Felicia Heals: RuPaul’s First Cis Female Queen Tells All
Last week, we reported that Drag Race Thailand just cast a cis woman. This is significant because Felicia Heals, the woman in question, is the pioneer cis female performer worldwide on the show. It is also significant because, while Thailand has made some major strides towards queer acceptance in the past few decades, Thai folks still face a lot of barriers.
According to an official government report, while Thailand does not have any specific rules against LGBTQ folks and homosexuality is no longer considered a mental illness, attempts to add queer people to non-discrimination legislation failed, and no such protections exist. There is no overt prejudice against LGBTQ people in most cases, but there is still a major lack of understanding about queer life. Trans folks still face a number of barriers. While they are depicted as a part of popular culture, they are still not allowed to legally change their names and have trouble finding employment and housing.
Although she only walked the runway at the very beginning of the season, this is still huge. We needed the tea on Felicia and her rise to drag stardom in Thailand, so we asked her a few questions about how she got her start in the drag world and how she plans to shake it up.
How did you first get into drag, and who are some of your biggest influences?
I come from a background of figure skating, dance, fashion, and art. All my life, I had a creative side to me that I wanted to express and show, and with the life I have, it always felt that something was missing in my life. I have always been inspired by such legends like Elsa Schiaparelli, Salvador Dali, and if looking closer to the drag community, I would say Jinx Monsoon, Sharon Needles, and many others, but the biggest influence is Pangina Heals. I am lucky to be able to associate myself with my inspiration in the first place.
My drag story started on January 2, 2017. I finally decided to come out to one of the biggest weekly gay parties made by GSpot Entertainment here in Bangkok that was hosted by Pangina Heals. I knew her from before from a few events. We were not close, but I always was following her art on social media. I remember it like it was yesterday, the feeling I had from being around the girls that day; it honestly felt like I would come back and instantly fell in love with the art of drag.
Throughout 2017 I came regularly, and when I could I started coming in some costumes to support the themes, and in due time became friends with the girls there. And the more I saw them, the more I felt that I wanted to get back into performance, and somehow the timing just felt right. Researching about females in the drag community, I came across drag kings. When researching on drag kings, I tried figuring out a persona for myself, but it just didn’t feel right; I didn’t feel like myself.
Around the Premier of Drag Race Thailand season 1 Pangina talked about bioqueens for the first time in one of her interviews, and I decided to go talk to her about it for guidance. That was about a month before my first performance. I can’t say that drag happened on this particular date for me, but officially my first performance was on April 29, 2018. That is the date that Felicia Heals had her birthday, and even the name was a result of my bonding time with my drag mother.
I remember sitting backstage, hoping that my costume will not f*ck up (sorry for my French) on me during my debut performance, I decided to do an outfit change during my performance which added extra pressure, but I was up for the challenge. And ever since then, I have challenged myself to be better; I know there is a lot more to work on when it comes to my look, like make u, and wig skills, but that is another challenge I am willing to take.
How are cis female queens received in Thailand, and what has your career been like so far?
Being the first bio queen to perform in Bangkok I have been accepted full on; I have never had any words of discouragement from anyone, neither the drag community or the guests that come see drag shows. Even when the audition tape [for Drag Race] came out, it was always words of encouragement from everyone here in Thailand. It has been an amazing experience.
I have been lucky with the support and mentoring of my drag sisters and can’t even imagine how would I continue if I didn’t have my drag mother around. She has been a wise mentor and always knows what to say. I have had young girls contact me and look up to me for support in their expression and their voyage towards drag. From my experience so far it seems like there is really no discrimination or division present here, and I do hope this continues the way it is.
What was it like being a part of Drag Race Thailand, and what was the extent of your involvement on the show?
Drag Race Thailand was and is an interesting experience. I will skip the story about my last-minute tape submission, but I remember the day I came to the final auditions; I was the only biological female there, and there were a few trans women. Many of us knew one another from jobs together and projects we have been part of, so the waiting time for the audition was both a fun and nerve-wracking experience at the same time.
I am one of the top 40 queens who were chosen to be part of the live auditions, and that alone was an accomplishment in my eyes; there were hundreds of tapes sent this year. On the press release a week ago, Drag Race Thailand invited all 40 queens to walk the runway; they are being very supportive of all of us. I was very honored to have been featured on Drag Race Thailand. This is not the end of my journey with Drag Race Thailand, as I will be auditioning for Season 3.
What impact do you think your inclusion will have on Thailand, Drag Race, and the drag scene across the world?
I know there is a number of females out there I have met that have been interested in pursuing their drag persona but are worried that they will be judged for being female. I do hope my plunge will open doors to them.
For Thailand, this has had an affect on women out there who started doing drag more openly. We have the first drag king here who for now just comes around in his persona, Allotta Cox, so I can’t wait for him to start performing.
As for the international platform, hopefully female drag performers will not be as discriminated against sas I have heard about.
Right after the Drag Race Thailand video with me in it, I was sent a link by one of my supporters from a watch party that was with Latrice Royal and Trixie where they were asked about their opinion about women in drag, and it was nice hearing both of them being supportive of cis female queens and that they are fully accepting regarding this inclusion.
In America, there is a big movement away from terms like bioqueen and hyperqueen because they make it seem that there has to be a special exception for women doing drag, but instead use terms like “all drag is valid” to explain that anyone of any gender can do drag. Is it the same in Thailand?
In Thailand I haven’t actually had that experience. No matter what you are called, you are accepted here; even if you call yourself a unicorn queen you will get love and support. I have encountered the movement that you have mentioned so far online after the audition, but this also did not come from anyone in Thailand. Here, as long as you know how to perform, you are more then welcome to do it. Baby queens and kings are supported by one another as well as the local queen royalty. You become family in no time if you have the talent and balls to perform. The LGBTQ+ community here as well is very much open to something and someone new. I am lucky to be in such an accepting community here.
This question got me thinking, plans for future? When I started doing drag, I never knew where this journey will take me.
In the near future, there is a project Allotta Cox and I will be working on that will be called Holding Court. This project will befollowing us as the first bioqueen and drag king here in Thailand.
Also, there is another project that is in the discussion process with a producer I know where we want to do a documentary about Thai drag queens, we are still just discussing.
While working on those two projects, I am also preparing for the new auditions for Season 3 of Drag Race Thailand by performing, creating new looks, and refining my skills, so stay tuned.
What advice do you have for other cis women who want to succeed in the drag world?
Be yourself; there will be people who will try to take you down, but you are who you are. Enjoy, create, perform, and be passionate. Be supportive of your peers no matter what gender they are; it is not about their private parts.
Photos courtesy of Facebook
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