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Queer people often risk facing family rejection or homelessness for being who they are, but others create their own families. John Voutos reports.

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Sydney-based drag personality Michelle Mayhem is a testament to the struggle many young queens face when it comes to parental acceptance.

The 20-year-old 鈥� presented as ordinary, flat-haired Mitchell 鈥� explains that she feels on edge speaking about her relationship with her parents.

鈥淚 feel guilty,鈥� she says. 鈥淓very time I interact with them, I can always tell in their expressions that I disappoint them, especially when I go out and they scan my face to see if I have any make-up on.

鈥淲hen I came home after performing one night, my mum told me to wash off my eyeliner. I had glitter on my nails from when I painted them and she brought me nail polish remover and removed it herself.

鈥淪he鈥檚 told me straight up, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to be part of this.鈥欌��

Parental rejection can be detrimental for young LGBTI kids growing up, and can even lead or force them out of their family home.

Supporting this claim is the Gay and Lesbian Foundation of Australia鈥檚 (GALFA) report from September of last year that found LGBTI youth were at least twice as likely to find themselves without a home at a younger age.

And Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data from March found that homelessness in Australia was up by 14 per cent over the last five years, with more than 43,500 homeless people under the age of 25.

While Mayhem has never struggled with housing, she has considered seeking support and counselling services as a result of the friction between her and her parents; friction sparked by her being gay and doing drag.

鈥淚t always just kind of scared me because I don鈥檛 want to give my parents extra stress. My parents have already dealt with so much when it comes to me,鈥� she says.

Adrian Murdoch, digital marketing coordinator for Minus18, says there鈥檚 always more that Australians could be doing for LGBTI youth.

鈥淕enerally, those who play with gender or drag have to engage with a larger variety of services,鈥� he says.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e more likely to [seek out our services] than someone who relates to a part of the community that鈥檚 more recognised.鈥�

Murdoch says this is because smaller groups in the community struggle to find a space where they can truly express themselves without justification.

鈥淲hen they can talk to people who have or who still are going through similar circumstances, it gives them that momentum and strength to be loud鈥� they don鈥檛 have to navigate their situations quietly.鈥�

Mayhem says the need for justification is present during times when she鈥檚 had to distinguish between doing drag and being transgender to her parents.

鈥淚鈥檝e clarified to them that I don鈥檛 want to be a girl but my dad will see the tiaras in my room and still say, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e a boy, not a girl鈥�,鈥� she says.

Contrasting the strained relationship she has with her parents, Mayhem鈥檚 relationship with her fairy drag sister Zachary Rennick 鈥� the man behind performer Peaches 鈥� has blossomed, proving that biology is no requirement for the foundation of family.
Rennick says he was excited to help Mayhem 鈥渂ecome the destined woman she was supposed to be.鈥�

鈥淚 have been there every step of the way with Michelle on her journey, from helping her buy make-up and helping her choose her stage name, to watching her walk in heels for the first time and watching her grow into this life that I didn鈥檛 know was within her,鈥� he says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate to watch Michelle hide a really special and big part of her life from her parents,鈥� Rennick says as Michelle interjects, 鈥渁t 11 o鈥檆lock at night, when my parents were asleep, I鈥檇 be in my room practicing my make-up.鈥�

Rennick continues, saying, 鈥淚 would not be the queen I am today without my drag brothers and sisters who have loved and supported me for who Peaches is鈥� so I always promised to support [Mayhem] in any way I could.

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 let my best friend not enjoy the same happiness and joy I got from drag.鈥�

Mayhem adds that Rennick has helped her feel valid and supported as a drag queen when her parents have not.

鈥淚 told Peaches I wanted to do drag and he took me to a high heel shop and I tried on high heels for the first time,鈥� she says.

鈥淗e knew my backstory so he was kind enough to let me in and let me store my drag at his place. He鈥檚 my big sister.

鈥淲henever I do drag, I stay with Peaches. When I leave in the morning, I make sure all my make-up is off and I go home to my parents pretending nothing happened.

鈥淚 guess you could call it a double life.鈥�

Mayhem sits back to appreciate the solace she has found in the drag community.

鈥淲e are all sisters,” she says, explaining that behind the cut-throat fronts of fellow drag queens in her age group, their vulnerabilities unite a sisterhood in which no-one is left behind. 聽

鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine not having Peaches.鈥