Leatherface of Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a queer icon, at least according to Josh Dominguez, a horror drag queen who also goes by the name of Coma White. When I talked with him over a Zoom call, the wall behind him was covered head to toe in horror movie posters. A drop of paint could not be seen beneath the cultish double feature insignias, nor could a crease or a fold be recognized on the corners of the posters. Dominguez was seated in front of the anarchic backsplash of slasher movie advertisements and iconic ‘80s villains. He spoke with confidence and levity, which came as no surprise coming from a nuanced and oft-times ostracized queen of many interests and personas.
Dominguez, now 29, officially started doing drag at 23. He referred to himself as a “bedroom queen” when talking about his early days as a performer. “I would lock myself in the bathroom and practice my makeup when nobody was home,” he said. Dominguez was into extravagant, heavy makeup from a young age, specifically when he started attending heavy metal concerts. “I saw these bands with frontmen wearing makeup, and so I was doing heavy makeup to see these shows and it kind of took off from there.” One of his fondest memories is from when he attended a Marilyn Manson and Slipknot concert at Jones Beach in Wantagh, NY. (Knowing I was going to interview him, I wore my shirt from this concert to impress the horror queen, as I attended it myself. We discovered that we were at the same show back in 2016.)
Dominguez attributes his interest in horror to his own curiosity, but also to his older sister, whom he grew up with. When he was a child, she introduced him to a lot of ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture and horror movies. His favorite? None other than Basket Case, a comedy-horror film from the ‘80s about a man seeking vengeance after being surgically separated from his conjoined twin brother. “I have this obsession with NYC in the ‘70s and ‘80s, that quintessential 42nd Street sleaze and trash. [Basket Case is] the perfect blend of camp and sleaze. You feel a little dirty watching it,” Dominguez said lasciviously.
Dominguez spent a lot of time on his own as a child. Other than hanging out with his older sister, he often kept to himself. His interests didn’t line up with those of his peers in white Long Island suburbia. “Movies in general was kind of my escape,” he said. Another one of his favorite horror movies is Texas Chainsaw Massacre. “I’ve started to appreciate Leatherface as a gay icon. I love part four especially because he’s a drag queen in that movie,” he said, mentioning that the slasher movie had a lot of queer elements in it that the average viewer might not pick up on. Leatherface was an outcast. Yes, perhaps that is because he made furniture out of human skin, but for Dominguez, he is a gender-fucking outsider who wants to do away with heteronormativity.
Dominguez’s first performance as Coma White was very spur of the moment. He was at a Halloween party at Pride for Youth in Long Island, an organization dedicated to educating and supporting young LGBTQ+ individuals. He took part in a runway walk contest and a drag suicide in which he had to lip sync to a random song against his competitors. He tells me that the experience was exhilarating. “When I’m on stage I feel like a rock star and I try to embody that energy. It’s kind of addicting.”
Dominguez has received a lot of support throughout his career. He cites Shequida Hall and Jessica Rose as queens who have helped him grow as a performer. He also says that the drag community in general has always been full of love and support. However, Dominguez still faces challenges when it comes to doing drag. His parents’ reception of Coma White has been finicky. It’s taken his mother awhile to understand the art. “She thought I wanted to transition, but it’s more of an art form. I got her to start watching [Ru Paul’s] Drag Race and she likes it. She still has an issue with me though. She doesn’t like seeing me fully done up.” Dominguez’s father, on the other hand, has never seen him dressed in full drag. “It’s not something we ever really talk about. He knows because I leave my shoes and wigs all over the house, but we just don’t talk about it. In a way, I almost feel closeted sometimes. If I go out to do a show, I have to work around their schedule and make sure they don’t see me.”
Dominguez oftentimes has to juggle between being seen and unseen as a performer. Taking the subway in full drag can be daunting for the queen. Dominguez usually transforms himself into Coma White at home, as lugging a breast plate and a full makeup kit to a club in New York can be arduous. At the same time, the fear of facing harassment for being dressed in full drag has, in some instances, been a deterrent for Coma White.
Despite the hardships that come with doing drag, Dominguez said he wants to pursue the art form full-time. “I never thought I wanted to do drag full-time, then COVID happened and it kind of made me realize that I should be doing this. I’ve been miserable at every job I’ve had over the past five years. I’m at a point in my life where I’m like, let’s see if I can make this a career.” Now, a couple years after taking the plunge, Dominguez said he never could have imagined that horror would have such an impact on his craft. “People would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I’d say an actor, but I never wanted to be an actor, I just always wanted to be involved in movies,” he said with an amalgam of movie posters flanking him. “I’m not surprised that movies and horror has influenced me so much. It’s carved a little niche path for me.”
Upon talking to the horror fanatic/‘80s glam slasher queen, there is no doubt that Dominguez is a dedicated performer. When I asked him what advice he’d give to novices in the industry, he sat and thought about my question pensively for a moment, almost as if he was seeing the answer unfold right before his eyes like a movie coming to life on a projector. “Don’t be doing this just because you want to get on TV and be famous. Do it because you love it, because you can’t see yourself doing anything else, because you see something inside you and you want to share your art with the world.”
