That moment conquered a paradox, Jenna Wortham wrote in The New York Times. “Queer and gay culture is so broadly co-opted and incorporated into mainstream popular culture that it can usually feel embraced as standard,” she wrote. “Yet pop culture has hardly begun to wrestle with more complex and ugly contemporary narratives, making it clear that universal acceptance is still a fantasy.”
Zavion Michael Davenport was born on September 24, 1985 in Shreveport, La.
In a 2017 interview with The Shreveport Times, Ms. DeVayne described her early, pre-fame life. There were lessons on ballet, West African and modern dance and gymnastics, she said. There were also days spent with friends in empty fields, where they “would be flipping all day,” she said.
‘And once I started wearing it, I had to include it in my act, because everyone loves a dancing queen,’ she told the paper. But there were disadvantages as well. “I was tired of working two jobs and I felt I did not have time to go back to school because I had to work to pay bills and I was in bankruptcy,” she told the paper.
She started performing at a club and got a dedicated following for her eccentric shows.
Then came “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” where the southern charm, acrobatics and creation of Mrs. DeVayne would find its largest audience. “Girl, I’ve seen people shoot,” she said on the show. ‘I smelled like the smell of brains. When I tell you I’m from the streets, I’m not kidding. In another interview, she talked about joining a gang and carrying a gun. “‘Drag Race’ absolutely helped me heal from many things from my past,” she told The San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender News.
She finished in fourth place on Season 8 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and found a worldwide audience. Ms. DeVayne performed in shows around the world, told The Shreveport Times, “Outside the United States, fans are wild.”
In 2018, Ms. DeVayne returned to compete among the show’s all-stars. Although she was more experienced, so were her competitors. She some eighth. “I’m so sorry,” she told the judges in one episode, admitting that the high skill levels of the other competitors made her question her own worth.
