Painted Faces, Real Power: The Transformative World of Drag and the Strength of Community

There’s something electric about sitting across from a drag queen at the Stonewall Inn.

The disco ball spins above us, casting flecks of light on the bar’s worn brick walls—walls that have held decades of laughter, rebellion, and chosen family. I’m here with Crystal Marie Tyler, a local NYC drag performer who somehow manages to be both larger than life and deeply grounded. Her presence is commanding, sure—but it’s her warmth, the way she speaks about drag like it’s both armor and art, that sticks with me.

As a gay creative in this city, this moment means something. Interviewing someone like Crystal in this place—the Stonewall Inn—isn’t just exciting. It’s emotional. This is where people like us first stood up and said, “No more.” And now, years later, I’m here, phone in hand, talking with someone who’s still carrying that torch—just with a little more rhinestone.

JL: Do you feel as though performing and being in drag has kind of given you a lot of confidence or some kind of personality boost outside of drag?

CMT: Yeah, absolutely. When I started it, like I was in college and I was just getting used to like, ’oh, it's just a fantasy. 
I'm like a kid that wants to pretend and play drag.’ Then at the end of college, I'm like, oh, this is a profitable skill then I can really run with and make a lot of connections and network and make a lot of friends in that way. And as I move forward, it's mostly just about the community, and that's what brings the best in you.”

Drag is magic. But not in the way people always think. Yes, there are wigs and lashes and death drops that make you scream, but it’s more than that. Drag transforms people from the inside out. For many in our community, it’s the first time they’ve been seen—really seen—for who they are. Or maybe even for who they’ve always dreamed of becoming.

Crystal talks about that transformation like it’s sacred. Because it is.

JL: What would you consider the most transformative aspect of drag?

CMT: Anyone that touches it and really experiments with it often comes out of wanting to learn more about themselves.  Sometimes it comes from feeling very isolated. And the most important thing about that is you try it and then you're not alone because it's a whole community of people that also started at that point.

And then there’s the community. That loud, loving, messy, beautiful drag family that shows up night after night. You find your people in this world, sometimes when you least expect it. And they don’t just cheer for you—they see you. They push you, protect you, and love you in ways the outside world often doesn’t know how to.

JL: Where should aspiring artists go to find these communities?

CMT: The spaces that are really just all about the freedom and that you feel the most comfortable in, you will be the most drawn to. And I mean like we're standing right here where I followed my heart and I always wanted to perform here, and now I'm Mx. Fan Favorite. So.

I look around Stonewall and I think about the queens who were here before us—the ones who kicked open the doors so we could even have this conversation. What would they think, seeing us here now? Would they be proud? I hope so. I think about that a lot. How being queer in this city can feel lonely one minute, and then suddenly, you’re at a drag show, surrounded by strangers who feel like home.

By the time our interview wraps, I don’t want to leave. Not because the lights are pretty (they are), or because Crystal’s makeup is hypnotizing (it is), but because in this tiny, historic room, I feel like I’ve reconnected with something I didn’t even realize I needed.

Drag isn’t just performance. It’s protest. It’s therapy. It’s community. It’s survival. And it’s joy.

And for people like Crystal—and people like me—it’s proof that we’re not just here. We belong here.

Written and interviewed by Jai LePrince @jai.leprince

Talent: Crystal Marie Tyler @crystal.tyler.nyc

Photography by Mark Bluemle @barks.mindd 

Production and Direction by Sophia Querrazzi @sophiamq_14 

PA, Movement Direction by Jai LePrince