20 GSCENE
“On the surface things seem to be getting better – I don't get referred to as just BBC on Grindr and Recon anymore, but during the height of the BLM protests this year, I shared across all my social media that there is still an issue with race in the LGBTQIA+ community” don't get referred to as ‘just BBC’ on Grindr and Recon anymore, but during the height of the BLM protests and outcry earlier this year, I shared across all my social media that there is still an issue with race in the LGBTQIA+ community. A few instances of incidents where my race was the main factor of an issue range from former dates casually using the ‘N’ word on social media, to having security called on me after my homelessness interview a few years back just for sitting in the lobby trying to phone friends to find somewhere I could crash for the foreseeable, to lastly being called multiple racial slurs and told I should kill myself just because I said ‘hi’ to someone on a dating app. Sometimes I can even be sent insults out of the blue.
MELANIN MONROE Rachel Badham asks some pertinent questions of the fabulous drag queen ) I absolutely love your drag name Melanin Monroe - tell us about the origin. “Why thank you. My original drag name was KoKo Divine, which was a play on words in two languages, coco as in chocolate and in Japanese ここ (koko) means 'here' (I'm a massive Japanophile and polyglot) but not many people got on with it and there are a few other queens with similar names.
“So, changing direction with my drag a little too I wanted to find a name that fits better and had a similar concept. I stumbled into Melanin Monroe through my love of that era of Hollywood and my fave X-Men character, Storm’s, real name as inspiration. But ultimately it's down to not many queens of colour being on the circuit in Brighton and I wanted to celebrate my skin with my drag.” As a black drag queen, have you found your experiences have differed to those of white queens? Have you experienced prejudice because of this? “I guess in some aspects usually it's just being confused for any number of other black queens, some not even near the same complexion or even similar acts or aesthetics.
Or people being very surprised by the varied and wide range of performance numbers.” Which black LGBTQ+ icons have particularly inspired you throughout your drag career? “Too many to name them all. I mean Jason Jones, aka triniJayJay, Lady Phyll, Billy Porter, Dashaun Wesley. Closer to home I’d say pretty much every queen on the Brighton circuit has helped me in some way, including most of the Brighton Belles, Son of a Tutu, but Mel wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Stephanie Von Clitz’s Open Mic Drag Night at the Marine Tavern, which has since moved to Le Village. “The MindOut charity fundraiser was me taking hold of my mental health and overcoming the barrier that it had put on my creativity and me choosing not to let those things take control and Steph has helped me hone my craft as well as being a big supporter of my work.” In terms of racial intersectionality in the LGBTQ+ community, are things improving? What could be done to create a greater degree of racial equality in the community? “That’s a very tough question to tackle. On the surface things seem to be getting better – I
“On the flip side, there are those that are particularly racist, it's more ignorance from not being able to see me (an alternative/Goth, geeky, north London guy) as ‘actually black’ because I don't really fit into a stereotypical appearance, vernacular, music taste.” What does Black History Month mean to you? What is the importance of this month? “It means a lot to me personally as it's a chance to educate about prominent black figures in history. Artists, scientists, inventors... From what I’ve heard from most people, at primary and secondary school, Black History Month was just when they heard about slavery and the odd mention of Martin Luther King Jr, Marcus Garvey,
