Monet X Change Praises Anastarzia Anaquway On Canada’s Drag Race

RuPaul’s Drag Race star Monet X Change has opened up about queer representation in the Caribbean… and praised Anastarzia Anaquway for sharing her story on Canada’s Drag Race. On Drag Race season 10, Monet X Change revealed that her family in Saint Lucia did not know that she did drag. In fact, a person attempted to out her to the family, but Monet was able to lie to the family and pretend that her drag persona was just a character in a theatre production. We saw a similar story transpire on Canada’s Drag Race when contestant Anastarzia Anaquway shared her experience of being shot by homophobes in the Bahamas. Ultimately, that prompted Anastarzia to move to Canada, where she has now resided for years.

On the latest episode of Werq The World: The Docu-Series, Monet X Change shared a lot more about her time growing up in Saint Lucia. The queen recalled that she was bullied by her schoolmates on the island, for being an openly effeminate boy. The bullying started at an early age. Monet credited that experience as the foundation for the thick skin she now has. Consequently, this has helped the queen to deal with the criticism and negativity that came along with her RuPaul’s Drag Race fame. Now, Monet X Change has opened up about how she can certainly relate to Anastarzia Anaquway’s story.

During an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Monet X Change was asked if she related to Anastarzia Anaquway’s story about being a young gay person in the Caribbean. Monet replied, “I relate to her heavily. In a lot of countries in the Caribbean, it is still punishable [to be gay]. Not by death, but people are still arrested in many countries just for being gay and living queer.” Then, Monet praised Starzy for using her time on Canada’s Drag Race to share her experiences, and spoke about overall queer visibility for queer people from the Caribbean: “The fact that she opened up about it… I thought it was so beautiful. It is the reality of many gay people in the Caribbean. I think it starts with us sharing our stories, especially here in the U.S. and in Canada… Whenever we get the chance to be vocal about queer representation in the Caribbean. I know for a fact that a lot of people there look up to us. They need to see us out here striving and pushing for queer acceptance and queer visibility in the media.” In the clip below, from Monet’s featured episode on Werq The World: The Docu-Series season 2, you can see the Drag Race queen talking about her experience growing up in Saint Lucia and being bullied.

Monet X Change from the RuPaul franchise also talked about her particular experience in Saint Lucia and how it has slowly evolved over time. “I would say that in all of the Caribbean, St. Lucia is the more liberal side. I’m not glorifying or celebrating all of what they’re doing… But I definitely feel like they’re at least trying to make amends in terms of queer folk in the Caribbean, which is always nice. Like this year, they’re doing their first-ever Pride and I’m going to be a part of it. So that’s really awesome.” With that said, Monet also points out that gay marriage is still not legal in Saint Lucia, which means that there are still many equal rights that the LGBTQ+ community must fight for in the Caribbean.

There is no denying that Hollywood still has a long way to go when it comes to intersectional queer representation in the media. With that said, shows like Canada’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race are certainly giving a platform for LGBTQ+ people to share their stories, thrive in their careers, and be a voice for many fans who are watching from home.

More: RuPaul’s Drag Race: Monet X Change Wants To Act In Broadway Musical To Wong Foo

Werq The World: The Docu-Series season 2 airs every Tuesday on WOW Presents Plus.

Source: Monet X Change, Screen Rant

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