Deaf drag queens’ bid to keep gay sign language alive

Some acts at the Edinburgh Festivals are guaranteed to stop the traffic.

But it’s a practicality for Mary and Danielle, who as well as negotiating the city cobbles in sky high heels, are also deaf.

Their show Deaffy Drag Queens: Glitter, Gags and GSV is one of 70 at this year’s Edinburgh Deaf Festival, which got under way at the weekend.

At 64, Mary is ready to hang up her heels, but not before she trains her successor, 18-year-old Danielle.

“I’ve been doing drag for 40 years,” says Mary. “And I first came across Danielle in Norwich where I was appearing at a festival.

“I’d known her family for years and she was very keen on drag, even though she was only 16 at the time.”

Although she was young, Danielle had grown up watching RuPaul’s Drag Race and was particularly inspired by American queen Jinkx Monsoon who won the fifth season of the show.

“It changed my life. I just felt like I could relate to her straight away,” she says.

“She had no idea about drag but then just found herself and it really changed everything about her life. She’s such a great role model for me and that’s why I want to be the first deaf drag queen in the world to be on Drag race.”

Mary says she’s be delighted to pass the baton (or perhaps the sceptre) to Danielle since it would also continue her passion for GSV – gay sign variant.

A flamboyant version of British Sign Language, developed by the deaf LGBT community, Mary first learned it when she moved from Ireland in the 1980s and joined the London-based Brothers and Sisters Club.

The language allowed deaf, gay people to communicate discreetly. During the Aids epidemic, it became even more important in the midst of stigma and misinformation.

Mary, who by then was a nurse, said it had a powerful emotional appeal when dealing with people who were dying.

Today, it’s barely used by the wider deaf community and Mary is determined to keep it alive. She shows me some of the signs which are variations of the BSL signs.

“So for example, for shop, we sign it like your handbag on your arm.

For shoes, we sign it as if we’ve got high heels on.

So it’s more elaborate, more flamboyant and has more facial expressions.”

Despite being fluent in BSL, Danielle says she found GSV tricky to learn.

“It’s like a new language,” she says.

“I had to ask Mary to repeat things, but once I got it, I loved it.

“It’s so expressive whereas with BSL you can sometimes have a blank face.”

Does Mary think that Danielle can persuade a new generation to embrace GSV and save it from dying out?

“Oh yes, definitely and I will keep using it until I’m dead.

“I will not be giving it up.

“And a lot of deaf people are more aware of GSV. They say they like it more than BSL because it’s rich in language and culture. It’s a more heightened way to communicate.”

The Edinburgh Deaf Festival runs in collaboration with the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe and the Edinburgh International Book festival until 17 August.