Queen’s alumnus, Ian Burns, ArtSci ’14, went from trying drag on a Halloween dare, to making waves as Rowena Whey, a star of the Kingston drag scene since 2018. After graduating from Queen’s in 2014, Burns is not one to do anything by halves, as seen through his commitment to drag.
Burns as Whey is not only a drag entertainer, but an activist. In 2021, Rowena Whey partnered with Spearhead Brewing Company to create the beer ‘Queen of Wheat.’ Whey is the first Drag Queen to be pictured on a drink sold in the LCBO. A portion of the sales go towards The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD). In its first year, the collaboration raised over $30,000 for charity.
Though Whey started as a separate character with a backstory, she’s developed to become an important part of Burns’ identity.
“As I’ve kind of evolved, I realized that I don’t really have a drag character,” said Burns in an interview with The Journal.
“I don’t identify as female, but I do identify as queer, and I feel like Rowena is a part of that gender identity that I have now,” Burns said.
Though Rowena is a bigger, louder and more “outlandish” presence, Burns maintains he’s the same person.
With anti-drag sentiment on the rise worldwide, Burns has noticed a negative shift in Kingston as well. Until recently, the performer had never experienced anti-drag hate in Kingston.
“I’ve always found Kingston to be a very safe, very welcoming place,” said Burns. “People who would want to speak out against drag didn’t do it very vocally.”
In recent years, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-drag hate has become much louder. While performing, Burns’ has been shouted at, and has received hateful messages and threats online. Burns’ response is to take the high road, facing the negativity with kindness, and composure.
“My policy is to take the high road because I know that what I’m doing is harmless and educational. What we should be preaching is love and acceptance and equality,” Burns said. To him, education is a far stronger tool than hate.
Burns spoke to The Journal about the difficulty of being a drag performer in a city without a designated LGBTQ+ bar. Though there are many venues around Kingston ive of the drag scene, and regularly host performances, there’s a lack of a central hub.
Venues such as The Grad Club, The Broom Factory, Daft Brewing, and Spearhead Brewing Company, among others, regularly host drag events. Website dragshow.ca run by local drag performer Tyffanie Morgan lists drag shows in Kingston.
“Drag in Kingston is only visible because drag performers are pushing to have shows at bars,”Burns said. “But what we really need as performers is consistent spaces so that people know where to look for us.”
This reassurance of community is something Burns’ hopes to extend to the Queen’s—which is evident in his involvement in the Queen’s community as a group fitness instructor, teaching a spin class at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) in drag as Rowena. Hosting Drag Trivia at Clark Hall Pub was also a success.
Realizing that student turnout was low at drag events out in Kingston, Burns instead brought the drag onto campus. The student reception is often extremely positive, with many students wondering why they’d never known about the drag scene in their city before.
Burns hopes drag will become more visible to the student community, through drag being a major event at Queen’s to let the LGBTQ+ community be highlighted and LGBTQ+ students know they’re not alone.
“Having representation from the queer community at orientation to show that queer students have a community outside of Queen’s as well if they want it. To show that there is a queer community in Kingston, because oftentimes you don’t see your people,” Burns said in an interview with The Journal.
To Kingston drag, students are encouraged to buy tickets as they would for a Taylor Swift concert. Buying tickets in advance, following performers on social media, and showing up to the events are key to drag shows’ success and one Burns encourages students to do.
Drag is only continuing to grow in Kingston, and it’s certainly here to stay.
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