Nina West: A Queen for the People

Love, devotion, passion—those are only some of the words to describe Nina West. Already a legendary figure within the LGBTQ community, she entered the hearts of many more while appearing on Season 11 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Unfortunately, she did not walk away with the grand prize, but her infectious personality earned her the Miss Congeniality, or fan favorite, title.

Nina is a hardworking gal who has been in the business for almost 20 years. She has produced over 35 main-stage production shows, participates in hundreds of appearances each year, and raised more than $2 million for local and national charities through her charitable fund, The Nina West Foundation. Helping others is an important part of what makes Nina the person she is today, and she will continue to create a platform to lift up and support LGBTQ organizations.

As a queen for the people, Nina wants to bring the art of drag and LGBTQ awareness to all ages and subsections of the world. She is furthering that aim with her recent music video, “The Drag Alphabet,” and participating in children’s drag queen story hours. She believes children are our future, and she will not allow them to be taught intolerance and bigotry.

OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat more with Nina about exposing children to drag, her time on Drag Race, and what we can expect next from her.

Hello, Nina! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me. You have always been an advocate for children, ensuring that they are loved and accepted. You even work to educate them about the drag community, which can be seen in your music video, “The Drag Alphabet,” that came out at the end of February. Can you tell us more about the video?
“The Drag Alphabet” is my revisit to the children’s space with some original content that kind of revolves around drag and Drag Race. It includes everyone from Divine to Alaska. We kick it off with Gia Gunn’s “Absolutely” for the letter A. It is very fun, and I wanted it to be very referential to the art of drag and the drag community and celebrate it, but also put it in the context of a children’s song.

The kids in the video look like they are having so much fun. To truly celebrate inclusiveness, you enlisted the help of Daniela Maucere, a deaf teen from Burbank, CA, and Ivy Alona, an openly transgender, deaf, 9-year-old who signs the alphabet and associated words to include the deaf and hard of hearing. What was it like to work with them?

It was awesome! They brought a whole new energy to the video. I am not someone who knows how to sign or do sign language, and they were teaching me on set. They were so warm, welcoming, and affirming. It was a very different experience than I have ever had. It was awesome and very exciting to be truly inclusive in this video. It was remarkable.

Why should kids be exposed to drag at an early age?
I think kids should have access to drag that is important and speaks to their age group and level, but I think drag does something beautiful and wonderful. It is empowering. It is empowering to the person consuming it, and it is important because it celebrates the idea of self-identity and self-worth and self-value and confidence. I think it brings joy and happiness. Drag has forever been a subcultural art for the queer community that has been full of subcultural celebrities. The drag queen in the gay community has always started in the queer community and has always been this larger-than-life, subcultural celebrity.

We now live in a world where drag is no longer relegated to a gay bar or to a queer space at one in the morning. Drag is now on television. It’s being consumed in theatres across the country and Super Bowl commercials. You can find drag in every element of pop culture except in children’s spaces. I think, if it’s approached with an educational mind and a thoughtful mind for the age levels that are going to consume it, I think drag is appropriate for everybody.

Related article: All Ages Drag Show Drowns Out the Hate 

What do you have to say to those who think exposing children to drag is wicked and evil, like the people who want to shut down drag queen story hours?
Those are probably the same people who won’t even make the effort to actually open a book or have a library membership of their own. I know, that’s a really snappy and sassy response. My response to them is, they probably don’t know a lot of joy in their life, and they are most likely holding onto things that they think make the world a better place by thinking more in grayscale and black and white.

Me, on the other hand, I think there should be more color. I don’t think organizations that are right-wing and opponents to drag queen story hour, they are not the litmus or the guiding force on what our children should or should not be exposed to. If it were up to them, children would be learning how to build guns in home economics. That’s not the world I want to live in.

The world I want to live in is a world that sees people for who they are and accepts them and embraces them and will allow them the same opportunities to elevate themselves and find happiness and success with a family that a heteronormative, cisgender family might have access to. I think that’s where the breakdown happens. Drag is such an easy target for these people because it is larger than life. People may consider me as a circus clown, and yes, I am a clown, and I entertain the notion of wanting to be an entertainer, but it is also my responsibility, as it has historically been within our community. For drag queens to be a voice and to be a political activist and by entering children’s spaces, I am actively saying that I will not tolerate the bigotry that is going to be handed down to the next generation.

We now live in a world where drag is no longer relegated to a gay bar or to a queer space at one in the morning.

You started to dabble in drag in 2001 while you were in college. When did you discover that this was your passion, and did you have any hesitation before pursuing it full-time?
Oh my gosh [laughs]. I am a performer, and performance has always been my passion. I want to be on stage and make people smile, laugh, cry, think. I always wanted to be on stage. Drag was initially a hobby from 2001 to 2016, even though I was really doing it full-time from like 2008 and on. I was doing itfull tie for about 12 years, but I had a part-time job. Clearly I was very afraid that the other shoe would drop.

I was working and fearful that drag wouldn’t make ends meet. I was like, ‘This is never going to work. I don’t see it as a realistic or viable career.’ Thankfully, because of Drag Race and the success Drag Race has had, more than just RuPaul’s Drag Race queens are full-time entertainers in their cities and bars. Of course, it is easier if RuPaul’s Drag Race is backing me because you will work a tremendous amount! But, I have only been doing drag full-time for the last two years.

