Everybody has an opinion about Miley Cyrus, and the labels levied on the outspoken singer range from "cultural appropriator" to "classless act." But according to the winter issue of fashion glossy V Magazine, an icon of the drag queen community thinks of Cyrus as no less than a "trailblazer" in the fight to bring drag culture into the mainstream.
For the latest installment in the ex-Disney star's "Diary of a Dirty Hippie" series (which debuted in January and last appeared in V96 in July), Cyrus passed the pen to legendary drag queen Laganja Estranja. Estranja credited Cyrus with bringing drag into the spotlight during her 2015 VMAs performance of "Dooo It!"
Estranja writes: "And there we were — a gaggle of queens — going on a globally syndicated stage as performers... YAS GAWD Miley Cyrus, YOU did that!" While the rest of the world was picking their jaws up off the floor, Estranja and the other performers were having a seriously meaningful night. Estranja continues:
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As drag queens we are female illusionists and entertainers. We dance and lip-synch in gay clubs, but more recently — with the help of trailblazers like RuPaul and Miley Cyrus — we are breaking into popular culture. I am not just a boy in a dress...and on the 30th of August when I went onstage with my sisters, I felt the world change its perception of my profession... A body is just parts, and it's the queen who shines beneath the bullshit.
Estranja also talks about the weed- and love-filled "no bullshit" experience of working with Cyrus to bring her vision to the stage. They chilled with Cyrus' dog, Mary Jane, and a few blunts while planning the choreography — before bringing some friends on board. Estranja explains that they "spent a whole week working as a collective, which gave us time and a safe space to grow and learn as a community. The last time I was in a place with that many drag queens I FELT VERY ATTACKED, but this was so different because it came from a place of love and being one with the universe."
It all sounds very kumbaya, doesn't it? Not so fast — Miley's fondness of "fucking shit up," in Estranja's words, is what the drag queen is most grateful for about the whole experience: "I have to thank Miley for fucking shit up and teaching the nation through alienation, because we can't do this by ourselves," Estranja explains.
The spread also includes a poster of Cyrus and all the queens featured in the VMAs performance. And, since nudity seems to be part of the pop star's package deal these days, there is naturally a shot of Cyrus, butt-naked, backstage at the VMAS. (Though, if you watched the show, this is nothing you haven't seen before.)
The issue, available for preorder now, hits newsstands Nov. 12.