DragCon UK: Color, Fun, and Warmth for the Whole Family
Amid a global wave of change, DragCon UK shows how progress moves hand in hand with a growing awareness and understanding of rights and freedom.
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DragCon UK arrives amid a global wave of change, where progress moves hand in hand with a growing awareness and understanding of rights and freedom. Yet many parts of the world still have not moved past old debates about understanding sexual orientation and the diversity of people. Even so, the RuPaul community has become a safe space for LGBTQ+ people and a family festival, one where parents are happy to bring their children to experience the "diversity" of people in society and to meet more than 150 superstars.
The Return of DragCon UK
After nearly three years of the pandemic, which forced the cancellation of outdoor activities and any event that brought people together, DragCon UK was finally able to return and welcome every family that attended. The festival was filled with superstar alumni from RuPaul's Drag Race, the competition show that has brought the LGBTQ+ community closer together and deepened mutual understanding. In the candid backstage makeup chats, we see these artists reflect a sense of "humanity" equal to everyone else's.
Although U.S. lawmakers view spaces of gender diversity as too soon for children to experience, the parents and guardians who brought many young people to the event affirmed that they see DragCon and other spaces like it as safe, and as places where children are free to explore and discover what they love.
"You can be anyone you want to be."
one drag queen said, after criticizing the lawmakers who have tried to keep minors from attending drag events.
Lady Camden, a drag queen and a top-four finalist in Season 14 of "RuPaul's Drag Race," said she had no space to express herself when she was young and loves attending DragCon (there are also DragCons in New York and Los Angeles).
"I wish I had let myself be gay and more feminine when I was a child," she said. "I would love to go back in time and let myself play with Barbie dolls, wear pink, say what I wanted to say, and love whoever I wanted to love," Lady Camden said.
For many parents, even though this space grew out of being fans of "RuPaul's Drag Race," another reason they bring their children is to give them the freedom to experience every form of art presented through drag queens.
"I want her to be able to accept people from all walks of life and to keep an open heart at every moment, to truly accept diversity in all its forms," said Trish, a London resident who brought her 5-year-old daughter, Maxine, to the event.
Danielle Gostling, who lives in Kent, England, brought her 6-year-old daughter, Dorothy, to the fair. She said there was "nothing over the top" about the art forms that everyone presented.
"It's about fun, expression, love, and equality, which are so important for children to know," she said.
Over the past few months, at least six bills have been introduced by state legislatures across the United States that seek to limit the places and the people who can take part in such events. These measures are specifically intended to prevent young people from attending drag performances.
"That's wrong," Dorothy Gostling said of the proposed bills. "You can't stop this change!"
Gemini, an 18-year-old drag performer from Surrey, England, who has been honing the art since the age of 12, said drag is "a confidence booster." She took part in DragCon UK's Kids Fashion Show last Sunday in a pink tracksuit and said drag has helped her cope with emotional struggles and build her self-confidence.
"As a gay teenager in school, you often get bullied or become a target for bullying, but for me, doing silly, over-the-top things helped me get through it and made me think, 'I can be myself, I can be calm and be myself, and be anyone I want to be,'" she said.
Kitty Scott-Claus, a contestant in the third season of "RuPaul's Drag Race UK," summed up in a few words a feeling that seemed to resonate with many at the fair.
"Drag is for everyone, and everyone can have fun," she said. "If you like drag, your age shouldn't matter."
Drag in Thailand
Although Thailand does not yet have a law barring young people from spaces of gender diversity, it must be acknowledged that the room for expressing that diversity is still quite limited. Many young people love drag but don't know where to start, whom to go with, or how to move forward in a space that remains unclear. Opposition also persists in less visible forms: even with a TV drama, if the lead character is of the same sex, many parents still feel uneasy about it airing on free TV during prime time or whenever children are watching.
Cr. Timeout.com
Even so, the spread of diversity across every space continues. One interesting activity this past Children's Day was a drag queen story time at Suan Khru Angun (Khru Angun's Garden), where young children could sit and listen to stories told by drag queens, taking in the performers' sense of self and their stories. Though it was a small event, it was a way of breaking the shell and opening up space for diversity for everyone.
The author hopes the day will come when Thailand will have more than just drag fairs and gender-diversity events, but something greater: the right to love whoever you want to love and to marry whoever you want to marry, under the same law and under the equal humanity we all share. And that day will come before long.
Source: NBC News
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Verified references
Links and relevance to the article’s main topic were reviewed on 13 August 2026. Each source supports only the scope stated in the original document and does not replace personalised medical, legal, or service advice.
- RuPaul’s DragCon UK: Official talent page Accessed 13 August 2026
