FIU student finds happiness through drag
Joey Geballa slaps on his wig after hours of rehearsing his songs, glueing down his eyebrows and contouring his cleavage. Now he is Daphne Lux.
Geballa performs as Daphne Lux at drag shows in bars and clubs along the east coast.
“Drag has taught me to be confident and ruthless and not give a f***,” said Geballa, a communication arts senior.
Drag is a performance art in which typically queer men dress as women-- known as a drag queens--to perform for others at events. Since the early 1900s, drag has been a form of expression for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer community.
Dressing up in women’s clothing and performing at shows did not cross Geballa’s mind until he met a couple of friends at FIU. His friends knew about his on-stage experience and love for drag, and nudged Geballa into pursuing it.
It was one night Geballa, dawned in “terrible” drag, and his friends went to a local queer theater. There, it all clicked for him.
“[They said] ‘It’s kind of like, calling you. Why don’t you do it?,” said Geballa.
As Geballa began to book gigs in Miami, the 21 year-old simultaneously practiced drag in his hometown of Washington D.C.
Geballa considers himself a mix of the drag scenes of both cities. The two scenes are on opposite ends of the drag spectrum according to Geballa. The Miami scene is filled with eccentric and obscure make-up and costumes, whereas the D.C. crowd leans towards polished and traditional drag.
“I feel like bring a breed of those two is what gives me an edge,” said Geballa.
Exploring drag has birthed a small number obstacles for Geballa. His family welcomes his newfound hobby, yet he still pushes to get acceptance from his mother. Coming from an Egyptian family, Geballa faces the strict conversatism that reflects in his mother’s opinions.
Geballa, however, sees his mother coming around sometime in the future.
“My mom is like “do you ever think about stopping?” said Geballa. “And I’m like, why am I going to stop something that’s making me happy?”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a reality competition show in which drag queens from across the nation compete to be the “The Next Drag Superstar,” continues to inspire Geballa. The drag queen plans to audition and potentially compete in the show within the next upcoming years.
“As much sweat, tears and insecurities comes with it, it’s so worth it at the end of the day,” said Geballa. “You just discover so much about yourself.”