“I know that sounds super cliché, but that’s the sole reason I did this documentary. “I just want people to feel like they’re not alone,” she continues.
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While she plans to release more music this year, Cherry reveals that she’s still “working very closely” with Traveller Pride to provide authentic representation for LGBTQ+ Travellers. Since being catapulted to superstardom on Drag Race UK, Cherry has released two well-received dance-pop singles, Aesthetic and Iconic. “It’s been really positive and I’m just really thankful that people received it the way we intended it to be received, and people are reacting to it authentically.” “The response has actually been really overwhelming,” Cherry adds. I actually feel a lot more grounded in drag, for the better.”Īlthough the Darlington-born entertainer was scared of how the Traveller community would be perceived due to British reality shows that are “not always seen in a positive light,” such as Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and Here Come the Gypsies, the documentary has received widespread critical acclaim.
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“It has helped me combine them and I do feel a lot more confident out of drag now. “We all have different identities that we try and combine through life, but I think it was really interesting doing this documentary because it was an intersection of doing drag, being LGBTQ+ and being from the GRT community,” she states. While she’s still embarking on a journey of self-discovery, the 28-year-old says the documentary helped her “combine” both of her worlds. The film also sees Cherry wrestle with keeping her drag persona separate to her “day job” as a nurse, as well as her queer self from her Traveller past. “Going through this whole documentary process just opened my eyes. “When I discovered the LGBTQ+ community, I felt like the only person who was a Traveller in that community,” she explains. In the 56-minute film, Cherry meets with Ruby, a transgender woman within the Traveller community, as well as Tyler Hatwell, the founder of LGBT Traveller Pride.Īfter hearing of their positive relationships with family members, and how they persevered in an environment known for rejecting LGBTQ+ identities, Cherry’s perception of her community “massively changed” because she used to “feel like the only gay person in the world”. “I just wanted to share the truth of my experience. “It was a guessing game at times, and I didn’t ever want it to come across as negative,” she tells us. Speaking with GAY TIMES, Cherry admits she was “absolutely terrified” when she signed on to make the documentary, and was unsure “which route to go down” due to a significant lack of mainstream attention and education on LGBTQ+ Travellers. It follows Cherry’s moving discussion about her strict background with Sister Sister on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, which was met with overwhelming praise from viewers.
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The powerful BBC documentary, which is now available to stream on iPlayer, follows the star as she reconnects with her roots and unites her queer and Gypsy identities. Georgia, Graham said, is one of only four states that does not have a no hate crimes statute.Cherry Valentine has opened up about her decision to revisit her Traveller past for Gypsy Queen And Proud.
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It's difficult to track precise trends in violence for LGBTQ attacks, advocates say, because law enforcement agencies do not uniformly track hate crimes, says McBride. "The violence and murder rate for trans folks, especially trans women of color, is just unacceptable." "When transphobia mixes with racism and misogyny it can often have deadly consequences," HRC spokewoman Sarah McBride told ABC News. In the last month, two black transgendered women were found dead in Dallas, Texas. In 2018, the group recorded at least 26 killings of transgender people in the U.S., the majority of whom were also black women. What's particularly alarming advocates is the violence against transgendered women of color.Ĭameron's death in Detroit marks the ninth killing of a black transgendered woman in 2019, according to Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBTQ advocacy lobbying group in the U.S. (MORE: Pentagon issues new transgender policy limiting service members to birth gender)