Jinkx Monsoon

“I did 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' two years in a row in the winter in Seattle, and that was an amazing experience both times.”

“Ever since I was a kid I just thought that women had the better outfits, women had the better hair, women got to wear makeup. I just got jealous of what women got to do onstage. You dress up a man and ultimately it's just a different variation on the same kind of suit. There's a whole wide world of what women wear onstage.”

“I used to watch 'Death Becomes Her,' and I knew I wanted to become Meryl Streep.”

“We have such an amazing drag community, and I don't think people fully realize it about Seattle.”

“I've always been into the music of the 1920s and 1930s.”

“It used to be that I'd do drag, then get out of drag, and try and be as much of a boy as possible. That didn't feel entirely authentic for me, but it felt like what I had to do at the time.”

“I hope people realize that drag queens and queer people, we're not just archetypes and stereotypes. We're human beings with a lot to share. And a drag queen doesn't have to just be a clown, she can also be like a cooking TV personality or like a DJ, or a talk-show host. We should be able to infiltrate TV everywhere.”

“I think my favourite thing about doing conventions is the parents taking their kids to see their favourite drag idols, because open-minded, progressive parents are making such a change in the world right now. The more open-minded these kids are being raised, the more hope I have for the future.”

“Sarah Silverman has always been a huge influence on my comedy.”

“The idea behind Jinkx is that she's a single mother and failed actress. One time she went out to a gay bar with her son, who's a gay adult, and started singing torch songs on the bar and became a hit. Now she's every gay boy's favorite cabaret act.”

“We like to take pop songs that have really cool, complex melodies or lyrics and strip away all that fluff and electronic noise, and put them back as if they were written for a singer and a piano.”

“That openness to experimentation in Seattle is how I learned a drag queen doesn't have to just be in her pageant gear and lip syncing to top 40. Drag can be off-the-wall, ridiculous, profound.”

“There was a time when I said I wouldn't do something like that but I've seen so many of my friends go on the 'All Stars' seasons and they seem to be having a lot of fun for the most part.”

“I used to hate that my lips are gigantic, and now I have huge red clown lips, and I love it.”

“When you become your own boss, and your artwork becomes your livelihood, it becomes the only thing you think about.”

“Almost all the Disney villain witches are gay icons.”

“Drag has come a long way and people are respecting it, and giving drag queens and other people who defy gender norms more chances than they've ever been given before, but it's thanks to people like RuPaul, especially, who set that momentum going.”

“With Jinkx Monsoon, I strive to make her pretty and likable and have this bubbly, lovely personality. But then she can also be the most crass, out of the blue, kooky character.”

“I've had some really great experiences in London and the fans are really loyal and always happy to have us.”

“Growing up as a gay boy during the holidays, there's the things you want to ask for, and then the things you ask for because you're afraid of asking for what you really want.”