performing
or being “different”
all I say is just go for it
Ignore the people that don’t like it or don’t like you
because they’re not going to matter when you’re on stage performing
and winning at life