Born in January 1967 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Symone Wright (also known as Lady Symone) recognized by age five that she stood apart from other kids in her neighborhood.
Raised in a religious family, she faced challenges because she felt different from her peers.
As a child, she enjoyed dressing in her mother’s clothing, imagining herself as the most beautiful girl in the world. In the early 1980s, as she entered high school, she lacked mentors or support for her growing LGBTQ identity.
“I had to figure it out all on my own,” she said.
“My first gay friend was Neil Ferguson (RIP), who recognized my need to dress as my authentic self. He put me in drag and named me Ty Young Symone.”
With Neil’s support, in her teens, Symone visited Tina’s RTI, her first gay establishment. She remembers being scared on her first visit, but the place was glittering with light, smelled of designer cologne, and was filled with people dancing and voguing to house music.
It was a place that became home. Tina’s allowed her to explore this new world and find community.
“Back then, we were free spirits. Life was a party -- and we had fun with it. There was much joy, but also pain, and the mystery of discovering who we were."
"We enjoyed life! We all had each other's backs; we were family.”
Before Instagram, TikTok, and all the social media influencers, queer spaces in Milwaukee, like Emeralds, LaCage, C'est La Vie, and others, allowed for self-exploration.
She enjoyed new friends, with dancing and fashion as highlights of her early journey in the late 1980s.
Looking back, Symone realizes how those friendships and the freedom she felt on the dance floor helped build her confidence to be herself.
The spaces that welcomed her, including not only Tina’s RTI and Club 219, but also venues like LaCage and Cest LaVie, became more than nightlife: they offered safety, camaraderie, and a place for expression rarely found elsewhere in the Midwest.
Like many Midwestern cities, Milwaukee’s queer bars and clubs were crucial in helping LGBTQ people gather, celebrate, and truly exist as themselves.
Symone recalls that, just as Chicago had Baton Show Lounge or Minneapolis had The Gay 90s, Milwaukee’s own spots allowed young queer people to find kinship and carve out their identities together.
In 1988, Symone began drag thanks to Tony Canfora, owner of Club 219, who was impressed by her stage presence when she performed her first number, Boy George, at a weekly showcase.
