Exclusive Interview with K J Winture
K J Winture! Hello darling, as our new contributor / reviewer of the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 14) I thought this little Q&A would let people get to know you. To start, as our new Drag Race Reviewer what do you think makes you a good fit to review the season for us?
With each expansion of the show, I have been able to appreciate the success of the contestants, but also realize the issues of representation that have been identified in the past. As a reviewer, I am un-biased and my opinions are completely my own. This means that I will be able to highlight the good as well as the bad, making sure that I produce a raw and unfiltered dialogue of what I think about the newest season. You won’t just get praise and compliments, I will make sure to imbue my work with points of discussion and food for thought! As a writer, I want the reader to develop their own ideas too, so giving them my personal and honest opinion is of paramount importance.
Apart from that, I was a performing drag queen for some time, so that might count for something, right?
What can people expect when reading your reviews?
As each episode unfolds, I will review not only how the drag artists did, but also the edits that they seem to be getting. My reviews will address Drag Race as both the competition and also the reality show that it is. You can also expect my commentary to highlight certain topics that the artists themselves might talk about in the episode, for example, Willow Pill’s advocacy for chronic illness. I believe that drag is just as much an aesthetic experience as it is a gateway for addressing social and personal issues, therefore, highlighting such topics is very important.
“You won’t just get praise and compliments, I will make sure to imbue my work with points of discussion and food for thought!”
Who is your favourite drag queen from the franchise and why? (any of from the franchise is fine, UK, US, Holland etc).
This might come as no surprise because I’ve been a die-hard supporter of hers since our first gig together, but I will have to go with the current reigning Drag Race UK Queen, Krystal Versace.
Krystal (along with Dedelicious) was the first queen that I interacted with in my first ever show and I completely fell in love with not just her visual fantasy, but the person behind the illusion. I genuinely believe she is the most caring and sincere person. She was so supportive and uplifting of me as a drag artist and that is something that I hold very close to my heart. On top of this, her work ethic and attention-to-detail is unmatched! She is bloody 19 and has already smashed the game!
But as we know drag goes beyond Drag Race, who are some of your favourite drag performers?
I currently have 3 favourite performers. Firstly, Miss ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ Tiana Biscuit. She is an incredible queen as well as producer, with a heart of gold. She works tirelessly and has created so many iconic drag shows! I’m very impressed with what she has achieved and can’t wait to see what she does next!
Another artist that I adore is Coco Couture. She is the definition of a pocket rocket performer. She is high energy and always so sickening, what’s not to love? She deserves so much recognition for her talents so I will always mention her name!
The third artist is Amethyst Moon – an amazing seamstress as well as performer. She is so multifaceted, with the ability to turn a hard front into the most gorgeous lace front, and then backflip into a killer performance. I’m in awe of her and the drag that she produces!
We actually met because I saw you performing in drag! Are you still doing it?
I believe that drag is fluid and ever-evolving. This is certainly the case for me. I had to take a break, step back and reflect on why I was doing drag. Looking back now, I cherish my first months in drag, but I wasn’t doing it for the right reasons. This meant that I found myself unhappy and in a toxic mind-set.
However, now the situation is the total opposite. After the pandemic, I played around with drag again and have now married my drag persona with my own identity. I am in a much better place and 2022 is only going to enhance that! Although I haven’t performed in over a year, drag is very much part of me and I’m definitely looking to get back into the game – my own game that is!
One thing I personally love about you is your fashion! How would you describe your wardrobe?
Growing up, I didn’t have an abundance of clothes, I wore hand-me-downs and hardly matched my outfits. Now, I feel very privileged to have as many items as I do (which is far too much haha). I would describe my style as eclectic androgyny. I try not to view fashion through a gendered lens and I love to draw inspiration from a vast ocean of ideas! As I said, I’m very thankful that I can express myself through fashion as I’m aware of the financial boundaries that can inhibit certain demographics from accessing clothing items. This is a topic that I’m particularly passionate about and I definitely have future projects in mind in relation to affordable fashion.
Now back to your writing, what do you enjoy most about journalism? How did you get into it?
I have always had a soft spot for English Literature, I’ve studied it all the way up to undergraduate level so it’s really my bread and butter. My writing journey started in the English classroom, where I would practice creative writing with my teacher. I slowly moved away from fiction and into the realm of non-fiction, where I found myself writing for my school magazine and then eventually becoming Creative Director. This was my first experience writing for publications and I guess I’ve stuck with it ever since. I have written numerous blogs and articles at university and it is something that comes naturally to me. I enjoy the challenge of making a particular topic digestible and easy to understand, which is something that I am extremely conscious about when writing.
What is one of your future goals or aspirations?
What a question! I’ll try my best to answer it.
I would love to turn writing into my full-time job. Over the years, I’ve been rather narrow-minded when thinking about future employability and its only recently that I’ve mustered up the courage to take writing seriously. I am going to apply to the BBC Journalism Internship which would last 2 years, with the aim of working as a full-time journalist, for both printed/digital publications and broadcast media. I plan to move to London and live a Hannah Montana life! BBC Journalist by day and drag artist by night!
Shout-out time! What drag (King, Queen or anything in-between) or LGBTQ+ artist deserves a shout from you and why?
I really want to take this time to shoutout both a queen and king.
You guys need to be aware of the largely undiscovered artist called Vilith. I am truly lost for words every time I think about this stunning drag artist. Her looks are conceptual and full of meaning, which is very refreshing in the current climate of drag. Her follower count deserves to be quadrupled, and then quadrupled again! Please follow!
The King that I would like to shout out is Richard Energy who has smashed into the West End with a bang! They are an incredible actor and activist, fighting against the vitriol spewed by transphobe JK Rowling. They are valiant and such an important figure in modern day UK drag activism.
