I’m in the Glitch Theater at the San Diego Convention Center during TwitchCon 2024, watching a drag artist dressed as Silent Hill’s Pyramid Head lip-sync to a nu-metal song on stage. The crowd is a mix of high-profile streamers like Central Committee and KaceyTron, smaller Twitch affiliates, and fans—and all of them are living for the third annual TwitchCon Drag Showcase. JuiceBoxx, a streamer and one of the hosts this year, has her face plastered all over the convention center.
Ru Paul’s Drag Race superstar Trixie Mattel has a makeup space on the show floor where employees are offering beauty tips and touch-ups, and at an off-site Capcom party, several drag queens mill about, their hair nearly grazing the ceiling of the bar. Pronoun pins are available for attendees to display on their badges, and non-profits like TransLifeline have booths on the show floor. TwitchCon 2024 was very gay, a testament to how the platform has cultivated and supported queer creators and their fans—even in the face of higher-profile streamers getting banned for saying slurs on the platform.
It seems like the company, which was once the only real option for live-streaming but now faces stiff competition from YouTube and more right-leaning platforms like Kick and Rumble, is embracing the marginalized folks who use its platform. I got a chance to speak with Twitch executive Rachel Delphin as well as drag streamers Deere and JuiceBoxx about how they use streaming to spread awareness, cultivat.