Photography: Prisma Compositional
Video: Paradox Productions
Interview: Paul Hofman
For drag queen Victoria False it was a huge surprise to be asked to serve as an ambassador. The diva’s schedule is now filling up at lightning speed. Pride Amsterdam conducted an in-depth interview with this “grandmother of the drag queens.” “Without a past there is no future. That’s why the older gay generation is so important.”
Unmade-up, Ger Poels walks into the café-restaurant just a stone’s throw from the capital’s gay scene. He is the alter ego of Victoria False.
Bette Midler
The ice is quickly broken when he begins to talk about his life, career and loves. About the start of her career: “I was just sixteen when I started doing travesty. Shortly after that I formed a duo, Paradise Blossoms, with a friend. We appeared in all the queer shows. It was amazing.” As Bloody Bette, a lifelike impersonation of the popular singer Bette Midler, he enjoyed great success. “People went wild. In a short time I was performing in Berlin, London and Paris. What wonderful years.”
Paris
Love later took him to Switzerland where he studied at a private secretarial school. The shy boy from Limburg learned to speak French flawlessly. Laughing: “At that school I was the first and only man.” The relationship ended, however, and Paris with its countless nightclubs beckoned. By day he worked in a private clinic where famous French people like Simone Signoret and Mitterrand were regulars. Ger had to work very hard. The doctor paid only for the school and the metro. He looks meaningfully at me when I ask what the doctor actually did. “It was a kind of addiction clinic.”
On a sunny day he met an accordionist on the street, painted like a Pierrot. For half a year they performed together, dancing and singing. Because he looked very androgynous as a boy, a black dress, a wig and some lipstick were enough to perform alongside Maurice at the places Maurice had been going to for years. With Maurice he had a wonderful time and could enjoy Paris at the same time. As Bette he wore a lot of makeup; in Paris he wore none at all.
Sheet music
He was just 24 when he returned to the Netherlands. “Indeed, it was love again. This time it brought me to Amsterdam. I studied singing here for five years as a tenor, but during an audition for the conservatory it quickly became clear I was a bass-baritone. “I didn’t want to change technique, start over, and I didn’t have the discipline the profession demands. I preferred dancing at the Roxy to studying sheet music.” Through his vocal study Ger gained deep respect for classical singers. “It’s a demanding profession; it’s incredible what you have to give up when your instrument is your body.” His voice sounds like a bell. “At the start of my singing studies I discovered I was a bass/baritone. But I didn’t have the discipline to continue with the studies.” He is a bon vivant through and through, he continues. Going out and parties were closer to his heart.
In the late eighties he met the then-budding Dolly Bellefleur. “At the very beginning Dolly had her own show in the small Anthony Theater on the red-light district. I was one of her guests. Thinking back, what a fantastic time that was.” It was also the period when a disease struck a blow through the gay community. “AIDS hit so hard. I lost many friends.” He became too depressed to sing. Nothing would come out of my throat anymore. He falls silent for a moment. “I missed my mates. It still grabs me by the throat.”
More than a voice
He realised he was more than just a voice and followed his heart. Because he spoke French so well, jobs were plentiful. “I went to work at a bank. I did that for more than 25 years.” During those years he consciously put his travesty clothes in the wardrobe.
Bet
Ten years ago a friend challenged him and made a bet with Ger. According to that friend, he no longer dared to perform as drag. He didn’t need to be asked twice. He took up the bet—and won. Under the name Victoria he then took to the stage. “I liked the nod to the old Queen Victoria of England. Later I added the name False.” It has nothing to do with the Dutch word vals. “Everything about my appearance is fake, from breasts to bottom and from lashes to hair. But Victoria is absolutely not a nasty woman.” Yet if you make fun of her, she will hit back hard, he assures. “How did I feel when I was back on stage? It was as if I had never taken my heels off. Wow, what a feeling. What an experience. I always compare it to an addiction.” It’s no surprise he decided to permanently take his dresses out of the closet.
The summer of the Gay Games is still vivid in his memory. “It was a summer I will never forget. The city shook to its foundations.” He muses: “There was so much happiness in Amsterdam. I hope to find that energy again during this Pride. I was so proud we could walk hand in hand back then. That’s how it should always be.”
Problem
With heart and soul he will commit this year as ambassador to the older LGBT person. During Pride he will perform in several nursing homes. “When I see those happy faces, it does me so much good.” Then he touches on something he sees as a nationwide problem. When he performs he hears stories about older people who bully, exclude and gossip about each other. “That pains me so much. Often it happens secretly as well. Gay men and lesbians can have a very hard time. I want to stand up for them.” He adds: “Never sit on God’s throne.”
Barricade
This year’s theme appeals to him enormously. “It’s important that the older generation is not forgotten. They stood on the barricades for us and fought for LGBT rights. That must never be forgotten. They lived through hard times. Do you know I was furious when the Nashville Statement became known? We must be careful that history does not repeat itself.” He sees it as his task as ambassador to build a bridge between two generations. “Young people today can enjoy the freedom the generation before them fought so hard for. Everyone should take a moment to reflect on that.”
He falls silent for a moment and then says: “I am proud of who I am. I have always claimed my freedom by doing what I wanted. I never cared what others thought. Now I will fight for the pink seniors. Exclusion must never be allowed—then, now or in the future.” Pride Amsterdam and older people could not ask for a more ardent advocate. “To live is simply love”
“EXCLUSION MUST NEVER BE ALLOWED—THEN, NOW OR IN THE FUTURE”
“I NEVER CARED WHAT OTHERS THOUGHT”
“THE HISTORY OF INTOLERANCE AND DISCRIMINATION MUST NEVER REPEAT ITSELF”
“VOLUNTEERING IS NOT OPTIONAL”
Pride ambassador since 2019
