#HappyPride: Maebe A. Girl is Cali’s First Drag Queen Elected to Public Office

Los Angeles-based drag performer Maebe A. Girl (who identifies as genderqueer and nonbinary) has been elected to the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council. The news makes Girl the first drag performer to be voted into public office in the state. Girl said,

“I’m honored to be the first drag queen elected official here in L.A. and, I believe, in all of California and the West Coas. I can’t wait to use my new platform to advance the LGBTQ community and provide visibility for those that have historically been kept in the shadows of society. I hope my successful run inspires others to do the same in their own communities.”

A little Herstory from Advocate;

In 1961, Jose Sarria became the first drag queen and first openly gay candidate to run for public office in America with his San Francisco Board of Supervisors bid. Sarria, who went on to establish the Imperial Court System, one of the oldest LGBTQ organizations in the world, was followed in political aspirations by queens like Joan Jett Blakk, a black drag queen who ran for president in 1992. Blakk’s run has been turned into a stage play by Moonlight’s Tarell Alvin McCraney and will debut at Steppenwolf in Chicago in May.

And Drag Race Thailand debut season winner Natalie Pliacam just finished a run for Parliament. She lost the bid to Tanwarin Sukkhapisit who became Thailand’s first trans member of Parliament.