Drag Race's Aja comes out as trans
6 September 2021, 11:56
Watch the official trailer for RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 6
Aja's pronouns are she/they.
RuPaul's Drag Race star Aja has come out as transgender.
On Sunday (Sep 5), Aja shared a photo on Instagram, announcing her transition in the caption. "Here is the moment a lot of you have awaited. Especially those who are still on the train who were a big fan of this era," Aja explained.
"I have battled a very intense gender dysphoria since 2018. When I started to write my first EP in my feelings part of the reason it had that dichotomy of blue and pink masc and fem energy thing going on was because I was denial of my own trans ness. Afterword I came out as non-binary and things started to make more sense to me from a gender standpoint however things became more difficult for me from an artistic standpoint because I started to feel like every time I dressed up I was embodying my trans identity and not an art form. I felt like I was beginning to understand who I was at the core and it was no longer a performance but my reality."
READ MORE: Aja: "I was too emotional to sit in an office for the rest of my life" | My Life In 20
Aja went on to say how Kylie Sonique Love recently becoming the first trans winner of All Stars inspired her to come out. They added: "I was watching the season of RuPaul‘s drag race all stars 6. I have been a big fan of Sonique for a very long time and I don’t know. Watching her win made me realize that, that could be me. Not necessarily winning drag race, but being able to embody my own gender and identity and still be an artist with neither of them conflicting each other. It really hit me at that moment that Trans is who I am and drag is what I do. That me doing Drag has never taken away from who I am as a person and that as a public figure I should have navigated that journey and situation better.
"It seems silly. But in reality this has been a crazy journey for me. The last three years have been full of ups and downs and not being sure of who I was or where I stand. But as of today I can feel comfortable to say that I am a drag artist again. My pronouns out of Drag will continue to be she/they. I shouldn’t torture myself as an artist just because I’m on a gender journey. With that being said yes I am still a musician. I am still working on music. But I will eventually be returning to the art of lipsync performance. To those who read this please be kind. This was not an easy decision to make and I hope I do not regret it."
Aja competed on the ninth season of Drag Race, coming in ninth in the completion. She also competed in All Stars Season 3, finishing in 7th place. In 2020, Aja revealed that they would be leaving the drag world and instead focusing on their music. She has since released two albums and gained a new legion of fans in the process.
Congratulations Aja!
