Naomi Dix got active in the drag community back in 2014. Nine years later, she’s one of the best-known drag queens in the Triangle. She joined show host Aaron Keck to talk about some of the struggles and triumphs of the queer community.
“I know, for me, that Pride has always been about just the gathering together and the unity and the happiness and the joy, but also a long and hard history that the queer community and trans community – specifically the queer, black and brown and indigenous and trans community – have been through for so many decades. So, though it’s a joyous season for us, we never forget the struggles that came before us.”
One reminder of those struggles came just six months ago for Dix. She was performing at the Sunrise Theater during the Moore County attack on substations in December. After a shooting attack was carried out on two electrical distribution substations, thousands of buildings in the area lost power.
“That attack on the substations was actually the largest attack on substations in the history of the United States, so this was not just something that just happened one day that, you know, a couple of people were maybe without power for, you know, a couple of days. This happened to [40,000] households.”
Even though the lights went out, Dix still came on stage. She asked the crowd to join together and sing while illuminating the theater with their phone flashlights.
“It was just a representation to what we, as a queer community, have been doing for a very long time – in the face of hatred just being steadfast and making sure that we’re present and that we are being seen and our voices are being heard.”
Lauren Mathers, director of Sandhills Pride, left, comforts drag queen Naomi Dix as she tears up while recounting the threats she received leading up to a recent drag performance while speaking on a panel with LGBTQ community leaders in Durham, N.C., on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)
She said her reaction was somewhat instinctual.
“You’re taking on the responsibility of people who are listening to you and people that are watching you and those people become like your family. Those people become followers. Those people become people who look to you for guidance sometimes and so it’s really important to take that responsibility seriously.”
Along with the attack on substations, there are currently numerous anti-trans bills being proposed in North Carolina. Bills currently being proposed would ban transgender students from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity and ban gender affirming care for minors. Still, Dix said support for the LGBTQ+ community isn’t waning.
“A lot of people are thinking the LGBTQIA+ and trans community doesn’t have a lot of support’ and that’s just not true. Some people are saying, ‘oh, well, we’re moving, you know, backwards’ Well, yeah, we’re moving backwards to a certain extent when it comes to legislation, but when it comes to support in general, that’s something that is at an all-time high.”
To Dix, drag shows create an essential space for identity expression and visibility.
“If we don’t offer those spaces, if we don’t have those spaces for people to be able to identify with a certain type of community or be able to identify with someone or through representation then we are then telling those people that they don’t have the right to exist and that in itself is not what America is about.”
She said that drag queens have to continue defending their art in order to pave the way for the others following in their footsteps.
“The fight will never be over. The fight will only get stronger, and it will only get stronger as long as we, as public figures, are super, super open to constantly making sure that our voices are heard and that we’re being visible, and it will only get stronger with the more support that we get from community and making sure they are visible as well.”
To listen to the full interview with drag queen Naomi Dix, click here.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines