Miss First Nation 2023 Cerulean: On A Mission To Spread Queer Black Joy
Image: Michelle Donnelly
Cerulean is a Melbourne-based drag performer. Most recently, she won the title of Miss First Nation 2023 at the Miss First Nation: Supreme Queen Competition during Sydney WorldPride 2023.
In a conversation with Star Observer, Cerulean spoke about her mission in drag, spreading Queer joy, and the importance of Queer spaces.
The Push Cerulean Needed
For years, the idea of doing drag was always a “prevalent thought” in the back of Cerulean’s mind, but she hadn’t yet taken the leap.
In 2019, her long-time friend and drag mother, Stone Motherless Cold, asked her to be a part of an event at Northcote Town Hall where young creatives were tasked with putting on a night of entertainment. Stone Motherless Cold offered any assistance that she could. This was the push Cerulean needed.
“It was definitely getting asked to do it…I feel like the stars kind of aligned,” she shared.
“I just went down to the local Salvo — got some random cheap dress, I got some wedge shoes and then just went out there and did it… it was amazing.”
For her performance, she chose the song, Water Me by Lizzo.
“I had moisturiser because the song’s about taking care of yourself.
“I went around to the crowd and was giving everybody a squirt of moisturiser while the performance was going. So that was fun and just a bit camp.”
Recalling the outfit, Cerulean said the dress was this black and white “short little number that kept riding up…and I didn’t wear a wig either.”
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Black and Queer Community Joy
When it comes to her mission in drag, Cerulean said it’s, “to spread joy – spread Black joy and Queer joy. The type of joy that you feel as a community, especially as a marginalised community, an oppressed community.”
“I really love to bring that to the stage and bring that out of people, because I think that’s so important…like a recharging.”
Talking about how she came up with her drag name, Cerulean revealed, “My drag name originated from Pokémon. I grew up on anime like Naruto and Dragon Ball Z and in Pokémon there is a city called Cerulean City. In one of the episodes, the character Misty swims with the Pokémon in this underwater performance show as a mermaid and I remember thinking that I wanted to be that mermaid. So it’s my first memory of any sort of gender defiance.”
For her drag look, Cerulean said she usually gets inspiration from pop stars, anime, and fantasy.
“I get inspired by very colourful and bright. When I get into drag, I don’t necessarily want to look feminine, I don’t want to look like a woman. I want to look like a fantasy, like a clown – a feminine clown that’s super bright and brings joy.”
‘Queer Spaces Allow Queer People To Be More Of Themselves’
When it comes to Queer spaces, Cerulean emphasised how vitally important they are.
“They allow Queer people to be more of themselves,” she said.
“A space made for Queer people and by Queer people. I think it’s really important that it’s made by Queer people because they understand what needs to go into it to be safe for Queer people.”
She continued, “It’s just nice to be around your own community, in a Queer space and to really experience and find yourself.
“I feel like it’s really important to be around other people like you, to really expand on what you think your Queerness is or could be.”
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When asked to name one of her favourite Queer spaces in Melbourne, Cerulean said UBQ, a bar on Smith Street.
“There’s a lot of inclusivity in performers and everybody there is really lovely and extremely Queer. It has a lovely vibe.”
Cerulean also named community-owned Pride of our Footscray Nightclub & Bar where she will be hosting a night called Contessa on April 21.
“It’s a night where I highlight POC, femme artists, both in drag and with the music, as well. So that’s pretty cool.”
