Chicago on Broadway
Doctor Who
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Monét X Change and Trinity the Tuck, which includes a pitstop in Sydney for Drag Expo. It’s busy work being good at what you do.
can’t remember Jinkx
lifelong
Drag Race
Drag Race
Futurama
I’m 40% Podcast!
Nick Sahoyah
was
Sydney Drag Expo
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
being
cast as the villain
Doctor Who,
Doctor Who
Ncuti Gatwa
Yasmin Finney
Russell T Davies
the most beloved episodes
Doctor Who
a marvellous stint in and the recent announcement that she’ll be playing the main villain in the upcoming season, it feels as if Miss Monsoon is doing victory laps in perpetuity.
Since winning season 5 in 2013, Jinkx has had many opportunities to share her talents (of which there are many) with the world. Now, she’s touring Australia for her “Legends” tour with All-Winners alum
I had a lovely chat with the legend herself about what it means to be a successful drag queen, the importance of queer spaces in times of adversity, and how marvellous it is to see queer people playing queer villains on screen.
“With drag, to be a legend, it’s really just about leaving your mark on the world of drag at large,” she told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
Since the start of Jinkx’s career, one question has been following her: “What gives you a lifelong career in this business?”
In all honesty, it’s a pretty good question. Jinkx, who is only 35, has had a career filled with successes that have made her one of the most recognisable drag queens on the planet. Ironically, it seems like the only person who is the mother of drag herself, RuPaul.
“Even though I haven’t had a career, I think that the things that get you ahead are working really hard, having lots of patience, and having tenacity,” she said.
“People say never give up, but I’m like, It’s not about never giving up. Sometimes you’re going in the wrong direction. It’s about having tenacity.”
Tenacity, kind-heartedness and compassion helped Jinkx secure her victory on season 5 of , and more importantly, secure the adoration of thousands of people across the globe.
One thing Jinkx says she loves the most about being a drag queen is getting to meet all of the fans, who appreciate multiple different facets of her work and artistry.
Some folks are straight-up fanatics. Others live for her singing and Broadway efforts. Some just really like her podcast with .
“I used to think that reading the comments and responding to comments online interacting with my fan base. It’s not — that’s just feeding the trolls,” she laughed.
“The way to interact with your fanbase is to do events like Drag Expo and get to meet them face to face.”
With over 130 drag performers appearing from all over the world, the first-ever promises to be a marvellous gathering of some of the most impeccable queer talent out there.
Jinkx told me that it was incredibly important for events like this given global attitudes about drag are shifting towards violence and hatred. A place for queer people to gather together in strength is always important, especially for young people.
“Any event, that gives a place for that many people to congregate for their shared love of drag or their shared allyship and support of the LGBTQIA+ community — that’s part of our revolution. That’s part of the fight we continue to have as a queer community,” she said.
“It’s a sign of progress that we’re able to throw events like Drag Expo and have them be well attended.
“When I was a young queer kid, all I needed to know was that there are other people out there thinking and feeling and going through the same stuff I was.”
For the longest time, Jinkx found a feeling of connection to the queer world through movies like (which put the struggles and experiences of queer youth front and centre).
This filled them with early aspirations of being an actor. After all, every queer kid needs an outlet for their extravagance — a way to let their light shine undimmed.
“When I was in acting school, I thought I had to give up drag to become an actor,” she said.
“And it turns out that drag was my way into an actor.
“And now I’m doing everything I’ve ever wanted to do by being a legitimate actor, who does it in drag.”
And now, after being in cult series there’s no question that Jinkx has made it as a “legitimate” actor.
In fact, the large majority of the main cast announced for season 14 are, so far, unapologetically queer people just like Jinkx.
We have , a Black queer man in the titular role, trans woman of colour in an unknown role and of course Jinkx Monsoon herself, a non-binary drag queen in a leading role. Not to mention the show will be directed by queer talent , who is responsible for some of of ever.
Jinkx spoke about how incredible it was that we finally get to see queer people playing queer villains, instead of abiding by the usual cinematic stereotypes.
“When queer characters were first hitting the mainstream storylines of TV shows and movies, it was always the gay best friend,” she said.
At first, queer people were sidekicks to the straight white main character. Then they started to be main characters with pretty simplistic, mostly heroic traits.
“You kind of reach this point where everything plateaus, and then every queer character you see is a hero. We stopped being multifaceted people and just start being the true good character or the spiritual guru,” she said.
“The next step in progress is, we get to start playing villains.
“Once the stories have been told, and the community has been uplifted, then we’re able to start being tongue-in-cheek again and start talking about, well, what if this queer person is evil?”
Unfortunately, the backlash from some sections of the Sci-Fi community has been pretty rancid. Although these people are a vocal minority, they do not play about their beloved genre. Apparently, aliens can fly ships but people can’t be queer in space. Go figure.
“I’ve seen that people are like, ‘Why does have to become all queer blah, blah, blah?'” she said.
“You know, it’s not about that. It’s not about forcing anything, it’s about saying ‘Why not?’
“Why can’t Doctor Who be played by a queer black person? And why can’t all the other cast members be queer? How many shows do we watch where everyone’s straight and every character is straight? I’m so sorry that this time it’s queer people, but, it’s fine.
“What I want to say to all the horror fans and sci-fi fans who get all ruffled up because of these kinds of decisions, who are asking why sci-fi has become queer or why horror has become queer: Guess what? It always has been.”
You can catch Jinkx Monsson on the new season of , which is scheduled to arrive in 2024 on the BBC for UK folks and Disney+ for everyone else.
In the meantime, you can catch them on the with Monet X Change and Trinity the Tuck or at Drag Expo in Sydney. See ya there!
Doctor Who Doctor Who Legends tourDOCTOR WHO casting Not 1 but 2 Trans Super Stars Yasmin Finney & Jinkx Monsoon means the World to Me!!🥹 People this show will be Streaming on Disney Plus this is a big fucking Deal! https://t.co/xkHrdsqBNc pic.twitter.com/JYmDAWJcd5
— Bella (@BELLA_SNOWDEN) April 3, 2023
The post ‘Why Not?’: Jinkx Monsoon On The New Queer AF Doctor Who & The Uniting Power Of Drag appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
