West Hollywood’s first-ever Drag Laureate, Pickle, is a powerhouse drag queen. She is six foot tall with a big blonde wig that, along with her outgoing personality, makes her seem larger than life. She is a singer and comedienne who has been performing as a drag queen for the past eight years. When she is not working she is just a tall Star Wars fan whose name is Joseph Marcellus Faragher.

A Los Angeles native, Pickle received her BA in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College and is the organizer of “Drag Story Hour”, which features drag queens reading storybooks to children in libraries and bookstores. She has dedicated herself to educating children and fighting ignorance.

Last Saturday night she was at the 14^th Young Literati Toast, a celebration held by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles (which is supported in part with grants from the HFPA/Golden Globes) and the Los Angeles Public Library, at the Avalon, in Hollywood. From July 1^st, she will serve as West Hollywood’s first ever Drag Laureate, a title she will hold for two years.

There will be a celebration of her new role on International Drag Day, Sunday, July 16, 2023, at West Hollywood Park. Pickle has also appeared on NBC’s The Weakest Link, the Discovery Channel’s Dodgeball Thunderdome, and Tyler Perry’s Sistas.  She spoke to us on Skype from her friend Andre Armenante‘s home in Los Angeles.

You have been elected West Hollywood’s first-ever Drag Laureate and will serve till June 30, 2025. What was your reaction to this?

It is such an honor to have been selected by the city of West Hollywood for this position. I do want to thank the West Hollywood Arts for creating the program as it is a really exciting moment for drags worldwide. This is the first time that drag is really in the popular conversation. It has not been given this kind of attention before.

So, it is exciting to be serving as the first Drag Laureate. I get to really empower my community and I get to explore the depth of their creativity and help them spread their wings. I will help connect the drag artists to new opportunities and expand what drag is. I love community work.

What kind of work will you be doing?

It is two-fold. There is the ceremonial aspect where I will be showing up at events and highlight the community. I will also encourage the drag community in West Hollywood to explore new opportunities and I will help them explore this. Drag is an essential part of West Hollywood tourism. It is really exciting to have this bridge between the community and the businesses of our city.

You have been doing drag performances for eight years. How did you discover the art form and what made you decide to perform as a drag queen?

I got into drag in high school. I did a couple of plays where I got into drag and I loved being this fabulous woman. I kept getting back into drag and I realized that I really like the art form. I love the costumes, the hair, and the make-up. The fourth wall is so lucid that you can really interact with the audience and that is what I love in performing.

Drag has also been a form of empowerment for so many queer people and is like a beacon of light. You can express yourself in any way. That is a beautiful thing.

I don’t identify as transgender. I am a cisgender male. But it would be inaccurate to say that I am not gender fluid in some way as I practice professionally in drag. But it is an important distinction. I don’t speak for the transgender community.

When you are not performing as Pickle and I were to meet you off- work, who would I meet?

You would meet Joseph. I am a six-foot-two-tall guy who is a Star Wars nerd at heart. I am this dude. I enjoy that. I personally really love the dichotomy of my self-expression. I like Joseph. He is more of a shark than Pickle.

You were at the Los Angeles Public Library and the 14^th Young Liberati Toast event this Saturday. What was this experience like for you?

I have a lot of background with the Los Angeles Public Library because of the program called Drag Story Hour that I have been doing with them for about six years. We do the program in many different branches. Because of all the pushback the drag community has experienced throughout the country, they wanted to include the drag story in the Young Literati Toast. It was an honor for me to perform there and support them.

You read from a children’s book called “In My Heart” by Jo Witek, which was illustrated by Christine Roussey. What made you choose this book?

It is all about feelings and emotions. I resonate with the book because it highlights the fact that humans have so many different feelings and experiences that are all important.

You often do story readings for children. Which books do you read from?

I like to read books that have progressive themes that deal with self-acceptance, compassion, love, joy, and humor – which share the values of the program. It is about sharing the joy of reading with the kids. We encourage them to respect themselves and respect one another.

 

Why is it important that education on inclusivity and diversity starts at a young age?

It is so important. When we get older we have to start unlearning certain discriminative behaviors that have been embedded in us. But children are beginning to learn. Taking your children to Drag Story Hour shows kids that people come from all different kinds of backgrounds – races, genders, etc. By meeting a drag performer it communicates to them that drag performers should be respected. It also communicates to them that they should not feel afraid to go against the norm. They should not be afraid to be who they are. It is important to do that from a young age in very simple ways because those are the behaviors that they are learning.

Not everyone agrees with drag queens reading for children. What are the challenges you face?

The biggest challenge is ignorance. The right-wing conservative groups, which targeted Drag Story Hour, did it because it is easy to come after queer people, a marginalized community. It is shiny and it mobilizes their base. But there really is no logic to it. Performers are background-checked and have worked with kids and it is a safe environment. So it is a parade of ignorance.

How do you celebrate Pride Month?

It is special because it gives us an opportunity to be out in the open and out in public and highlight the queer community. This is the time when big companies get to support us. It is an exciting time when businesses show their solidarity. I celebrate by working and being in drag quite a lot. It is a busy and fun time of the year for me. Every year it gets better and bigger. This year I got to partner with the Academy Museum, where we did workshops. It was a really exciting partnership.