{"id":42601,"date":"2017-11-18T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2017-11-18T14:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/?p=42601"},"modified":"2017-11-18T21:06:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-19T02:06:36","slug":"rip-mother-flawless-sabrina-star-of-first-drag-docu-the-queen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/?p=42601","title":{"rendered":"RIP Mother Flawless Sabrina, Star of First Drag Docu “The Queen”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The drag community lost a trailblazer with the passing of Mother Flawless Sabrina<\/strong> Friday night. Born Jack Doroshow in Philadelphia in 1939, she helped transform drag from an amusement for straight people into an art form that celebrated queer identity.<\/p>\n

Doroshow first tried on women\u2019s clothing as an 8-year-old, and by 19 had perfected the Sabrina Flawless character. Drag was still widely stigmatized in the 1960s\u2014even within in the gay community\u2014but Sabrina organized drag pageants across the country.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe would take hotels, usually in the black section of town, and rent out the ballrooms,\u201d she\u00a0told\u00a0Out<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in 2015. \u201cWe would hang sheets as a canopy outside so people could get in and out of the building without being seen, even though they were in suits and ties when they came in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cross-dressing was still a felony, and she was arrested dozens of times. Sabrina also faced arrest for promoting her 1967 film\u00a0The Queen,\u00a0<\/em>in Times Square. A semi-documentary, the movie recounted the Miss All America Beauty Pageant, where Sabrina played \u201cMother\u201d to the contestants, including a young Crystal LaBeija.<\/p>\n

It was the first drag documentary and, aided by interest from Andy Warhol,\u00a0The Queen\u00a0<\/em>screened at Cannes and landed Sabrina spots on several TV talk shows. (Read more at New Now Next<\/a>)<\/p>\n