Desmond is Amazing
![]() | This article's lead section may be too long. (June 2019) |
Desmond Napoles | |
---|---|
Born | June 2007 (age 17) |
Nationality | American |
Known for | Drag, Drag performance, LGBTQ activism, Fashion modeling |
Parent(s) | Andrew and Wendy Napoles[1] |
Website | desmondisamazing |
Desmond "Desi" Napoles[2](born June 2007) is a child drag performer,[3][4] fashion model,[5] actor, and LGBTQ activist,[6] known by the stage name Desmond Is Amazing.
When he was two, he saw RuPaul's Drag Race, and "thought the drag queens were so beautiful and amazing and ... said ‘I want to do that!", and soon was fashioning household items into dresses and wigs.[7] He identifies as gay and states that he has been out since a very early age.[8] In 2014, when he was six, his first ever performance was a music video with Jinkx Monsoon. He came to wider attention in 2015 after he vogued the entire NYC Pride March, videos of which went viral.
In addition to music videos he acted in the independent film Pageant Material, as of January 2019 he is "a professional performer with a manager and a Child Performer's Permit.” He has also become a public speaker on LGBTQ issues. In June 2017, he made his fashion runway debut, and was in the accompanying campaign. He has since done high fashion shoots,[9] runways, and campaigns, was named a spokesperson for Converse.
Researchers attribute his fame as being influenced by the rise of digital culture and online mobilization. He was honored with the Marsha P. Johnson 'Don't be Outraged, Be Outrageous' Award, and was named to 2019’s Out100, as one of "the most influential LGBTQIA figures."[10] His drag has raised criticism from social conservatives, for the perceived sexualization of a child, including harassment and death threats.[11] Out characterized the criticism and attacks as “blatant homophobia and transphobia“.[11]
Biography
Birth - 2016
Desmond Napoles was born in June 2007 in Manhattan, New York City.[12] When Napoles was two, his mom was watching RuPaul's Drag Race, and he "thought the drag queens were so beautiful and amazing and ... said ‘I want to do that!"[13][14] As young as two years old Napoles was fashioning household items into dresses and wigs.[15] His parents early on thought he might be transgender because of the obsession with dresses and skirts.[16] His parents stated that at the age of two or three, they understood that he was "likely gay" and they exposed him to a variety of gay culture, including showing him drag performances and taking him to pride parades starting at age four or five.[17] Napoles identifies as gay and states that he has been out since a very early age.[18] They also said that he was "openly gay" when he entered kindergarten.[1] According to his parents, he has autism disorder and drag helps him relieve the symptoms.[19] At aged six, Napoles was shopping for a Halloween costume with his parents and chose to dress as Queen Elsa of Arendelle, the "The Snow Queen" from the 2013 animated film Frozen.[20] His stage name came from his mom’s friend who created a ‘Desmond is Amazing’ Facebook page which he liked.[21]
His first performance occurred during 2014, when he was six, and was asked to be in RuPaul's Drag Race’s fifth season winner Jinkx Monsoon’s music video for The Bacon Shake dancing alongside Fred Schneider of The B-52's,[22] who wrote the song.[23] "This was Desmond’s first time playing a character in "drag" and he loved it."[22] Any payments he receives are put into a trust fund,[24] although he is allowed to keep cash tips commonly given to drag performers, which he usually spends on drag and toys.[25] Soon after he became interested in drag ball culture,[26] an underground LGBTQ subculture of mainly young Black and Latinx people structured in competing "houses" popularized in the 1990 film Paris Is Burning.[27] Napoles watched the movie and really like two of the stars, Pepper LaBeija, and Wili Ninja.[27] He started voguing, and later took lessons from choreographer Leiomy Maldonado.[26] In the June 2015 New York City Pride March, his first time in the annual event,[17] he vogued the entire route.[26] In June 2017 he competed in the NYC Legacy Ball hosted by Sydney UltraOmni, although he didn’t win they asked him to join their house.[28] As of 2019, Napoles is the youngest member of the vogue troupe "Iconic House of UltraOmni", founded by Kevin Burrus, in the voguing world he is known as Desmond UltraOmni.[29] After the Legacy Ball Napoles's mom was encouraged to expand his social media presence to include Instagram where pictures of his looks could easily be shared. In June 2018 he had nearly 60,000 followers,[27] as of May 2019 he has 172,000 Instagram followers.[30] His mom overviews his social media accounts to report and block harassment and bullying and hate speech.[31] He is "a professional performer with a manager and a Child Performer's Permit issued by the New York State Department of Labor."[25] Said about his career in The Daily Beast, "Any appearances Desmond makes are driven by his love for the art, he said. The only thing that he wishes he could do is perform. Most places where drag queens perform are in night clubs or have age restrictions in place, leaving Desmond unable to show off his fabulous voguing skills in front of audiences."[32] Napoles prefers to be called a ‘drag kid’ rather than ‘drag queen’ saying the latter should be reserved for adults.[31] (His usage of the term in this way is distinct from the preexisting usage in LGBT slang to refer to novice performers being mentored by more experienced drag queens.[33][34]) His mom says he’s inspired by messages from other kids who credit him with helping them come out, gain confidence, and deal with suicidal feelings.[35]
2017 - present
In 2017 Napoles joined drag icon RuPaul to cut the ceremonial ribbon opening the first RuPaul's DragCon NYC.[36][37] He also hosted "a children’s walk off on the runway".[38] His status as one of few child LGBTQ celebrities was further developed on social media with the October 2017 Instagram announcement of the "Haus of Amazing" which was featured in the media as "the first drag club" for children and young adults under the age of 20.[39] He established the club as an online safe space "just for kids so that they could...express themselves as fully as possible."[40] In part the decision to start the Haus of Amazing was to facilitate group chats as Instagram capped the number at fifteen participants.[41] In addition to performing he has also been a public speaker on LGBTQ issues at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teen Vogue‘s 2018 Summit, GLSEN Respect Awards, Children's Museum of the Arts, and the New York City Commission on Human Rights.[42] In June 2017, he made his runway debut at the fall 2018 Gypsy Sport show, he like his provided outfit because it was androgynous.[43] Gypsy Sport’s designer Rio Uribe also included him in the accompanying campaign.[44] Also during New York Fashion Week, he took part with Gays Against Guns protesting gun violence in schools.[45] The protest marked the one year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, which is the deadliest attack on LGBTQ people in the U.S., and was held in front of Stonewall Inn.[46] In June 2018 he was presented the Marsha P. Johnson 'Don't be Outraged, Be Outrageous' Award by Heritage of Pride, producers of New York City’s Pride Week events.[47][48] Johnson, a transgender LGBTQ activist icon who was a part of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, was known for placing flowers in her hair,[49] inspired by her Napoles now wears flower headdresses.[50] By July 2017 he has done two high fashion model shoots with fashion photographer Aaron Williams for Out magazine with clothing from designers including Moschino, Nicopanda, David Dalrymple, and Patricia Field.[51]
In September 2018, Napoles walked the runway in The Blonds’ (David and Phillipe Blond) 2018 Spring/Summer collection, a collaboration with Disney, with the theme of Disney villain characters, walking as Maleficent from the dark fantasy film Maleficent.[52] Napoles was also the lead spokesperson in NYC Pride Parade and Festival’s advertising campaign.[53] NYC Pride Media Director said: "he is the embodiment of our ‘Defiantly Different’ theme this year.[53] In June 2018, Pride month in New York City, he performed at a number of events including Upright Citizens Brigade, NYC Pride’s youth event, NYC Pride’s PrideFest, and the Phluid Project.[21] In June 2018 he performed in the Tyler Clementi Foundation benefit "Sing for Pride" to prevent suicide among LGBTQ youth.[54] During the summer he acted in the Independent film Pageant Material, a teen drag film about drag pageants, in which he portrays Young Rodney alongside Mayhem Miller.[55] In 2018 Napoles also modeled a fashion series for his Instagram channeling a series of homages to LGBTQ icons; Madonna From her "Papa Don’t Preach" video, as Gloria Swanson portraying Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, and Divine as Dawn Davenport in Female Trouble.[56] In November 2018, he was named to Out magazine’s Out100, "founded to celebrate and honor some of the most influential LGBTQIA figures."[57] Also in November 2018, he made an appearance on GMA Day where he was surprised by visiting drag icons Hedda Lettuce, Alyssa Edwards, and Shannel.[58] He also did a fashion campaign for SPKTRM Beauty.[59] And he was featured in gender neutral makeup brand Fluide’s campaigns.[60]
In 2019 when asked about his drag inspirations Napoles replied: "My make-up looks are inspired by the Blitz Kids of the 1980s, like Boy George and Steve Strange. I also love the make-up and fashion of the Club Kids of 1990s New York City. Some of my favourite (fashion) designers are Alexander McQueen, Betsey Johnson, Heatherette, Anna Sui, The Blonds (David and Phillipe Blond), and Thierry Mugler. I am also inspired by art. My favorite artists are Keith Haring, (Jean-Michel) Basquiat, and (Andy) Warhol. I am inspired by all the art and murals around New York City. Of course, I am inspired by a lot of drag queens as well, especially RuPaul. I love the Dragula drag queens too."[61] He describes his drag aesthetic as androgynous, avant-garde, club kid, and colorful."[21][62] In 2019 he became one of a group of LGBTQ activists to be named spokespeople for Converse.[63] The company released a collection of shoes to honor Pride month and the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots.[63] In February 2019, BBC Minute reported on Napoles and interviewed his manager mom who stated "as a parent, if your child wants to do drag, that's fine" and said drag kids are "not doing adult drag... they're doing a more kid appropriate version of drag".