Even when I was little, I knew I was different.
Especially because I didn’t meet the standards of masculinity.
When I was seven or eight years old I asked myself, why aren’t there
any fairy tales about princes and princes or
princesses and princesses?
Why is there just one option?
We met up with Marcel Lelo in Poznan, in Poland.
The city is said to be queer-friendly.
Marcel defines himself as non-binary, so neither exclusively
masculine or feminine, and accepts a range of pronouns.
She, it, he, him, her, they.
I don’t really care how someone addresses me, as long as the person
is speaking to me and I get a vibe.
That’s what’s most important.
For the past three years, Marcel has been working at lofty heights
as an industrial window-washer.
Before that, he was working on stage as a drag queen.
When theaters closed during the corona pandemic, Marcel looked
for a new job and found one on high, with the best views in the
city.
I’m happy, but I dream of spending more time on stage rather than
hanging on ropes.
Even though the job really gives me a great deal of financial freedom.
I’m no longer dependent on sponsors and don’t need to prove I really
can sing and that I’m great.
Marcel grew up in a small town in south western Poland.
He comes from a family of devout Catholics and his father
had difficulty understanding his homosexuality.
My parents wanted me to have conversion therapy.
That was supposed to cure me of homosexuality.
I was 19.
It horrified me there were no talks with me or a psychologist.
They just went straight to the priest.
Even as a child, Marcel was fascinated by all things feminine.
He felt drawn to it – the clothes, colors and glitter.
I wanted to have all these feminine attributes.
I always felt close to them.
I loved dressing up, even as a child.
I didn’t know back then that it was drag.
Marcel aka Lelita Petit sings about Queer existence for the LGBTQ music
project “Brokatowe Damy” or "glittering ladies."
And, Lelita appears as a drag artist at the Lokum Stonewall, THE
safe space for the Queer scene in Poznan.
Lelita has founded one of only four drag collectives in Poland.
It’s called the “House of Utopia.” The hierarchy is such that I’m like
the mother because I’ve got solid support, contacts and
lots of performances.
And I can use those to open the scene for others.
Lelita is planning to appear on stage in Berlin with her so-called
“daughter” Aira from the drag collective.
But before taking to the stage, they take in the sights and meet up
with another drag queen, Magdo Chuchracka.
As free as life appears in Berlin, there’s discrimination here, too.
As a rule, Magdo takes a taxi home after a long night as the MC of
the show at Monsters' Karaoke, a bar in one of the hipper
suburbs of Berlin.
Lelita and Aira appear at the club as well.
We have a very different life in Poland.
The audience is cheering them on, and Lelita and Aira are happy
with their performances.
I’m in love!
It’s great!
I’m touched, but thinking about it as well.
When I hear the crowd's reaction in Berlin and their appreciation, then
it feels as if my place is here.
I’d really like to come back again and again.
After their weekend trip, it’s clearer than ever to the Polish
drag queens that Berlin is a magnet for Queer people and LGBTQ rights
are worth fighting for, not just here but everywhere.