Gottmik Calls for Increased Representation of Trans Men in Media: ‘If I Had That, I Would Have Probably Transitioned So Much Earlier’
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
In celebration of National Coming Out Day, Gottmik is making the case for more representation of trans men in media.
The drag queen, who made history in 2021 as the first trans man to compete on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” discussed their transition journey at United Talent Agency and GLAAD’s “The Business of Drag.” She was joined by fellow “Drag Race” stars Violet Chachki and Monét X Change for the panel conversation.
More from Variety
“Why is there not way more trans representation in the media – trans men, specifically? Trans men out there and talking about their journeys?” she said. “I’m like, I should do more shit out of drag, because I feel like there should be way more trans guys out there talking about how hard it is. And I see so many amazing trans women. I’m so inspired by their stories. I’m like, ‘where are these trans guys telling me their stories?’ I want to be inspired by that too. I’m so honored to be one of them, but I’m really excited to keep breaking these doors down because there’s so many amazing trans men stories, queer stories across the board of every gender and sexuality spectrum that needs to be shed light on.”
On the personal impact of having representation, Gottmik said: “If I had that, I would have probably transitioned so much earlier, so I always want to be loud and proud and out there.”
The panel was moderated by GLAAD’s Anthony Ramos, who was joined by Pranav Mandavia and Michael Grinspan from UTA. Among the other topics covered, Gottmik, Violet Chachki and Monét X Change discussed their current projects and future goals, how the drag industry has evolved and what progress still needs to be made for drag to become a mainstream form of entertainment.
In addition to expanding her musical footprint into the R&B genre, the “Drag Race All Stars” Season 4 winner and self-dubbed multihyphenate also reveals she has her own plans of hosting an awards show one day, but admits neither lane has been fully configured to include drag performers in those spaces yet.
“There is this big thing with music, especially, when people will categorize drag music and label it as this thing that has to be put aside. But why can’t there be a category that is drag music at the Grammys? There are so many other disciplinaries that are there, but also integrate drag artists who are making other types of music into categories that already exist,” said Monét X Change.
“I think it’s only a matter of time until we see drag queens winning Oscars, winning Grammys — I mean they’re already winning Emmys,” she continued. “I think it’s just more access into those spaces where we are just as valid, just as fierce, just as brilliant, just as talented as other artists and actors and whoever out there. You see little glimpses of it here and there. But I think it’s just a matter of time until our art is fully realized into these spaces.”
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
