Belial B’Zarr is a fashion designer and drag artist with a love for pigeons, sci-fi and the beautifully bizarre aspects of life. Hatched on May 4th 2018 in Newcastle NSW, they’ve since taken to gracing stages across Naarm (Melbourne) in larger-than-life outfits with their trusty melodica in hand. Belial’s drag is rooted in joy, self-expression and community. Whether through performances that embrace the absurd and challenge the boundaries of drag, or through workshops on drag history, fashion and makeup, they’re dedicated to fostering spaces where creativity thrives. Their work is ultimately encapsulated by a relentless drive for self-exploration in a way that feels fun, authentic and perhaps a little unhinged, proving that drag is whatever you will it to be.
Frankie Hanman-Siegersma is the descendent of Dutch, Irish and British settlers, and lives on Wurundjeri country in Narrm (Melbourne) Australia. Frankie is a counsellor with a master’s degree in narrative therapy and community work. Frankie works in a peer-led LGBTIQ+ suicide support program and is a member of Dulwich Centre’s international teaching faculty. Frankie enjoys collaborating in projects of decarceral solidarity, mutual aid and activism within communities that have experienced violence and discrimination. frankie.hanman.siegersma@gmail.com.
In recent years, we have seen a rise in anti-LGBTIQ+ violence and hate across the settler colonies of so-called Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and Turtle Island North America. This video interview describes a response to anti-trans and anti-drag hate. It spotlights an individual therapeutic exchange that grew into a web of collective care, action and activism. In the context of counselling, people’s responses to discriminatory violence are often pathologised, creating contexts of blame and shame for people who are living through oppression. This video conversation retells significant fragments of a therapeutic relationship. It includes collective narrative practices such as letter writing, externalising and deconstructing the effects of doxing. We invite practitioners to reflect on how we might take our practices from the therapy room to the streets for protest and collective action, and to stages for drag, cabaret and performance art, as we take up our solidarity with targeted groups.
Key words: trans; queer; drag; transphobia; violence; letter writing; narrative practice
B’Zarr, B., & Hanman-Siegersma, F. & (2025). Staying alive to prove them wrong: Collaborating with trans people, drag performers and queers in contexts of alt-right violence: An interview with Belial B’Zarr [Video]. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), https://doi.org/10.4320/NWYL8029
Author pronouns: Belial B’Zarr: he/they/it; Frankie Hanman-Siegersma: they/them
Video notes
The letters referred to in the video can be downloaded here.
For more about letter-writing campaigns in narrative therapy, see “Anti-individualist narrative practice: Listening to the echoes of cultural histories” by Stephen Madigan (2012). This paper can be downloaded here. Or Narrative therapy: Theory and practice by Stephen Madigan (2011), American Psychological Association.
References
Amore, S. (2024, March 20) Anti-transgender hate crimes spike, leading to calls for a public health emergency. Advocate. https://www.advocate.com/crime/anti-trans-hate-crimes
Denborough , D. (2008). Collective narrative practice: Responding to individuals, groups, and communities who have experienced trauma. Dulwich Centre Publications.
Pepin-Neff, C. (2023, May 19). Anti-trans moral panics endanger all young people. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/anti-trans-moral-panics-endanger-all-young-people/
polanco, m. (2013, January 24). Colouring narrative therapy’s solidarity by marcela polanco. Dulwich Centre. https://dulwichcentre.com.au/colouring-narrative-therapys-solidarity-by-marcela-polanco/
Sostar. T. (2024, April 15). Narrative responses in support of trans lives [Conference presentation]. Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work Alumni Conference, Adelaide, South Australia.
Whitbourn, M. (2022, November 24). “In the middle of a civil rights struggle”: Trans community’s call to arms. Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/in-the-middle-of-a-civil-rights-struggle-trans-community-s-call-to-arms-20221124-p5c0wr.html