Why did you want to be on Drag Race so bad? I mean, you auditioned for the show nine times.
Well, it has evolved. I wanted to be a part of it because I was like ‘Oh, this is drag, and this is a competition show.’ I have always wanted to do Survivor, but then came RuPaul’s Drag Race. Then it became more into this gigantic platform to springboard somebody’s career. These are all the things I wanted to do.

I wanted to work with Disney, create content and music videos, write and produce shows. Drag Race could possibly help me open these doors. So, it was that I wanted the springboard platform for myself to be heard, to be seen, and hopefully find another avenue to get these doors knocked down to say, ‘Hello, I’m here!’

Which challenge was your favorite?
Oh, gosh. I loved the magic challenge, the church challenge. Any of the acting challenges were my favorite because they were so within my wheelhouse.

After watching the episodes, is there anything you wish you would have done more or less of?
I wish I was more in the moment. I was so very consumed with my own insecurities that I was not in the moment enough, but that’s authentic to who I am. I have those moments. I don’t know if I would change anything because it was the arc that gave me kind of my time on the show. Now people know me, and they either love me or don’t like me, but people do like me because I was authentically myself in that.

What would you say is the number-one lesson Drag Race has taught you?
I think the number-one thing RuPaul’s Drag Race has taught me is that—God, I don’t know [laughs]. If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell can you love somebody else? I think it taught me that I have the right to be confident and to be secure in who I am and what I do. That I am part of something bigger than myself. Not only with the show, but with this community. I have always felt that way, but it was a really great kind of pat on the back and kind of a personal boost saying you matter. Like, you can help make people realize that they also matter. I mean, that is a tremendous gift to be given, and I felt Drag Race really taught me that.

The fandom thinks that you were severely under-appreciated while on the show, especially when Ru decided to eliminate you instead of Silky. Like, there was a serious uproar over that. What do you think? Did you feel under-appreciated or looked-over?
Hmm, no. No, I don’t think so. The way I consumed it, we filmed it so long before it aired. We had nine months, and I think I was more worried about how people would see me lip syncing, and knowing that I went home, and saying ‘She’s not worthy.’ I have been doing this for so long that it made me question, am I really not that good?

So, I was nervous about that, and I didn’t even know what Silky looked like during the lip sync. I felt like I did better; I thought that I had won the lip sync, but then again, I didn’t know what she did. It was an out-of-body experience, and I just wasn’t present enough to be aware of what she was doing. Maybe she was better than me; I don’t know. I had all the time to think about it, and by the time the show aired, I didn’t have the chance to say I felt proud because I had already come to peace with the fact that I was going home. It was like, it is what it is. The reaction from the fans was quite a surprise.

Would you be willing to participate in a season of All Stars?
Oh my gosh, if they asked me, yes. One hundred percent.

Glad to hear it! We are also looking forward to seeing you on RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race! What will be your role, and what celebrity would you love to see participate?
Well, I will let you see how that all unfolds with what my role is [laughs]. But, as for who I would love to see participate, it would be a dream and amazing to see someone like Chris Evans. He’s beautiful, but he is also a tremendous supporter for the LGBTQIA community. It would be fun to see someone, like, from this gigantic Marvel franchise to come onto the show and be made over. That would be fun.

I agree. Currently, we are in the midst of Season 12. What has been your opinion on the queens? Any favorites?
Oh, gosh, you are going there! I will say this. This entire cast is exciting, and I have worked with some of these people, so I am excited to see them all have this opportunity to shine and be introduced to the world. That’s the thing, like, now they kind of belong to the world. I hope they enjoy their time on the show.

Related article: We’re Ready For It: RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race

In addition to drag, you are also an activist who operates the Nina West Foundation. What has been going on with that?
In my time doing drag, I have donated over $3 million. The foundation was founded in 2015, and we have done a substantial amount though the foundation. Over the holidays, we did the 25 Days of Christmas where we basically adopted 32 organizations around the country that speak to my giving needs and giving goals.

So, they were all LGBTQIA-positive organizations like Stepping Stone which is an LGBTQIA drug and alcohol treatment facility and rehabilitation program. All 32 organizations received grants from the Nina West Foundation during the holidays. We recently did a partnership with a local brand in Columbus, Ohio called Homage to make T-shirts, and all proceeds from that went to Australia to help them recover from the devastating wildfires. We are working on some exciting, new stuff for the Pride season with some big partners. It is also an election year which allows the foundation to be really active.

What are your thoughts about the 2020 election?
I think the biggest takeaway right now is that we have a job to do as progressive Americans or moderate Americans who want to see our country take a different path. That job is to ensure that people are mobilized to vote and vote the current president out of office so we can salvage whatever is left of this democracy and try to rebuild her and make the shining, great nation on the hill again. Make us a country that people want to come to. This is a great country, and we need to find our way back. The only way we can do that is by making sure we get out and vote and educate people on what this election really means.

What’s next for you? Any other upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
There is, but I cannot talk about them right now [laughs]. Everything is buttoned up until everything gets finalized, but there are some great things happening. Some exciting partnerships and bigger opportunities that I never thought would be possible. Thanks to a show like Drag Race and RuPaul, they are happening, and I am very, very excited.

Photos courtesy of Nina West