With recent legislation around the country targeting LGBTQ+ people and drag queens specifically, North Carolina-based photographer Matt Ramey decided to start a new ongoing photo series called “Ancestral Fantasy: Tales of Freedom, Beauty, and Truth.”
The series features portraits of North Carolina drag queens in and out of costume, along with their responses when Ramey asked them a question: “Why is it important to live your truth?”
“The inspiration for this project started once the rumblings that demonized drag started taking hold in the political discourse. Ever since I can remember, LGBTQ+ folks have been under attack in America,” Ramey told HuffPost. “It’s so upsetting to see queer folks become the boogeyman. They are our family, neighbors and community. I want to do my part to help amplify their voices and tell their truth.”
Just this week, North Carolina House Republicans introduced a bill that would ban drag in public areas or where there are minors present.
Ramey hopes the portraits of drag queens out of their dazzling makeup and stunning costumes help others realize they are just regular people.
“It is easy to demonize something you don’t see as real,” the photographer said. “It’s important to remember that behind the makeup and performance is a real person, a human, just like you. They have a life, a family, goals, struggles, dreams and a truth they live in. They are entertainers and it’s important to see them as people, and not as a caricature.”
Below, check out the portrait series “Ancestral Fantasy: Tales of Freedom, Beauty, and Truth” by Matt Ramey and the answers to the question “Why is it important to live your truth?”
Brenda The Drag Queen
“When a drag queen pops on that first wig, pump, nail or lash, she’s taking back something the world has convinced her doesn’t exist over who she can be. Then, merely the existence of that character gives everyone they interact with the permission to be a little bit…
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