‘We’re Here’s’ Eureka Explains Why Drag Is for Kids Too

Drag is everywhere — literally, if you’re inclined to agree with RuPaul’s assertion that we’re all born naked and the rest is drag. Recently, however, some politicians have kicked up controversy about drag being present in a few very specific locations — namely libraries and restaurants during weekend brunch hours. This past June, hate groups made headlines by disrupting drag queen story hours at libraries and Republican legislators in Florida, Texas, and Arizona proposed to ban minors from attending drag brunches. In response, drag queens — who have long had to deal with willful ignorance about their art — have not backed down (and they aren’t going to).

RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Eureka is one such queen. Through her work on HBO’s Emmy-winning docuseries We’re Here, Eureka has seen it all when it comes to queer visibility, community, and acceptance. The series, which co-stars fellow Drag Race alums Bob the Drag Queen and Shangela, drops the trio of queens in small towns across America where they empower the local queer community and its allies to put on an elaborate drag celebration. These shows, which feature performances from local first-timers paired with the pros, show just how powerful drag can be — and how important drag is to kids.

Eureka, who’s currently filming Season 3 of We’re Here, told Decider about her own young fans. “I will travel and their parents will even communicate with me to meet them outside the venue because they’re not old enough,” said Eureka in a video interview (above), “because they want to see the person that made them comfortable with being a chubby 10-year-old.”

Of drag queen story hours, Eureka says that they’re important because they provide positive examples of diversity and queer visibility for kids. “Younger kids are very impressionable and they can hear the hatred on TV or their family,” said Eureka. “I think seeing something different like drag expressed and being able to read these children’s books that explain gender for someone at that age is a really beautiful way to educate.”

Eureka’s statements echo what her Drag Race sisters Nina West and Jackie Cox also told Decider when asked to comment on recent headlines. “If you see someone who was not assigned female at birth wearing a dress, what actual horrible things will happen to a child? The answer is nothing if you really think it through,” said Cox. “If they’re inspired to themselves wear a dress, is that such a horrible thing? If they’re inspired to maybe realize their own gender identity might be different than what they were assigned at birth, is that a horrible thing? What are you so afraid of?”

“I do want to shout out these queens who are doing it on the daily in smaller communities in Wyoming and in Montana, and in North Carolina, and states that are red,” said West. “They’re not giving up on their beliefs. They are being there for families and children who really desperately need them. I do believe that the most punk thing anyone can do right now is get in drag and read a book to kids.”