A nine year-old boy has made his debut as his drag queen alter-ego at a pride celebration.
Vincent Garcia appeared as DunkaShay Monroe at Los Angeles Pride in June, with the full support of his mother Elizabeth Leyva.
DunkaShay donned a bronze sequinned dress, green wig, silver sneakers and rainbow-striped socks for the occasion after being inspired by TV drag contest RuPaul’s Drag Race. Her name was inspired by a song Vincent’s father sang to him as a child, and a tribute to silver screen icon Marilyn Monroe.
And Elizabeth, 33, says she hopes she can set an example to other parents to be supportive of their children’s identity.
She explained: ‘My message to other parents is not to be afraid of letting your children show you who they are.
‘People dismiss children a lot and tell them they don’t know what they want and are too young to understand – but they have their own minds, just like everyone else.
‘The worst thing you can do is shut them down and be small-minded.
‘At the end of the day, you should love and support your children 100 per cent, regardless of whether they want to be a doctor, a cop or a drag queen.’
Elizabeth said that Vincent began experimenting with her makeup and walking around their home in stilettos aged just two.
She says that a few years later, Vincent came to her to say he thought he might be gay.
Recalling that moment, the supportive mother said: ‘He came in one day and said, “Mummy, I have something to tell you but I don’t know if you’ll be upset.”
‘I reassured him that he could tell me absolutely anything. I wanted to know he was comfortable talking to me.
‘He then told me that he thought he might be gay.
‘We have always been very open with our children and answered questions that they may have about the world, so Vincent knew about the LGBT community and what it means to be a part of it…
‘I told him I loved him unconditionally and would support him no matter what.’
Elizabeth, who is mom to two other boys, Xzavier, seven, and Abraham, five, with partner Nick, 34, and says she would never make Vincent ‘hide who he is.’
After he began expressing an interest in drag, she supported his desire to dress up, but said she kept a close eye on Vincent to ensure his looks were age-appropriate.’
She added: ‘It’s no different to how other children put on a costume and play dress up.’
Elizabeth said Vincent received rapturous applause after appearing as DunkaShay at LA Pride, and that she was delighted to see him walk the march while holding his brothers’ hands.
Vincent has expressed a desire to become a professional drag queen when he grows up, but his mother has told him to concentrate on his studies to keep his options open.
She has promised him a sewing machine to make his own costumes if he achieves good grades.
Elizabeth said that Vincent has experienced abuse, sometimes from adults, but that she is proud of how her son stands up for himself.
She explained: ‘Whenever people are nasty, he stands up for himself but does it calmly and respectfully.
‘He says to me that he thinks anybody who is bullying must not have been taught by their parents that if they can’t say anything nice, not to say anything at all.
‘He knows there will be times in his life when people don’t understand who he is.
‘We don’t live in a perfect world where everybody accepts that love is love, and you can’t help who you are.’
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