Meet Lactatia, The 8-Year-Old Drag Queen Wowing Audiences Everywhere
Even RuPaul has taken notice!
Instagram When it comes to parenting, nothing comes as easy as the love you have for your child. And while I'd like to believe that that love always translates into acceptance, I know it doesn't quite work that way for every parent.
That's why I couldn't help but be in awe with the 2017 story of an 8-year-old drag queen (err, princess?) who has the full support and love of his family.
In fact, his parents considered their son's "biggest milestone" to be the moment he decided he wanted to be "a girl with a penis".
Meet Nemis Quinn Mélançon-Golden, a child drag queen who goes by the stage name of "Lactatia" when he's performing. He's wowed the world with his larger-than-life personality and mad drag queen skills.
His parents are his biggest cheerleaders and support group with his drag performances, and in today's society, that's not exactly easy to come by when your children don't fall under the well-defined umbrella of "normal."
And since the world has just barely come to accept the LGBTQ community and all that they offer, entertainment and otherwise, this kid is different than most his age. And that is OK.
Here are a few little tidbits that you need to know about the rising (drag) star, who has been featured in publications such as Gay Times UK, New Now Next, Pink News, Towleroad, and the Advocate, and whose work has even been shared by the likes of RuPaul himself via Twitter.
Lactatia is no newbie to the drag scene.
Lactatia has been performing drag since he was 7 years old. He first made his way onto the scene when he was captured performing side-by-side with Bianca Del Rio, who is well known for her participation on RuPaul's Drag Race.
He said that he's always been interested in "girl things."
Lactatia may not have staked his claim to fame in the LGBQT and drag world that long ago, but he's been wearing dresses and such since he was two years old. However, during an interview, his parents said that while shopping for him it's "equal parts black skinny jeans and skulls as it is sequins and tulle."
Lactatia's hobbies included: skateboarding, contouring, and using "tuck-tape." Not only does he know what he wants in life (more than most kids at that age), but he has the age-old wisdom to get where he wants to go in life.
His sister came up with his name.
His stage name, Lactatia, was created by his 17-year-old sister. His birth name is Nemis Quinn Melancon Golden, and is almost as colorful as his stage name.
He's wise beyond his young years.
In an interview from 2017, he said, “I think that anyone can do what they want in life. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. If you wanna be a drag queen and your parents don’t let you, you need new parents. If you wanna be a drag queen and your friends don’t let you, you need new friends."
He has big goals.
His big goal is to make it onto the Ellen DeGeneres Show. He says if he were to make it to the show, he'd "definitely" prepare a lip sync performance.
His family are his allies.
Although drag is one of his hobbies, this little guy doesn't identify as gay. His parents, who refer to themselves as "huge allies," said that perhaps he will in the future. Who knows?
And he's a class act.
He takes "vogueing" classes, which is a type of dance popularized by Madonna's music video for "Vogue," but its origin is from black drag queens in the streets of Harlem. Who knew those classes existed? Someone sign me up!
He became the face of House of Mann in 2018, drawing controversy.
Designer Brandon Hilton's fashion label named Lactatia as its cover star in 2018. However, the announcement and photos from his shoot came with a lot of negativity online.
Hilton said that he had received death threats and accusations of sexual abuse. The designer took to Twitter to respond to the backlash, writing, "Woke up to countless tweets telling me “kill yourself” and calling me a “pedo” after we announced 9 year old drag superstar Lactatia as our new HOUSE OF MANN covergirl... If you can’t handle a kid in a sequin onesie, maybe the future isn’t for you!"
Lactatia's mother also spoke out in an interview, saying, “House of Mann makes burlesque and drag costumes. They’re performance pieces. House of Mann sent Lactatia a full coverage, head-to-toe, sequined one-piece. Lactatia is a drag performer and also vogues, so that piece made sense. No, Lactatia is not going to be modeling the burlesque and fetish wear designs featured on his site, and the fact that we actually have to clarify that is a little ridiculous.”
She went on to say, “People fundamentally do not understand what drag and drag performance is. Consequently, those people do not want to understand it either, so it makes explaining or defending it useless. We were honored that House of Mann chose to gift Lactatia with an amazing drag piece, especially since it was custom to size. It’s hard finding drag-appropriate attire in kid’s sizes.”
Hilton also added, “I’m trying to create a future where kids feel safe and accepted and free to be themselves. People are trying to make me a monster because I feel like people shouldn’t be bullied, shouldn’t grow up being put down just to become adults with insecurities and issues and suicidal tendencies because of the way they were treated as kids. I’m trying to curate a future where kids grow up and say, ‘If I’m gay, that’s okay. If I want to be a drag queen, that’s okay.’ Whoever you are, that’s okay.”
At any rate, it seems as though Lactatia is keeping the roots of being a queen alive and well as he vogues his way to social media stardom. Maybe one day he'll even get to work with his hero, RuPaul.
Kiarra Sylvester is a freelance writer currently pursuing graduate degrees in human sexuality and social work at Widener University.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on June 16, 2017 and was updated with the latest information.