Brave New World

Gender norms are facing their biggest challenge yet. Queer culture is advocating a new gender-free order, and the millennials are on their side.

- Daniel Franklin

On a recent night out, I bumped into an old classmate from high school; a friend by no means, he was one of those school jocks who liked to prove their brand of cool with the occasional homophobic comment. In the midst of a completely random but casual catch-up conversation, ‘Jock’, in a bid to display his cool, throws a ‘tongue pop’ at me. Complete with a classic Alyssa Edwards hand wave snap. For most of you that don’t know Edwards, she is the drag persona of American artist Justin Johnson. Her claim to fame is winning the much-coveted All Stars season of RuPauls Drag Race – a drag reality competition that airs on VH1. Edwards’ signature ‘tongue pop’, usually followed by a hand wave and an intense duck-pout-induced stare made her a clear fan favourite. It’s a move most gay men (including me) can’t successfully do, but ‘Jock’ sure has it down. As a gay man who spent most of his adolescence in the closet, this got me thinking –have me begun to normalise queer culture? Is queer appropriation now a thing? Has queer become the new cool?