Hello good people. I have what some would call a filthy mouth. My entire life I have cussed. Using cuss words just wasn’t a big deal in our house.
Granted, I wasn’t yelling “FUCK” all day long to test the limits of what my mom or dad would allow. They did tell us to reel it in around the grandparents and at school, but I rarely got a second glance if a “DAMMIT” or “OH SHIT” fell from my mouth.
By the time I finished high school, the word “FUCK” and every one of its iterations was part of my usual vernacular. I honestly didn’t think about it at all until I was around young kids. Luckily, I was rarely around kids, so I didn’t feel the need to filter myself very often.
I remember when I was in my 20s, I had an aunt that would clutch her pearls and literally gasp every single time I said a “bad” word. Even if no kids were around, if I said “SHIT,” she would grab her heart like I had just announced that I was the anti-Christ. If I said the word “FUCK,” this lady would shake her head no and cover her ears.
I swear I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful …. at least, not at first. But, at some point, it did become fun for me to make her lose her shit. It still is.
Of course, I did not cuss as much when I was at work. I worked in movie theaters, fast food restaurants and music stores, and I wasn’t dumb enough to cuss for the sake of cussing and lose my job. When you work with the public, there are norms you stick to, societal rules that you adhere to that show you are not a complete psychopath and that you can work well with others.
But that all went out the window when I was at my other job, doing drag. In drag, it is almost a must for me to cuss. Cassie Nova is, for the most part, completely unfiltered.
It is not something that I actively thought about, but cussing and using foul language is just part of Cassie’s DNA. It just comes so naturally. Believe it or not, even writing this now, I am not cussing as much as I would if I were actually talking to you.
Words like “DARN IT” and “FUDGE” just do not have the gravitas as “DAMMIT” and “FUCK!”
If you want to find out if cussing is a part of who you are, I have a test for you. Stub your toe or slam your finger in a door. What word did you yell? Go slam your pinky finger in a car door right now; I will wait.
See? “OH, POOP” just doesn’t convey the emotion of my go-to’s: “COCKSUCKER” and “MUTHAFUCKER.” These are just facts for me, and screaming those words when I unintentionally hurt myself actually helps relieve pain. If I were to yell “SHOOT” or “CRAP” when I slam my little toe into the bed rail at night, I swear the pain, and the duration of said pain, are worse and last longer.
It’s just science.
The only time I actively force myself to not cuss is when I do a Drag Queen Storytime. I take that very seriously, and I am surprisingly good at it. It isn’t even difficult for me to not cuss in that situation. I turn on the charm of a Disney Princess and become a completely new type of entertainer.
I know my audience, so Princess Cassie is a good girl. I might throw in an innuendo or two to keep the parents entertained along with the kids, but I would never give the “others” any ammunition to use against us.
But with the latest drag ban now in force, unfortunately, I don’t think it matters. I’ll be surprised if we see another Drag Queen Storytime for many years to come.
We shall see. Now back to being a foul-mouthed drag queen …
Have you noticed how many songs cuss now? When I was a baby drag queen, there were so few songs that cussed — drag songs anyway. There was plenty of cussing in rap music or songs sung by men: “Creep” by Radiohead, “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails.
Then came “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morrisette. That song rocked my world, and I couldn’t wait to perform it just for that one part.
After that song came out, I actively looked for drag songs that cussed. They were out there if you looked hard enough. I was introduced to a group called Butt Trumpet that had a song, “I’ve Been So Mad Lately,” that is pretty much just cuss words. Like, every one of ’em.
Now though, so many songs cuss. Cussing in music is so normalized that when I hear the clean version of a song, it’s like a shock to the system — and not in a good way. It annoys the fuck out of me if I accidently download a clean version — YUCK!
I still do a lot of songs that cuss. The shock value is gone, but I love to perform my NSFW music. I literally have an entire playlist of songs that use the word “FUCK.” I’d call it my “FUCK music,” but that is something completely different. THAT playlist is mostly Enigma.
Here is a list of songs that I do in the show and love to perform: “Fuck You” by Lily Allen, “Not Like That Anymore” by Lola Young, “Fuck It” by Danae Hays, “Fuck Off” by Astrid S, “Fabulous” by Meek, “Fuck Right Off” by Claudia Von Blatt, “I’m Ugly and I Don’t Know Why” by Betty Blowtorch and “Public Place” by Wendy Ho.
In my opinion, if you have a dirty mouth, you have a clean heart.
Well, kinda.
Remember to always love more, bitch less and be FUCKING Fabulous! XOXO, Cassie Nova.