Ollie's Blog

Life is a drag By Ollie I’ve been interested in drag for a long time. Specifically, I remember a turning point when I was about 14 years old. I was visiting family for the weekend. And my uncle showed us a clip of ‘Sweet Transvestite’ from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was the first time I remember being aware of a man dressed in women’s clothing. And that moment stuck with me forever. Up until that point I had known that I was different from a young age, when the attraction to girls never came and I started to become aware of my interest in other guys at my school. But as a naturally shy kid who just wanted to fit in. I pushed those feelings deep down and told myself to ignore them. I wasn’t like those people, I couldn’t even bring myself to say the word out loud, for fear of speaking it into existence. And I can specifically remember a time when someone had called me gay in primary school, and I went to ask my mum what it meant. She being an honest, but protective mother ...

Me, Myself & the Movies By Ollie. One of my favourite pastimes is going to the movies. I try to go once a week if I can. I’m lucky—there’s a cinema nearby that offers cheap tickets every day and regularly screens great reruns, especially around Halloween. I remember the first time I went alone. It was during my second year of university, on a rare day off. I was juggling work, study, and a busy social life back then, so having nothing to do felt like a luxury. I’d always loved going to the movies, but coordinating with friends was often frustrating—deciding what to see, when to go, and who was actually interested. That day, no one else wanted to go, and though I’m naturally shy, I decided to just go by myself. Why not? Why waste a perfectly good afternoon over insecurity? I felt confident—right up until I stepped into the cinema. Suddenly it felt like all eyes were on me. Oh God, look at that poor loser all by himself. Doesn’t he have any friends or a partner? My skin was...