Drag queen, Jackie Cox entertained and educated an excited audience at Bakersfield College last Friday at 3 PM, sharing small moments throughout their life, their passion for drag, and how their different social and cultural identities have influenced their journey.
Cox emphasized how their cultural and social life have changed their life stating, “it’s your choice, you decide how much of your past, your family, whatever you want to bring to your art, there’s no one saying you have too, there’s no one saying you need to. I’m even doing a show called, “Nurse Jackie” that doesn’t really touch on that at all and more just about commentary on big pharma and the medical industry which I think affects us all.”
Cox emphasized that drag is not just about performing or money, it’s also about exploring one’s identity as well as getting creative stating, “drag is just another art form that people can use to express things about themselves, things about how they see the world, things they see in society that they want to talk about through drag or things that bring them joy, drag can be all of those things.”
Cox shared small and intimate moments in their personal journey, from their early days and how they were first introduced to drag to their current status as an empowering drag queen. Cox revealed that they only did drag for Halloween but discovered drag through the theatre world while attending UCLA. they also reminisced about the time they starred in a 90’s play in 2009 called, “Hedwig and the angry inch” that features a nonbinary character forced into a sex change operation who later learns about the power of drag.
Additionally, they also shared their experiences moving to New York to pursue theatre and shared the first valuable lesson they learned while living in New York, “don’t let making money in that art form make it something you don’t want to do anymore.” Furthermore, Cox explained that while in New York they struggled to find jobs but could only find jobs like going on a children’s theatre tour in the south. They noted that these jobs would have led them to hating theatre and emphasized,” You’re allowed to have your art form and still make money however you need to make money, and those two things don’t need to happen at the same time.”
Jackie Cox’s visit was impactful, inspiring students to be creative and consider trying drag.