Rai, Shaunna

Interviewer

Kylie Cloutier, University of Southern Maine

Files

Description

Shaunna Rai, or Daniel Shackley, was born in Killeen, Texas in 1972 to a military family and moved near the Augusta, Maine area during their school years. They grew up as a cisgender man in Bridgeton, Maine and attended Lakes Region High School. Shaunna fathered a child as a teen in high school and is now a grandparent. Shaunna moved out to live independently at 16 and utilized the group Outright! In the Lewiston/Auburn area as a support group for LGBTQ+ youth. Shaunna discovered drag in their early 20’s because of roommates, friends, and the active gay bar scene in Portland. Since discovering drag, Shaunna Rai has emerged as a popular drag queen in Maine, touring all-across the state and the nation to perform for fundraisers, bars, and festivals. Shaunna uses their voice to promote AIDS education and awareness for the Frannie Peabody Center, and has a history of advocating for AIDS/HIV at Bates College for Drag-A-Palooza. Shaunna has attended and performed at RuPaul’s Dragcon, Austin Dragfest, Blackstones Bar, Maine Street (Ogunquit) and so many more locations. Shaunna has taken a step back from drag to support their mother, but still performs today!

Publication Date

11-30-2024

Publisher

University of Southern Maine

City

Portland, Maine

Keywords

Genderfluid identity, LGBTQ+ older people, Rural LGBTQ+ people, Gay sons, Homophobia, Biological parenthood, Teen Parent, Closeted LGBTQ+ people, Military family, Theater, Rural High School, Coming out, LGBTQ+ chosen families, Outright!, LGBTQ+ arts, Roommates, Hair School, Sportsman’s Athletic Club, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Curbside Queens, Maine Street Ogunquit, Hallowell, Maine, Drag Tourists, Pulse Nightclub, Banning Drag, Blackstones, Drag-A-Palooza, Austin Dragfest, RuPaul’s DragCon, Bates College, Javits Center, Gay Marriage, Pride Festivals, HIV/AIDS, AIDS quilt, Frannie Peabody Center, Southern Maine AIDS Walk, Queens With a Cause

Disciplines

History of Gender | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | Oral History | Women's Studies

Comments

Citation

Please cite as: Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer+ Collection, Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, University of Southern Maine Libraries.

For more information about the Querying the Past: Maine LGBTQ Oral History Project, please contact Dr. Wendy Chapkis.

Recommended Citation

Cloutier, Kylie, "Rai, Shaunna" (2024). Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection. 132.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/querying_ohproject/132

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.