Quotes from Jinkx Monsoon

There was a time when I said I wouldn't do something like that but I've seen so many of my friends go on the 'All Stars' seasons and they seem to be having a lot of fun for the most part.

We have such an amazing drag community, and I don't think people fully realize it about Seattle.

If you have to mask the things you're insecure about, go ahead. Wear four pairs of pantyhose, pad your hips, boost your boobs - whatever it takes to walk out of the house feeling like you own the world. Because there's no reason to waste your life hating something you can change.

I think there's something for anyone who wants to be a performer in Seattle.

First, it was a big deal for girls to dress more like guys. Then it was a big deal for straight men to be metereosexuals and care about their appearance in the way that a gay man would. Now we have to take it a step further - men should be able to not wear men's clothes if they don't want to.

When you become your own boss, and your artwork becomes your livelihood, it becomes the only thing you think about.

My long-term goal is to play a drag role or a female role in a Broadway production.

I want people to see that you don't have to be catty and mean to be a superstar.

What brings me the most joy is stories about progressive thinking. When a mother or father accepts their child for whoever they are... when goodness prevails... blah blah blah. I'm a cheese ball.

My motto is water off a duck's back. Meaning: don't let negativity weigh you down, perpetuate positive thinking.

Everyone should be able to express themselves in the way that best suits them - life is too short to spend it unhappy.

Don't be afraid of wearing a lot of makeup. Like, a lot. Your eyes deserve to be showcased. I think it's important to just remember that whatever you think you hate about yourself, there's a way to counter that with makeup and make that part of you beautiful.

I really like women who are able to be classy and poised and really well put together when the time is right, but also be complete clowns.

I'm not the hugest fan of pop music and electro music, which is why 'The Inevitable Album' was entirely live instruments.

I think my favourite thing about doing conventions is the parents taking their kids to see their favourite drag idols, because open-minded, progressive parents are making such a change in the world right now. The more open-minded these kids are being raised, the more hope I have for the future.

It was like I have always had big dreams for my drag aspirations, and I talked myself into doing 'Drag Race.' I'm like, take a chance.

It's not enough to just be a good singer. You have to know where your roots come from. If you sing jazz, you should know all about jazz. You should look into, as much as you possibly can, the history of it, so that you're and educated and well-informed performer.

I've always preferred drag roles, because typically I get better costumes and I've always felt more connected with the female characters in my favorite shows than most of the male characters.

It's not just putting on a little bit of makeup and putting on a dress. Some drag queens duct tape their heads, some drag queens are bound and strapped and pulled in every which direction. To be in drag is no small endeavor.

I went to 'The Nutcracker' every year with my grandma and aunt. Then, in my early teen years, I thought I wanted to be a ballet dancer. I went real gung-ho in that direction, and I started performing in 'The Nutcracker.'

Ever since I was a kid I just thought that women had the better outfits, women had the better hair, women got to wear makeup. I just got jealous of what women got to do onstage. You dress up a man and ultimately it's just a different variation on the same kind of suit. There's a whole wide world of what women wear onstage.

My first drag role was the character Widow Simone in the ballet 'La Fille Mal Gardee.' She's a crazy social climbing woman trying to marry off her daughter to the wealthy town idiot. And in the middle of the show, she gets to perform a clog dance. I loved it.

I prefer to be gender fluid or non-gendered and I dress in drag almost every day of my life even if I'm not in my full Jinkx Monsoon persona - I'm the kind of person who does not dress like my assigned gender and I wear makeup every day and sometimes wear wigs as a boy.

It's hard to have a fruitful romantic life when I'm never in one place for long.