This Pride month, a new documentary shines a spotlight on the lives and contributions of eight elders within Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community. Among them is one of the city’s oldest out gay men and several iconic figures from the local drag scene.
Michail Takach, president of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project, discussed the documentary on WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” He emphasized the project’s aim to bridge generational gaps and celebrate the legacy of local LGBTQ+ pioneers. The initiative also seeks to counter previous narratives that have often highlighted the struggles and stigmatization faced by the community.
“It created a culture where a lot of people just simply did not talk about their past. The past was a source of embarrassment and for many of our elders, it was also a source of trauma,” Takach explained. “There wasn’t the intergenerational transfer of knowledge of history that happens in almost every other community. A lot of LGBTQ people grow up completely disconnected from what came before.”
One of the documentary’s focal points is Karen Valentine, a veteran social columnist, philanthropist, and drag performer in Milwaukee for over four decades. Valentine shared with “Wisconsin Today” that during the 1980s, she and fellow drag artists were dedicated to fundraising for HIV and AIDS initiatives, in addition to supporting local sports teams and other causes.
“It really wasn’t a career or a way to really make a living. We all had jobs during the day. We were just flattered that people were happy to see us on the stage,” Valentine recounted. “I never, for once, took for granted the honor that I was awarded by being able to take to the stage and be applauded to do my little fantasy of what I did when I was a child in my playroom.”
Valentine likens her drag persona to characters played by entertainers like Carol Burnett or Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman.
“They’re somebody we create in a dressing room and we bring to the stage,” Valentine explained. “For that hour-or-two-hour show, we give you all a little vacation from reality. We bring you into our little fantasy world, our dreamland, and we could escape into the wonderful world of humor and music, where things can’t hurt us … it’s escapism for me.”
Takach highlighted that drag, beyond entertainment, has historically been a form of resistance, with roots stretching back to the clandestine gay bars of early America.
“They were a place where there weren’t a lot of people who wanted to be seen,” Takach said. “Imagine trying to be a fundraiser in a space where most of your beneficiaries can’t be publicly known.”
Reflecting on her career, Valentine noted the transformation of drag into a more mainstream industry over the years. Despite being at the later stage of her career, she remains active in the scene.
“I’m at the twilight of my life and career and I do every once in a while get somebody saying, ‘When are you hanging up the lashes and the Ferragamos?’ And I say, ‘Honestly I don’t know. I guess when they stop asking,’” Valentine remarked. “I’m very flattered that I’m still included in the run.”
Takach expressed the project’s commitment to tackling “generational ageism” within the LGBTQ community. He argued that in the past, performers like Valentine might have been marginalized due to their age.
“Ageism is a powerful dividing line, because it tells our elders that there’s no more space for them, that they no longer have purpose or value, or they’re no longer welcome,” he said.
“One of the things we’ve been trying to do with the Beacons project is assert that not only did these elders blaze the trail and carve out these spaces … these are (places) that they’re always going to be welcome, because they built them,” Takach added.
“Beacons of Brew City” will premiere at the Oriental Theater on June 16.
