#RuPaulsDragCon: Sera Lindsey’s Portraits of People “Dancing Outside the Surface of the Norm”

Photographer Sera Lindsey

Memento of THE first Drag convention in Herstory

Sera Lindsey is a photographer based in Los Angeles.

That’s what her bio says on her website. That’s all most photographers want you to know, as they are ALL ABOUT their subjects and they are NOT the story. Well, Sera went to RuPaul’s Drag Con and took these amazing portraits, and they ARE the story. I got in touch with her, so I could show them to you. Here’s what she had to say about the experience:

For the last two days, I spent the majority of my hours at the LA Convention Center to attend the first RuPaul’s Drag Con- really the first of its kind. I feel tremendously lucky to have been a part of something that is sure to become something much bigger. The impact that RuPaul’s Drag Race alone has had gives a new platform to the gay community, as well as an entire subculture of people just dancing outside the surface of the norm. That’s important.

I didn’t get a chance to take a decent photo of RuPaul (and I’m not about to post anything subpar of Ru!) but I did get to meet him. I felt like I was in the midst of a very special human, an absolute light, and an individual capable of seeing the true beauty in everyone. Today during his Q+A, a sequined boy stood up and asked;

“Even though you seem to have everything and are successful, you probably have to work hard to not get overwhelmed. How do you keep yourself happy?”

The answer was long, floral, poetic, and beautiful. But in essence, RuPaul’s personal requirements are: daily practice of meditation, yoga, and prayer. When describing meditation, he related it to floating above the planet and seeing everything from far away – an experience I often have while in meditation. The entire practice of gratitude was clarified through a metaphor. Ru said, “it’s as if you’re babysitting the most beautiful child. And you know who that child is?” Of course we do.

He talked about the consumerist culture that we live in, and in order to live in it, we have to buy things. Lots of things. Things we don’t need.

“You won’t be clean unless you’re Zestfully clean, isn’t that right!”

He said. And though color and creativity and music and joy involves buying things, his point was this: most of the world will take advantage of the fact that you don’t feel whole. You’ll feed bad, awful in fact. “How do you offset that?” He asked.

“You have to remember that you are made of the power that started the universe.”

Ru usually ends each episode of Drag Race by saying,

“…and remember: if you don’t love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an amen up in here?”

To which everyone says “Amen!” And the music plays. Credits roll. The show ends. But just as Ru said on stage;

“…it’s a nice sentiment, and it’s easy enough to say- I even saw it on a shirt earlier! But the truth is, living it takes PRACTICE.”

And it’s true! It does. Self love is a daily practice, not a gift that some are born with and others aren’t. Every day it is up to us to distinguish ourselves as our own beautiful beings, uniquely individual and simultaneously part of a collective consciousness. To truly know this changes our actions for the better. Being aware of not just our individuality but how that fits into a beautiful whole is the magic everyone needs to live a fulfilling life. Nobody is ever truly alone.

I can’t wait for next year. 2016 will be sure to slay.