Cougar Camp and Couture: Building Bridges

For local drag queens Charity Heels and Colette Coins, staying faithful and expressing your true self do not have to exist in alternate realities. That overlap of identity was why Heels founded Cougar Camp and Couture, the most active drag collective in the Provo/Orem area. “As an active member of the Church, I can go to a space where it’s gay, but I’m in charge of it, so being ex-Mormon is not an expectation,” Heels explains. No matter the current status, religious trauma is something every queer person in Utah has experienced, and the topic is both open for discussion within the group and showcased in their performances.

“As an active member of the Church, I can go to a space where it’s gay, but I’m in charge of it, so being ex-Mormon is not an expectation”

One of Heels’ favorite memories is of Coins preparing for a show while doing her mission prep homework. “You had lash glue in one hand and the Book of Mormon in the other,” Heels laughs. She calls Cougar Camp and Couture a “bridge-building space,” offering a means of catharsis for those experiencing a difficult relationship with Mormonism. Heels loves to study the queer-religious intersect, explaining, “You’re not going to go to a drag show in another state and see pieces performed to songs from Sons of Provo or Saturday’s Warrior. Outside of a cathartic experience, this is a subcultural phenomenon that can only connect with our audience because it’s so specific.”

Bridging that gap between religious and queer communities was not the only need Heels hoped to address with Cougar Camp and Couture. Because drag performances are often held in bars, she noticed that many of the most talented drag performers in the area were unable to participate because they were under 21. While members must be at least 18, Cougar Camp and Couture shows allow more college students to perform and members of all ages to join the audience. Coins reminisces on a young girl who was taken to one of the shows and asked to take a picture afterwards. “It was so cute to see a parent exposing their child to a queer, joyous space,” she says.

“Outside of a cathartic experience, this is a subcultural phenomenon that can only connect with our audience because it’s so specific.”

The transition of leadership from founder (Heels) to current organizer (Coins) was seamless, as Coins returned from her mission right around the same time Heels moved away for grad school. Coins is the only member still active since the very first show, but Jack of Shades and Maybelline Mayhem have been involved almost as long, with Salina Marina and Corvo Blazar being recent additions to the team.

While there are consistently returning members of the group, they are glad to take anyone. It’s typically BYU and UVU students, but there are no requirements to join. Many shows are even targeted toward first-time performers, like an open mic for drag. Cougar Camp and Couture leans into the DIY vibes and is a great opportunity for local performers to hone their skills. Each member started out as an amateur but has grown so much due to their involvement in the group. Coins gives the example of learning how to mix her own tracks, as opposed to simply lip-syncing songs off Spotify at the beginning of her career.

“It was so cute to see a parent exposing their child to a queer, joyous space”

One of the hardest things for Cougar Camp and Couture to balance is walking the line between getting enough publicity to draw people to their shows and maintaining enough privacy so as not to attract attention from the wrong people. “It’s harder for people to threaten us when they don’t know we exist, but that makes it harder for us to find our audience,” Heels reveals. That negative attention has come in the form of Heels being doxxed by a member of an alt-right organization and Coins’ mission departure being delayed. Due to this, they choose to keep the location of their performances secret to the public, but those interested in attending can DM their Instagram @cougarcampandcouture for more information.

Read about more drag performers in Utah:
Bold & Beautiful: Poison Grace
Bold & Beautiful: Daddy the Clown

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