Alex Mathew

Even as a child, I was a free bird. I loved singing and dancing and watching movies and acting and reading books. It was only in school that the bullying began, with people telling me I “walk like a lady” and such. I only went to school to study. There was nothing else in it for me. At 14, I started having feelings towards boys but suppressed them because it was considered wrong in my religion. It was during the end of my time in school that I found out about drag. My first performance was a fancy dress competition and my parents seemed okay with it. After all, it was only a one-time thing. What was the
harm?
At 23, I knew I was gay but for a long time, I tried to be normal. I was scared and embarrassed to tell people that I was gay.
At 24, I came out of the closet and also began doing drag full-time but my parents were far from happy. They debated which was worse – being gay or being a drag queen. It took them about a year and a half to accept my choice and try to understand my life.
The first one and a half years of my journey were tumultuous. My parents were upset, I fell into the wrong company, and went on a spiritual journey. I lost some friends, lost my job, was the butt of all jokes, and was rejected in job interviews because of my decision. People said that I was on my way to become a trans woman.
Even today, there are remnants of that period. It was Maya who gave me the strength to come out of the closet and not be afraid of my sexuality. Maya was the answer to my fear. Maya made me fall in love with
myself. Maya made me more confident. Maya even gives me the strength to handle break-ups. Sometimes, people say they like Alex more or they like Maya more. They don’t realise we are the same. We grow through each other. Maya is popular because I am an unapologetic drag queen. To me, drag is
sacred. It is about being whoever you want to be and doing whatever you want to do because you are not afraid to use all the crayons in the box. It is about loving yourself and giving everyone around you the freedom to express themselves. That is how you can love them too.
Today, I am happy that no one is treated like a criminal for their choice of love and partner. Dissolving Section 377 has been a change but there is still fear in the LGBTQ community to come out in the open. People should be more accepting and organisations should become more inclusive.