‘Drag SOS’ stars Cheddar Gorgeous and Anna Phylactic reveal why they won’t use the term ‘fishy’
The queens are keen to leave the phrase firmly in the past.
By Will Stroude
Drag SOS stars Cheddar Gorgeous and Ana Phylactic might be carrying the flag with the future of British drag, but there’s one phrase often used by their fellow queens that the pair are keen to leave firmly in the past.
As Cheddar and Anna take part in the latest episode of Attitude’s LGBTQ Slang Challenge, they admit they’re not enamoured with the term ‘fishy’ – used to describe queens who could ‘pass’ as female.
“Oh I don’t like this word”, says Anna Phylactic when asked to define its queer meaning.
“I know what it means, it means you’re very female-presenting.”
Cheddar concurs, saying: “We don’t like this word.”
Cheddar, who along with Anna and the other queens of Drag SOS helped to give Lorraine Kelly a royal drag makeover for Attitude’s January ‘Activists & Allies’ issue – out now to download and to order globally – goes on to explain that the term, which has found its way into everyday use following the rise of shows such as RuPaul’s Drag Race, is “out-of-date” and “offensive to women”.
Cheddar Gorgeous and Anna Phylactic pose alongside Lorraine Kelly and their Drag SOS co-stars for Attitude’s January ‘Activists & Allies’ issue, out now.
“It’s a really out-of-date way of describing a really female-looking drag queen”, Cheddar says.
“And I think it’s kind of offensive to women so we don’t really use that one, do we?”
“No, it’s a bit rubbish”, agrees Anna.
Cheddar adds: “Come up with better words!”
Ensure you don’t miss a single episode of Attitude’s LGBTQ Slang Challenge by subscribing to our YouTube channel now – and be sure to catch last week’s hilarious, headline-grabbing episode with Lorraine Kelly here.