Biqtch Puddin’ On The Power Of Video Games, Performance With Gender & amp; The images survive
For Biqtch Puddin’ (aka Steven Glen Diehl), video games are more than just a hobby, they are a passion: one that carried them through years of pain and from which they drew inspiration when making their drag identity. It’s a persona that goes on to win season two of the popular drag competition series Dragula. But that’s not all: for Biqtch, games are also a business that has helped carry them through the pandemic, thanks to their highly popular Twitch channel with almost 30,000 followers.
All of this made them a perfect fit to participate in Gayming Magazine’s Gayming Live online event, which is a three-day festival of queer geekery, from AAA games to indies, anime, and drag with guests including Rock M Sakura, Juice Boxx, Jaremi Carey , and Erika Klash. Attendees can vote via Twitch for the panel discussions and main stage events from September 9th to September 11th.
Gayming Magazine approached me about the Panini [pandemic] to do a live gaming show on Twitch, where I founded the digital drag show about COVID, for those who don’t know, and we gave all the drag artists a check while the Panini,” says Biqtch PRIDE. “Many people were inspired by it to create their own shows. But in the end we collaborated with Xbox, Sega and 2K Games. It was kind of really amazing to work with those companies in that capacity, especially as a person who is always inspired by video games in their art, so it was really great. And then they came to me to do this and I had to jump on board. It was really awesome.”
It is the culmination of a lifelong love of games that began as a child playing games with her family. “This is kind of a touchy subject for me, but I was first introduced to video games by my Uncle Tom. [He] had a PlayStation 1 and we went over, I think, for a Thanksgiving or Christmas situation. I I don’t remember, maybe it was summer vacation. We used to go to my grandma’s house a lot. And on the [PS1] he had a demo disc… and on that disc was Crash Bandicoot, Croc, Jet Moto, and then it was tekken 2.
“There are two playable characters, Lei Wulong and Jun Kazama, and I picked the girl character and my brother picked the boy character and I kept doing cartwheels on repeat,” Biqtch recalled. “We played it so much; just the one round of the two characters. [Uncle Tom] went out the next day and bought the game for us so we could play the game on repeat, which was great. He sadly passed away about a year ago.”
Biqtch shared that although Tom recently passed, his legacy lives on in both these memories and their continued love of gaming. And it just came at the right time, when they not only processed their curiosity, but also looked for consistency and a way out. “Games gave me the tools to survive my queerness because I moved around a lot,” Biqtch shares. “I was a military brat. So every time I’d go home after being bullied or whatever, I’d just lose myself in the wonderful world of video games and kind of process and [they’d be] kind of a therapeutic session for me, especially fighting games, because I could choose these awesome women characters who were like half sticky lee or whatever.
Video games would again play a role for Biqtch when they started doing drag, which surprisingly started as a one-off flight. “When I started doing drag, it was at Savannah College of Art and Design, and I did it as a one-off, it was a charity event. But my professors were like, ‘You have to do drag,’ and I was like : ‘I didn’t go to college to be a drag queen.’ And then now it’s 10 years later and I’m a drag queen who went to college to be a drag queen,” she joked.
“My good friend Timothy was like, oh my god, you do drag, you should come to my drag show. I found out her stage name was Chiara… and she came out looking like a Mortal Kombat character. And she can act like move a Mortal Kombat character. That’s when all the lights came on and I was like, ‘I can combine my favorite things in a blender and they could be dragged.’ And that really excited me too.
When it came time to create Biqtch Puddin’, they looked to some of their favorite characters over the years for inspiration. “Final Fight slash Street Fighter, I love her aesthetically. And then I found out she’s trans. And I was like, oh, this is even better. She’s part of the family. That’s great. She has like, just basically floss cut off shorts and a white top – with pink hair and a hat and a whip – and she’s putting the dudes around. And her color palette is also trans colors, which is kind of cool.
Games were also a place that allowed Biqtch to explore gender, as character designs, especially in fighting games, are explorations in genderfuck, whether intentional by the designer or not. For the nonbinary biqtch, seeing these gender-nonconforming characters was powerful. “I think [players have] made it easier for me to accept or relax. I realized that when I played, I think it was an easier way for me to grasp that concept, because the players had long before [ introduced].
Today, Biqtch, through her Twitch presence, can be the role model for queer kids they would like to grow up with. And they hope that their ability to be themselves, whatever that looks like, is inspiring. “I remember going to Hot Topic and looking at the girls’ side of the room and how I want to wear that t-shirt. And I proudly bought that shit and wore it for pride. I probably looking crazy as hell I looked crazy and I felt confident.
They want the same feeling of freedom for others. “Even if you don’t feel comfortable, just jump in the pool. Life is so short, literally, just get up your ass and jump in that pool,” they insist. “If you want to cosplay Ivy from SoulCalibur, take out your tits with a sword, and you’re a dude, just do it.”
That’s not to say they haven’t faced their share of bullying, whether that was as a kid in school, from online trolls on Twitch, or very memorably on reality TV. The first episode in the second season of Dragula showed an incredibly intense and elaborate scene between Biqtch and her competitors, which saw them the target of harsh criticism from many queens. It came as a gang-up, but Biqtch kept their cool and handled everything with grace. Unfortunately, a lifetime of dealing with bullies has prepared them for that moment.
“Maybe that’s why I’m sometimes funny because I beat them to the punch line. Or not,” they think. “But it’s not easy. I’m not going to lie to you. That’s not an easy thing to do every time and it’s hard to get in there and have the microphone and like, you know, be on stream and be with somebody act who says something hateful, but I know I want to live this life because it’s authentically me. I’m authentically myself.”
Finally, Biqtch’s Dragula story had a happy ending as they got the satisfaction of coming out on top and winning the coveted title of World’s Next Drag Supermonster. The question is, would they ever come back, should the series ever do a season of Titans (Dragula’s version of a Drag Race All Stars series)? “When I come back to the fold, I would like the winners to be involved. I won my season and I would like the winners to be involved,” they say. “If they ever do something like that, I think it would just be great to watch our favorites come back and kill each other.”
As for who they would compete against this time, Biqtch says they would love to see all the winners return: Vander Von Odd, Landon Cider, Saint, and Dahli, although they would happily compete against their season two sisters again. as well.
While fans wait with crossed fingers and bated breath that this will one day come true, in the meantime they can enjoy a lot of Biqtch content on their Twitch channel, and this weekend on Gayming Online Live they are hosting “Slayers – a queer horror”. and gaming panel” with Erika Klash and voice actor Maggie Robertson. Then on Sunday, they will participate in a Saints Row Let’s Play, followed by an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session. It’s an event Gaymer and Biqtch Puddin fans won’t want to miss.
Watch PRIDE’s full interview with Biqtch Puddin’ below.
TINTED | Los Espookys cast dish on an even spookier & More Queer Season 2
