WeHo’s LGBTQ+Advisory Board yanks support for Drag Laureate Program

The board and WeHo’s Chamber of Commerce think the Drag Laureate should be paid thousands more than what’s budgeted

WeHo’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board has publicly denounced City Hall for not paying their yet-to-be-selected Drag Laureate enough.

Similar to a poet laureate, the drag laureate is a yearlong paid position awarded to a local drag performer to serve as the “official ambassador of West Hollywood’s LGBTQ community and nightlife.” City Council had approved a stipend of $5,000 to be paid to the honoree. That’s $2,000 more than the city’s Poet Laureate receives.

But in coordination with the WeHo Chamber, the LGBTQ+ Advisory Board is calling out the “pay inequity” they see in the program, alleging that it “perpetuates the tokenizing, objectification, and the delegitimization of drag performance as enterprise.”

WeHo would have been the first in the nation to have a Drag Laureate program, but delays last fall allowed San Francisco to swoop in and steal the distinction. The Golden Gate City pays their Drag Laureate an honorarium of $55,000 per year, and the LGBTQ+ Advisory Board thinks WeHo should be paying a comparable figure.

WeHo’s Drag Laureate would be required to attend 10 ribbon-cuttings for new businesses and other official city gatherings. San Francisco’s Drag Laureate seems to have a much heftier workload, including delivering an inaugural event, serving as an ambassador, and producing “drag-centered events and programming centered on celebrating and supporting San Francisco’s dynamic and diverse LGBTQI+ community.”

According to the memo, the Chamber persuaded City Hall in September to begin the process of raising the Drag Laureate’s pay from $5,000 to $12,500 per year and to put the application process on hold until the raise was approved, but city staff failed to adhere to the bargain. The application remained online and several performers applied.

Board Co-Chair Miss Tiger was unaware that the Chamber had negotiated a pay raise with City Hall, and she disputed previously published reports that the City Hall had recently offered an even larger increase.

Councilmember Lauren Meister says she and the program’s planners at City Hall were surprised by the push back from the board. She said they had surveyed local clubs and come up with a pay rate that was higher than what most drag performers were being paid for comparable work. Now, they’re looking at what other cities are paying, and an item to review the program will return to City Council soon.

Boardmember Renee Sotile, who voted against sending the memo to City Council, sees the board’s rejection of the program as a missed opportunity to reward an aspiring role model with a chance of a lifetime.

“San Francisco is California’s fourth-largest city. It has more than 1 million residents compared to our 30,000,” Sotile said. “It’s not a fair comparison considering the time commitments and work requirements.”

The memo is as follows:

The West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce stands in solidarity with the City’s own LGBTQ+ Advisory Board in voicing our concern regarding fair and equitable compensation for the Drag Laureate Program. Pay inequity for the laureate perpetuates the tokenizing, objectification, and the delegitimization of drag performance as enterprise.

So strong is our position on promoting a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive field of small business in West Hollywood, the Chamber advised Mayor Meister and Director of Economic Development, John Leonard, that we would pull our support and involvement for this program unless the pay equity issue was resolved because the Chamber cannot reconcile advocating and coaching the Drag Laureate to recognize themselves as a legitimate business, while the program itself perpetuates an exploitative gaze that benefits from drag performance remaining part of an informal economy, especially of an already marginalized community.

We were heartened when our efforts to renegotiate the stipend from $5,000 to $12,500 per year proved successful when, on Sep 29th, Mayor Meister instructed John Leonard to pull the program from the website until the item could be brought back to Council in November because we were excited to be part of this inaugural program that we believed held so much progress.

We appreciated Mayor Meister’s willingness to hear our concerns and her commitment to fair compensation. We are deeply disappointed that the program remained online, despite the promise to pull it until the compensation increase was resolved and despite four attempts by the Chamber (since Oct 4) to inquire about the fact that it was still up on the City’s website. So now, rather than voicing simple concern, we must voice our outright objection to the program as it is currently written and approved.

The Chamber and the West Hollywood Small Business Foundation will not support or participate in the City’s Drag Laureate Program. This means that we will not take part in reviewing applicants or making recommendations on who should be laureate. Furthermore, we will not consent to any Chamber events being used as part of the Drag Laureate’s required duties and we request any reference to a partnership with the City be stricken from the program immediately. While the Chamber is still moving forward with creating the Independent Entertainer Program, as this was always in our scope of work; it just won’t be in collaboration with laureate program.

If a laureate wishes to join the Chamber, complimentary for the first year, under our new entertainer membership plan, they are welcome to inquire with us directly; however, it must be clearly stated that it will be separate from the official City’s Drag Laureate Program.

THE HISTORY OF THE ‘LAUREATE’

A laureate is a person who has been honored with a prestigious award or prize for their outstanding achievements in a particular field or discipline. The term “laureate” is often associated with a crown or wreath of laurel leaves, which was a symbol of victory and achievement in ancient Greece and Rome.

Laureates are typically recognized for their exceptional contributions to their field, such as scientific discovery, artistic expression, humanitarian efforts, or public service. The award may come with a financial prize, recognition, and prestige, and can serve as a recognition of the recipient’s lifetime of work or a specific, exceptional accomplishment.

There are many different types of laureates in various fields, including the Nobel Prize laureates in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace, Fields Medal laureates in mathematics, Turing Award laureates in computer science, MacArthur Fellows, and Pulitzer Prize winners, among others.

The history of poet laureates dates back to the 17th century in England. The position of Poet Laureate was created in 1668 as a way to recognize and reward poets for their contributions to English literature. The first Poet Laureate was John Dryden, who was appointed by King Charles II.

Since then, the tradition of appointing a Poet Laureate has spread to other countries, including the United States, where the Library of Congress has had a Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry since 1937. The role of the Poet Laureate varies depending on the country and the specific institution, but in general, the Poet Laureate serves as a representative of the literary community and is expected to promote poetry and the arts.

In some countries, the Poet Laureate is also expected to write poems for special occasions, such as royal births, weddings, and state funerals. In other countries, the Poet Laureate is free to write whatever they choose and may use the position to raise awareness about social or political issues.