Purple, Green, and Gold Roots: How Mardi Gras Sparked a Lifelong Love for Drag

My name is Torrance Elizabeth Morant, and I’m from the Big Easy New Orleans, LA. I grew up in Mississippi, though, so I call them both my home.

Moving to Colorado was kind of a lifelong process, honestly!

After Hurricane Katrina, my family split several ways, with a lot of them coming to Colorado. I visited every year, for just about every holiday, and I always knew I’d end up moving here as well.

Colorado helped me find true identity. Here, I was able to connect with myself in ways unavailable to me before. 

I found drag very early through Mardi Gras parades! The extravagant bright purple, green, and gold costumes had me FIXATED!

I realized drag was for me when I performed in my sister Zimmorah’s edition of Their Party at Tracks Denver! The energy that I felt from that room made me realize I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing!

I’m inspired heavily by my sister Zimmorah, as well as my mother Porsha DeMarco-Douglas, and hugely by my favorite drag artist Abhora!

Drag gives me a sense of self that nothing before has ever given me!

I think as trans women, hyperfemininity is forced upon us as a way of making certain aspects of our womanhood “mandatory” and drag has helped me separate that misogyny from what’s true, my gender expression can be exactly what I want it to be.

Nothing more, nothing less.

A huge misconception I wish I could reshape is that drag is just something we do when we have nothing else. So many of us consciously choose drag every day, because it’s exactly what we want to do!

For me, true support is unwavering, deliberate, and wholehearted. To me, that shows up in supporting a show of mine, sharing and truly engaging with posts I’ve made about Black History and its ties to drag, or even just checking in with me after a long week of gigs.

Support can be something as small as saving space for me on the rainy days!

I wish people understood that being a Black, trans creator right now is more terrifying than ever. Daily we’re faced with deep threats of harm, harassment, and violence yet we are unwilling to hide to placate those who wish we didn’t exist.

People can show up for Black, trans artists and creators by being LOUD! Scream from the mountaintops about the injustices happening to everyone in this political climate!

Don’t allow yourselves to be tired out by the constant threats. Rest, show up for black bodies when it matters, and educate yourselves enough to not repeat history.

You can find and support Torey DeMarco-Douglas on all socials at @thetoreydemarco and on venmo at @toreystoned!

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