Will Roffey, who was born in Arnprior, says that his stage persona is “a nod to growing up in the valley.
Will Roffey works in health care during the week and farms on the weekends. At night, he is a drag queen.
Roffey, who uses they/them pronouns, combines all of these things in their stage persona, Holli Cow, which they think is the first drag queen in their hometown of Arnprior, Ont., west of Ottawa.
Roffey said that it’s important to bring queer culture to the rural areas where they grew up, even though many LGBTQ people are facing more and more abuse.
“People will come up to me and say, ‘I didn’t know Arnprior or the [Ottawa Valley] could be so accepting,'” said Roffey.
- “A beacon of safety and love,” the Arnprior town hall will put up a Pride flag.
Even though rainbows are now painted on crosswalks, in many shop windows, and on a flag at town hall, Roffey said that the town didn’t always have this sense of pride when they were growing up on a farm just outside the town.
The 24-year-old said, “I didn’t have the tools or language to describe how I was feeling, or people I could talk to, like teachers.”
“The one who looks out for my inner child.
Back then, Roffey’s home wasn’t a safe place either. So, they took part in activities outside of school, “anything I could do to not be at home.”
Roffey said that those things helped make Holli Cow who she is.
“They protect my inner child in a way… I grew up in the valley, so I wanted my drag to be a nod to that,” they said, explaining that the name comes from their family’s beef farm.
Roffey mostly performs at a local steakhouse because there isn’t a gay bar in the area. There, people from all walks of life might be in the audience.
Roffey said that after the shows, they’ve heard from gay people who came from all over the valley to see the show, as well as people from the area who’d never met a drag queen before Holli Cow.
Holli Cow also performs during the day. She hosts drag storytime at the Arnprior Public Library. The youth services librarian said that Roffey’s performances have given the community a sense of belonging.
Carolyn Swayze said, “It’s really important for kids to see people who are visible, who are living their real lives, and who are being themselves.”
“In a small town, I don’t think that’s always a given.”
Swayze said that many families now come regularly. One child’s mother originally signed up for a session because she thought it was a dragon-themed event.
“She stayed, and by the end, she was so glad she’d found it by accident. She thought she had learned a lot and was glad that her child had seen that.
Swayze warns that it can also be dangerous to read to kids while dressed as a woman.
- The LGBTQ community in Ottawa is worried about recent acts of violence.
Swayze said that the library has also gotten a small number of complaints about storytime. He said that there have been a number of hate crimes against the LGBTQ community in Ottawa in recent months.
“I would tell them that the library is a place for everyone,” she said.
Too much abuse for other drag queens in small towns
The abuse of another small-town drag queen on the other side of the river caused her to stop performing in their town.
Matthew Thomas Armour thinks that his character Maddie Longlegs was the first to bring drag to his hometown of Fort-Coulonge, Que., in the Pontiac area.
- Due to people being rude, a drag queen left the stage in Pontiac.
Even though he has a lot of supporters, like his mother and sister, who are his “biggest defenders,” Armour said he is getting more and more anti-trans abuse in person and online.
He said earlier this summer that, for his mental health, he would no longer be performing in Fort-Coulonge. Last month, he even hired security to deal with any hecklers at his last show there.
In a French-language interview with Radio-Canada, he said, “People called me a freak show and said I was looking for attention because I talk about the problems the LGBTQ community is facing right now.”
Flipping the scrip
Roffey said that the bullying of Holli Cow has been limited to social media so far, but a recent event has given them pause.
In June, they were part of a counter-protest outside a drag storytime at the National Arts Centre, where they saw violent scenes.
“It frightens me. It reminds me of the bad things that happened to me when I was young,” Roffey said.
Roffey now lives and works in health care in Ottawa, where they sometimes perform. On weekends, they often go back to the family farm.
They say that their relationship with their family has come a long way since Holli Cow’s first performance two years ago, when their family was there to watch.
Roffey says that they want to keep performing in their hometown so that the next generation has a safe place to grow up.
“We’re starting to flip the script and break the cycle of transphobia and homophobia in the valley,” said Roffey, adding that abuse and threats won’t stop them.
“It starts a fire, but the job is not yet done.”
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