[64] When pressed about a nightclub performance she shared online that he was “carefully supervised” and "in accordance with the Dept. for Labor's regulations for child performers".[64] In March 2019 he acted in Marti Gould Cummins’ parody video of "Baby Shark".[65] In early June 2019 he serves as Grand Marshal of the 23rd Annual Brooklyn Pride Parade.[66][59] He also makes a return visit to the Children's Museum of the Arts for their 3rd annual Pride Cultural Festival where he “will act as the festival’s ambassador.”[67] In June 2019 he also appeared in Broadway Sings for Pride‘s concert “Feerless” benefiting New York City area LGBTQIA organizations.[68] As of June 2019, he has appeared in Vogue four times.[69] In June 2019 he was featured in Advocate’s pictorial fashion shoot commemorating NYC Pride.[70]
Criticism
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Napoles status as a child drag performer has drawn criticism from social conservatives,[71] particularly following his performance at age eight during the 2015 NYC Pride Parade,[72] and for the perceived sexualization of a child.[19] In December 2018 conservative sites spread fake news about him resulting in death threats against him and his family[73] Napoles and his parents were defended by Rutgers University professor Michael LaSala, who rejected the notion that the performances were due to parental influence. LaSala stated that children at that age were unlikely to act contrary to social norms simply due to parental instruction.[74]
Researchers have stated that norms regarding gender and sex can be seen as constructed by institutions from which individuals participate from birth but Napoles’ behavior actively subverts those norms. Additionally, they attribute his rise as a child LGBTQ celebrity as being influenced by the rise of digital culture and online mobilization.[19] In response to "right-wing" website RedState Napoles states, "They meant to make me look like a fool...But really, they made me look even more AMAZING."[75] His mother describes the attacks as 'blatant homophobia' and a 'display of the grossly outdated belief that gay men are pedophiles.' [76][77]
In 2018 published research about Napoles, Cristiano Eduardo da Rosa and Jane Felipe state, "It was possible to perceive, through such manifestations published in the media, a generalized concern for the fact that a child presents at events like drag queen and also affirms itself as a gay subject at ten years of age, going against expectations about behaviors considered as natural, therefore, understood and accepted as compulsory. However, gender scripts, as well as sex scripts, are being constructed by institutions from which subjects participate even before birth; thus, Desmond subverts and writes his own scripts, transgressing a heteronormative matrix and inviting reflection on the composition of concepts such as identity and difference in childhood through digital cultures."[78]
Drag performances
Napoles drag performances, not including his public speaking engagements, include:
- First performance was in The Bacon Shake music video by Jinkx Monsoon in 2014. Napoles was aged seven at the time.[19]
- In the June 2015 New York City Pride March, his first time in the annual event,[79] he vogued the entire route.[80] This performance brought him wide public attention when a video of him went viral.[81]
- In June 2017 he competed in the NYC Legacy Ball hosted by Sydney UltraOmni, although he didn’t win they asked him to join their house.[82] From this performance his mom was encouraged to share his drag on social media website Instagram.
- By July 2017 he has done two high fashion model shoots with fashion photographerAaron Williams for Out magazine with clothing from designers including Moschino, Nicopanda, David Dalrymple, and Patricia Field.[9]
- In June 2018 he made his runway debut in the 2018 New York Fashion Week Gypsy Sport show runway.[83]
- In June 2018, Pride month in New York City, he performed at a number of events including Upright Citizens Brigade, NYC Pride’s youth event, NYC Pride’s PrideFest, and the Phluid Project.[84]
- Pride cultural event at the Children's Museum of the Arts in New York City during June 2018.[85]
- In June 2018 he performed in the Tyler Clementi Foundation benefit "Sing for Pride" to prevent suicide among LGBTQ youth.[54]
- In the summer of 2018, he acted in the Independent film Pageant Material,a teen drag film about drag pageants, in which he portrays Young Rodney alongside Mayhem Miller.[86]
- In September 2018 he walked the runway in The Blonds (David and Phillipe Blond) 2018 Spring/Summer collection, a collaboration with Disney, with the theme of Disney villain characters walking as Maleficent, from the dark fantasy film Maleficent.[87]
- In March 2019 he acted in Marti Gould Cummins’ parody video of "Baby Shark".[65]
Awards and nominations
- 2017: Marsha P. Johnson Award from Heritage of Pride[88][89]
- 2018: Shorty Awards nomination[90][91]
- November 2018: He was named to Out magazine's Out100, "founded to celebrate and honor some of the most influential LGBTQIA figures."[10]
- June 2019: He is to serve as grand marshal of Brooklyn's pride parade.[59][92]
See also
References
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