Using the art of drag to communicate science with pride

‘I’m a biracial, bisexual, bimbo biologist,’ shares Naomi Koh Belic 許佳丽, when I ask her how she would like to be introduced in this piece. Though partly tongue in cheek, this line features prominently in Koh Belic’s biography and as the tagline on her website and other social media content. Recently graduated from a PhD in stem cell biology, Koh Belic has been honing her craft as part of a growing wave of creative presenters and producers who are challenging traditional aspects of science communication in terms of both form and the topics and voices amplified. 

‘I really care about story telling and the storytelling I do is focused on amplifying minority voices,’ shares Koh Belic. ‘It’s not that I always tell science stories. But I think for me, science is a language I speak, and it’s a language I speak very well. I’m fluent in biology, I’m conversational in chemistry and I understand physics. So I think I tend to tell science stories because it’s the language I’m most confident speaking, and it’s something that I think I can make accessible and understandable for people.’ 

Koh Belic has worked across traditional media (as a presenter and producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, for example) but is now a freelancer creating, developing, curating, producing and championing projects in partnership with community. And one community that’s particularly important to Koh Belic, is the queer community, for whom she has created The Drag Experiment.