One ten-year-old boy has made history by setting up the first ever drag club for children.
The young New Yorker, who became a viral sensation in 2015, wants drag to be for everyone and he’s starting with his peers.
Desmond Napoles founded the Haus of Amazing in New York for young people like himself who want to express themselves through the artistic medium.
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The decision has not been without controversy, with some condemning Desmond and his family and have even accused them of allowing him to strip at adult clubs.
Desmond’s mother spoke out and called the comments homophobic and said it was insulting to imply that gay people would find her child’s performances in anyway sexual.
“He was a ballet dancer for four years and is currently earning an A+ grade in drama at his school. He is extremely talented in his celebrity and character impersonations. His costumes are less revealing than a dancer’s or cheerleader’s uniform, and are always age appropriate. While he dances, he does not move in a sexual manner.”
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But far many more support Napoles and see him as an inspirational icon for the gay community.
The ten-year-old already has over 100,000 followers on Instagram and with every post is gaining more and more fans.
He has also helped celebrity drag queens launch DragCon over the past two years.
While drag is seen as a modern form of performance but it actually dates back centuries, the word drag itself being coined by Shakespeare as a shortened version of ‘dressed as a girl’. The phrase was often used by the playwright as at the time when his plays were first performed all the female roles were played by men.
Napoles’ star seems to ever be on the rise and it will be exciting to see what this young performer and entrepreneur does next.
