A force to be reckoned with, Miss Delta Force is somewhere between earth mother and punk chick as her dazzling blues eyes glisten in Miss Katherine Wolfgramme’s front parlour, where she has come to converse about life, love and adventure over afternoon tea
Miss Katherine: How would you describe your; fashion style?
Miss Delta Force: I have many different styles, but my favourite style is ‘Rock Chick.’ I am little bit different from other drag queens because of my body shape and make up, and I don’t really like the idea of pigeon holing to just one style. The thing about Perth drag is that we encourage individuality, which is why we all don’t look the same. I also like ‘Punk Chick’ as well because I just love fluid fabrics like lurex and soft metallic fabrics that have that wet look. I love to mix and match different fibres to create a really interesting outfit.
KW: Do you have a drag mother?
DF: Yes I do, Miss Barbie Q.
KW: Is that not Miss Sheila Mann’s mother?
DF: [laughs] Yes, Sheila and I are sisters – I like to think she is the older responsible one. Miss Barbie Q has quite a few drag daughters around the traps in the sense of professional drag artists. I used to go out with my Barbie.
KW: [gasp, cough, cough, gasp]You used to go out with your drag mother?
DF: Yes, Barbie and I went out for five years. It was how I got into drag. She and all her friends used to get together and get ready every Friday and Saturday night to do shows while I just sat around doing nothing. One day I decided I wanted to join in and be one of the gang too. Barbie at first was as furious as only a drag queen can be, but eventually she came round with some encouragement from all our friends.
KW: When was Delta Force born? That is, how long have you been doing drag?
DF: Seven years, I am a couple of months younger than Sheila.
KW: Where have you performed drag shows?
DF: I have performed at every running gay night and club in Perth. I have also travelled to Q Fest, which is a gay festival they used to have six and a half hours north east of Perth…. My God, the first time we went up there, we got off the bus and they threw stones at us but by the end of our first performance we were adored! The elders even came up and gave us a kiss, which was a great honour for us.
KW: Was it like a scene from Priscilla Queen of the Desert?
DF: It was! It was very much like ‘Oh Felicia, where the f*ck are we?’
KW: Have you have had any formal dance training?
DF: No. but you can probably see that when I perform on stage. My strength is actually in comparing. I don’t necessarily believe drag is just about dancing drag is about commanding attention and holding your audience captive. When I came into the drag scene I was quite different in the sense that during that era all the drag queens were tall, slim and pretty. I came along, and though I was striking, I was muscular. So my drag had to be different and in that sense it helped me to stand out. I think that is why a lot of lesbians identify with me because I am strong and girly at the same time.
KW: Who do you live with?
DF: I live with Miss Dee Luxe. Dee and I are very close. I would say outside of the drag world she is the closest person I have to a brother. If there is reincarnation I am sure Dee and I were brothers. We both have our own families, which we love, but we are still family to each other in the gay sense.
KW: Are there a new talented baby drags on the scene we should all keep an eye on?
DF: Yes, her name is Summer Rain, and she was a competitor in last year’s drag talent quest ‘Boot Camp’. But in saying that there has been a huge influx of baby drags in the last few months.
KW: Were you born in Perth?
DF: No, I was born in Launceston which is northern Tasmania. I came here with my family so I could play national level tennis when I was 16. I loved Perth so much that when the time came for us to move back to Tasmania I decided to stay.
KW: When you were 16?
DF: When I arrived with my family I was 16 and I said to them then that I never wanted to leave Perth, even if they moved back. When I was seventeen I was going into year twelve at school and my father was offered a great job back in Tasmania. They went, and I decided to stay and boarded with my tennis coach until I became an adult. It was good as far as my coming out was concerned because at that time being gay in Tasmania was taboo. Having the tennis background also gave me enough discipline and common sense to know right from wrong and to stop me going too far. I am also a Virgo and I think that helped me stay organized early in life.
KW: Have you any major plans for the future?
DF: I am at a cross roads at the moment. I am turning 26 soon, and I am bored in my nine to five job. Though drag is fun, it is not my whole life. So I would like to see what else the world has to offer. We are thinking of going to London, so we may go up north to the mines for six nine months or so and then maybe live in London for a little while.
KW: We? Do you have a boyfriend?
DF: Yes I do. We have been together for well over a year now. His name is Ryan and he’s a spunk – tall, dark hair, blue eyes!
KW: (BITCH!) How nice, care for a piece of cake?
