Like many drag queens, Electra La Cnt isn't afraid to make a statement, so the Irish performer went to Belfast Pride dressed to the nines. Her tiara was something special.

 

"Look closely, and you will see the red hue," she wrote on Facebook. "The crown is coated in the blood of a consenting HIV-positive donor, taken by a qualified doctor, then applied to the crown to dry, letting the virus die with it, to be sealed with a plastic sealant to protect myself against infection if rain were to liquify the blood again." 

 

She wanted to get people talking about the stigma that still faces those who are HIV+.

 

“I’ve witnessed abuse that HIV+ friends of mine have received on online dating apps and the stigma is definitely still here,” she said. “There’s confusion over how HIV is transmitted, which leads to assumptions, and hatred. Vangardist, an Austrian magazine, mixed HIV+ blood with ink and printed copies of their online magazine in a special HIVHeroes edition, and it inspired me to do something similar. It was bold, it was effective, but it was so meaningful. The message behind it was simple: fight the stigma.”

 

But Electra hoped her simple act would also let those who are positive know they can find support and love from the community.

 

"I got a message yesterday from a HIV+ person thanking me for what I’ve done, saying that it was nice to know that not everyone hates them," she explained. "For me, my job is done. That’s what this was all about. To reach out to people who have been shunned, pushed to the side from even the gay community themselves, and let them know that they have allies in their own community who are willing to make a stand for them like this.

 

"We have to do our part for our community and everyone involved. So get talking, get discussing, get educated: that’s what it’s all about.”

 

Reason #1056 to love drag queens.