Drag performer Ilker Yazici, 23, whose stage name is Miss Putka, waits backstage before a show at XLarge Club in Istanbul, Turkey, November 1, 2023. Ilker was in secondary school when he discovered he was gay. There he met LGBT advocacy groups and joined street protests in Turkey's capital Ankara to defend LGBT rights, carrying rainbow flags. "At first I struggled with myself a lot," he said. "You grow up in the Middle East. It is not easy. I felt like I was the only one, just like most LGBT people feel." Inspired by "RuPaul's Drag Race" series on Netflix, he sees drag performance as an act of self-expression rather than just entertainment. "Drag is a political act. The audience probably look at me and think, 'What is this freak doing?' I'm getting them used to seeing something they are not used to seeing." REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya
