Name: Tyler Sanchez
Drag Name: Patent Pending
Major: Comm Sci & Disorders
Instagram: Uphoria
All photos by Kat Procyk | Her Campus Penn State
Today’s the day! Come to the the PSU Fall Student Drag Show tonight at 10 p.m. in Alumni Hall to see some incredible performances from Penn State queens. Check out our interview with Tyler Sanchez, AKA Patent Pending, below.
Her Campus: How long have you been doing drag?
Tyler Sanchez: I’ve been doing drag for exactly one year this month! I started out at the Fall 2016 Student Drag Show, and have continued to work as a professional drag queen back home in Miami, Florida.
HC: Did you follow the artform before you started it?
TS: I had followed drag for many years before I had started it. I certainly didn’t have the knowledge or passion that I do now for Drag, but, I was very attracted to the process transformation and the fashion. RuPaul was actually the first drag queen that I saw as a child, and quite honestly, I was left speechless by her beauty.
HC: How do you think drag has changed you as a person?
TS: Drag has allowed me to express my creativity through not only makeup, but also fashion and performance. It was extremely important for me to have an outlet for my creativity, especially studying in the field of science, that would encompass and showcase all of the talents I possess. It also has allowed me to grow with not only my craft as an artist, but most positively, as a person. It has opened my mind and has allowed me to see the giant spectrum that is gender and sexuality, and has only made me want to explore them further.
HC: In this particular time in society, why do you feel drag is especially important?
TS: With an administration like Trump’s, it is essential for our community to speak up and to be loud. We need to be heard and we need to ensure that we are being active in politics and our community to protect our rights. Now how does drag come into play there? Well, it’s an outlet for artists to poke fun at the current administration, to poke fun and bring attention to problems we are facing within our own community or within the world. If done correctly, drag can certainly be a form of activism and can bring masses of attention through the art.
HC: Why do you feel it’s important for people to attend a drag show?
TS: I feel that it is important for people to attend a drag show because they really are so much fun. They’re full of comedy, fashion and activism. By attending, people are supporting the art, they are supporting the community and they are helping us expand our platform to wider audiences. It is also a great opportunity to step out of your comfort zone if you’ve never gone to one or are unsure about it. I guarantee [you’ll] have a great time!
HC: How do you feel drag fights gender norms?
TS: Drag fights with gender norms by showing how endless the gender spectrum is. It really allows for not only the artists themselves, but the audience to see that we can take our gender and our body to the next step and play with “every color in the crayon box.” But most importantly to me and my experience is that drag helps me fight the hypermasculinity within the Gay community. This idea that you have to be muscular and put on this masculine facade in order to be attractive and to be accepted within the community. Drag shows that everyone is beautiful, regardless of body size, type, and masculinity. Drag empowers me to feel sexy and embrace my body.
HC: What do you hope the audience takes away from this show?
TS: I really just hope that the audience will take away the empowerment we try to give them throughout the show. We really work hard to create a safe-space for not only our community but for everyone else to enjoy and to not be afraid to be themselves, and to just come out and have a good time. So bring those dollar bills, and if you can’t do that, bring yourself and come enjoy the fabulous show we’re going to have!
HC: How do you feel drag plays a role in Penn State becoming a more inclusive environment?
TS: Drag plays an important role in diminishing the hypermasculine culture that Penn State so desperately clings to and it also helps bring awareness to our community. It allows for people to hear us and to know that WE ARE here, and WE ARE QUEER!
Don’t miss out — come to the PSU Fall Student Drag Show at 10 p.m. on October 12 in Alumni Hall!