WUSSY Talk with Yuhua Hamasaki from RuPaul's Drag Race

Features

Nov 21

Featured

Yuhua Hamasaki smashed into the public eye this past year when she competed in RuPaul’s Drag Race Season Ten, but this NYC gender neutral diva has been a full time #QUEEN for quite some time.

Hamasaki’s family emigrated to the United States from China when she was only seven years old, and she is known for employing elements of her multicultural background into her drag acts.

“As I dipped into drag more and more, it gave me confidence and happiness and pride. It taught me to be prideful of who I am…”

Hamasaki may have been eliminated in the third week of RPDR, but she shows no signs of slowing down. With signature moves and lashes sharp enough to kill any man, we cannot wait to see what she does next.

Check out the WUSSY Talk video interview below + more photos and a q&a with Yuhua Hamasaki.

The following Q&A with Yuhua Hamasaki originally ran in the printed edition of WUSSY vol.05.
For the full version, you can order your copy here!

Barry: What does RuPaul's makeup look like up close?
Yuhua: Gorgeous!!! Oh my! I’ve seen her on TV all these years and I was amazed at how amazing she looks even in person!

B: Does your culture + ethnicity play a key part in your drag? If so, how?
Y: Totally. I love showing off my background to the world as a drag queen and glorifying it because it is so beautiful. I was not always this way. When I first moved to the United States from China, I had a culture shock. It was portrayed by the media and society that if you’re not blonde, blue-eyed, and white, then your race is to be looked down upon. I would not eat Chinese food in front of my friends, speak Chinese in front of them, or show any behavior that I was Chinese. But as I dipped into drag more and more, my confidence grew and I became very comfortable of who I am. I became prideful of my culture and want to show the rest of the world how beautiful it is. My drag incorporates a lot of that because I want to show people that you don’t have to become what the media and society says as the standard of beauty is. I hope that whoever sees me embracing my identity can see that they can be Muslim, Latino, Black, Native American, etc, and they are still beautiful.

B: Who is your closest friend of the cast of Season 10?
Y: Myself. I’m an independent 21st century woman!!!!

B: What is your favourite city you have visited out of drag?
Y: Funny thing, I’ve never traveled before outside of drag. Thankfully, Drag Race has given me so many opportunities to travel different cities and countries that I was never able to do before.

B: Who is your preferred Golden Girl?
Y: I actually prefer the table in the kitchen.

B: How has your coming out as non-binary affected your life?
Y: I never really had to come out. I have always just been me the entire time. I think all this “coming out” is nonsense. I didn’t have to come out that I am Asian, I didn’t have to come out that like ice cream, I didn’t have to come out that I brush my teeth in morning, then why should anyone have to come out for who they are. Heterosexuals don’t have to come out, so why should the LGBT community have to. People should just be themselves. But sadly we still do live in a world where people have doubts and questions about coming out, and my advice is to come out whenever you’re ready, come out whichever way you want, and come out however you want. Everyone’s coming out journey is different.

B: Tell us all about your favorite pair of shoes. The more details the better.
Y: Knee high boots are sexy! They make my legs look longer. So are open-toed strap-on heels, so I can dance in them. I love a tall, pointy heel. Oh my, I hope someone reading this has a shoe fetish!!!

B: Which city around the world have you not performed in yet but are dying to do so?
Y: Any city in Brazil! I heard the fans there are wild and I would love to see it! One day… one day!!!

B: Before RuPaul's Drag Race, who was your favourite contestant ever on RuPaul's Drag Race?
Y: I have a few: Tammie Brown, Ongina, Jujubee, Tatianna, Manila Luzon, Alyssa Edwards, Bianca del Rio.

B: Do you have a type? If so, tell us everything!
Y: Not really, but whoever is rich I guess is good.

B: Do you enjoy designing and making clothes more, less or equal to doing drag and why?
Y: Both! Designing and making costumes is part of me doing drag, same as doing make up, hair, and performing. It is all falls under the umbrella of me doing drag.

B: What advice to you have for younger LGBTQ+ humans who want to pursue drag?
Y: Do it!! Give it a try! I think everyone should do drag at least once in their life. They will learn to be more confident and happier as person. Drag has taught me to not take life to seriously. I mean, take your job seriously: show up on time, be respectful, do the work. But if something goes wrong, don’t stress about it. Laugh about it and move on. You have one life, make it colorful and happy. Don’t stress about it. When you are 90 and have tubes coming out of your body and laying in the hospital bed, none of those things would matter. What would matter is if you lived a happy life.

B: What's next for you?
Y: Continuing to travel and show how fabulous drag is. RuPaul said it best, “You are born naked and the rest is drag.” I really believe that. Even when you wake up in the morning, you get getting in to drag by the way you want to do your hair, make up, which t-shirt, and shoes you want to put on. You are selecting the way you want to present yourself based on how you feel on the inside.