My name is Winnie Wakanda Washington, I am a South African drag queen currently based in Vietnam. I am a co-organizer of Wet Drag Night, a monthly themed drag show in the city of Hanoi as well as co-host of The Drag Orphanage Podcast, a weekly show that helps drag queens without traditional drag families figure out some drag.

The three adjectives I would describe my persona with are Black, Toxic & C*nt. I have had an interest in drag from the time I was introduced to the concept, but I never saw myself doing it for years.

I lived in Thailand for a year and a half and when I was there, I would go to the bars and see stars like Pangina Heals performing at a small bar in the city Centre. So, when I moved to Vietnam, I looked for queer spaces that offered the same entertainment, to my surprise, I did not find any.

Thanks to a friend and the mother of Wet Drag Night Silver St. Sinner and my drag mother Betty Queen, the Hanoi scene started to pick up. Two and a half years later, I cannot imagine what my life would be like if I had not picked my first pair of heals, a pink dress and a shake-and-go wig.

Unlike in South Africa, being a drag queen in Vietnam is very free, I have literally walked out of my house with some stockings, a thong, a corset, and a bra without fearing for my life. I am in awe of anybody brave enough to do drag in South Africa. I hope that one day my fellow countrymen can accept that this is just a queer sport, like football, meant for entertainment.