Inside Gaydar: the TikTok show schooling us on queer history

Can you name the first openly bisexual character in Marvel Comics? How about the birthplace of cruising (hint: it’s not San Francisco)? What about the first US state to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation? 

If you had to Google any of those questions, it’s time to start watching ‘Gaydar’: the now legendary TikTok show which sets out to determine whether its guests (which recently featured our very own ‘Dyke Drama’ columnist Anya Schulman) are gay, straight or a homophobe. As well as grilling guests about “what is the gayest scent” or “who is your pop diva” the fast-paced, question-based gameshow provides an accessible entry point for folks to learn about queer history – whether it be legislative progress, iconic activism, or cornerstone cultural moments.

The show boasts 286.8K followers, over 80 million views and 12.1 million likes after launching in July of last year, numbers which would make most marketeers cry with envy. The secret to the show’s success? Without a doubt, its host. Charismatic and quick-witted, Anania, the host in question, is a content creator, actress and drag queen, with a 2.3 million TikTok audience of her own. But ‘Gaydar’ has turned her into the internet’s queer history teacher at a time when queer and trans legacies seem most under threat. 

Want to get to know Anania? Keep reading, because school is in session. 

Great to meet you Anania! We love ‘Gaydar’ at GAY TIMES, it’s such a great way to teach folks about queer history. How did you get involved with the show?

The director Amelia Montooth reached out to me to start a show that we originally called ‘Strapped for Cash’. It was the same concept, but giving people money for correctly answering questions about queer history and culture. ‘Gaydar’ sprung from that, and it was a way to make sure that people are having fun while also learning integral stuff that we aren't necessarily taught. It's hard to find some of this information, so we wanted to make it digestible.

What have been some of your favourite moments on the show?

Honestly, I really love right before the camera goes on, those moments with the production team. I just love hanging out with them, they're really great people. I like getting to know the guests as well. There's a couple of episodes that are really near and dear to my heart. I love the episode with Cherry Jaymes, and the episodes with Nimay and my friend Jahad. There are so many good episodes where I have fun for the entire 15 minutes. People only get to see 90 seconds [of each episode on TikTok] so it’s fun to hold onto those memories. 

The show has a massive reach, what would you say the public reaction has been?

It’s been surprisingly… maybe I shouldn't say surprisingly. It's been overwhelmingly positive, which I'm very grateful for. A lot of the time, when you put a trans person in the forefront, that person will be harassed, picked at and over-analysed. I've thankfully built a community that has received ‘Gaydar’ in a very positive, open way. A lot of people have commented that I'm disarming. And the show might make a joke of “Are you gay, straight or a homophobe?” but we don’t encourage homophobia, we don’t want a homophobic person on the show. Instead, we want to positively highlight the things that our community needs to know.

Have there been any ‘Gaydar’ facts that have surprised you?

Oh, my God, there's so many questions that I don't even know – I'm just reading off the cards. I'm so serious, there’s so many times when I'm really happy that I'm the one asking the questions. We do have an episode planned where someone asks me the questions, which I am not excited for, but it's a testament to the fact that no-one knows [queer history]. The only thing we can do is try to get better. 

What I like about ‘Gaydar’ is that it’s a reminder that so many of us have only scratched the surface of our queer learning journey. I can imagine that for an actually homophobic or transphobic person, they wouldn’t even understand the questions being asked…

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of repression of queer people right now. When it comes to homophobia and transphobia and xenophobia, people just don't know a different perspective.

Exactly. So, time for a hard pivot. Outside of ‘Gaydar’, what’s your life like? 

So I'm a content creator full-time for work. I'm also a drag queen, an actor, a dancer and a singer. I probably do at least one to two auditions a week and some gigs, mostly in Brooklyn. I really did fall in love with makeup artistry too, being a drag queen. So I usually do that just to have some fun and to relax. When I'm not being an entertainer, I like to bake and watch TV.

You mention makeup artistry — what’s your journey with makeup been like?

I found Drag Race really late. My best friend showed me it when I was like 19. I was like, ‘Oh, I can do that’. The first time I bought makeup and figured out my face was January of 2021, so I've been doing it for four years now. I just kept falling in love with it. It was such a good challenge and a way for me to express myself artistically. I'm not a very astute illustrator, painter or sculptor and I always wanted to do something in the visual arts, makeup artistry is something that really excites me. I've been wanting to get better at it for so long now, and it's really just about practice and research and inspiration.

What are some of the favourite beauty looks that you’ve done?

For Halloween this year, I was a lizard – that was really fun to just see if I could pull it off. I did this Faberge egg look that was really cool. With my drag stamp makeup, I feel like I cracked the code on what looks good, and it's original. I like what I look like in drag.

How would you describe your drag persona and what’s her relationship to beauty?

My persona is a musical theatre girl turned pop star. So it's always about, ‘How can I be the most beautiful in the room, which is not that hard for me’. When I’m doing my drag makeup it’s about emphasising shapes and dramatising to the nth degree the things that I like about my face. It’s a matter of, ‘Who do I find beautiful and what do I want to steal from them?’. 

My best friend in the world has the most beautiful freckles and, like, I’m not done with my drag makeup if I don't put on freckles. I’m also not done if I don’t have a really, really bright white highlight. I got that from so many drag queens who keep inspiring me along the way. I was like, ‘I think I can take this farther, what if I just did white’. I have brown skin, so it's a really nice contrast. In the darkness room, you'll always see where my eyes are. I really appreciate what beauty does in terms of the logistics of the face, it taught me to pay attention to detail, to colour theory – there’s a science behind it.

Your signature look is so cute and ethereal. How did you learn your makeup skills? 

I did a makeup seminar and a makeup class. But a lot of it is just intuition [and tutorials on] TikTok and YouTube.

Finally, as someone who learned some of your makeup skills online, how do you think we’ve been influenced by the short-form, TikTok video beauty era?

I hate when people say ‘we need to go back to a clean girl aesthetic’ or ‘how undetectable can you get your makeup?’ – I think that's when the power is taken out of our hands. If you’re gonna wear makeup, just wear makeup and don’t let the power dynamic shift.

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