Identity - The hardest working woman in show business, drag queen and recording artist Peppermint has conquered the New York scene with her high-energy and engaging personality. She was a finalist on "RuPaul's Drag Race" (Season 9).
Identity - The hardest working woman in show business, drag queen and recording artist Peppermint has conquered the New York scene with her high-energy and engaging personality. She was a finalist on "RuPaul's Drag Race" (Season 9). (Producer: Shefik)
My name is Peppermint. And I'm living in New York City. And I work as a drag queen and a recording artist. And I, I definitely am a fierce drag queen. If you ask anybody in New York, they're going to tell you basically their number one drag queen is miss Peppermint. That's not a lie. But, what a lot of people don't know is that I actually also identify as transgender. And I think that that's one of the. That can be something that can be confusing to some people. When they think of a drag queen, they think of a man who dresses as a woman and entertains. And when they think of someone who's transgender, they think of someone obviously who lives their life as a woman. But, sometimes they people within the community and people outside of the community like to separate those two ideas. And for a lot of people, that's the reality. There's certainly plenty of trans people who've never ever even set foot in a gay bar, or been to a drag club, which is where obviously a lot of drag queens go and perform. And then there's many, probably most drag queens are not transgender. Don't identify as transgender. Although, I believe, they obviously are very comfortable with their feminine or female side. Anyway, so it took me. I've been doing drag for years. And I feel that I've been trans for years, also. But it took me a long time to really get comfortable with putting those two things together. And so it's kind of a newer idea for a lot of people. For most people. Getting used to being with and around, dealing with transgender people. And so it's definitely a fresh idea to even consider that someone could be a drag queen and a transgender woman at the same time. But I'm here to tell you that we do exist. And I know that there's plenty of little drag queens, like young baby drag queens out there who may feel the same way. Who might feel like they are both, kind of a hybrid of the two, which is super powerful, right? And so I just, you know I'm an accomplished drag queen. When I look back on my own career, I'm very pleased and I feel very blessed. And happy that I've done the things that I've done. And I'm really looking forward to inspiring more people to kind of come out, and just really own the fact that they are either trans or a drag queen, if you suddenly realize you're a drag queen. And also, gender non-conforming people. Because I think we all think at the binary. We all that you're either male or female. And anything outside of that is just a joke or for fun or just for entertainment. But it can, some people live their lives in between. And so I'm just speaking to the young LGBTQ portion of the community. Who think, who are starting to realize that there's something more to who they are on the inside and outside, and whether it matches or not. And that kind of probably sounds abstract to most people listening to this. It's a tough spot, being trans and realizing it and coming into your own. And I was terrified to leave the house. You know, as a trans woman, I was terrified to leave the house just a few years ago. Because I was worried about what are people going to say. What are they going to think? Or that's a man. Or like whatever, they're going to point their fingers and kind of taunt me or run me out of the grocery store. Even though I was comfortable at night putting on my glitter and going to the drag club. So, that's kind of a really strange place to be in. Very uncomfortable. So I'm speaking to the people who may also go through that, and let you know that it definitely passes, just like everything else. You will end up being so beautiful. And you already are beautiful, but you end up feeling even more beautiful than you look right now. And, and that's what it's all about. It's just kind of owning your confidence, and you'll grow into it. I have, and I know you will, too. So, just know that there are people out there. Find a community, and be you baby. Because you are gorgeous and fabulous. Mwa!