Taiwanese drag queen Nymphia Wind on Sunday touted Taiwan’s diversity and equality at the annual NYC Pride March in New York.
In April, Nymphia Wind, the drag persona of Leo Tsao (曹米駬), became the first Taiwanese and first East Asian to be crowned “America’s Next Drag Superstar” on the reality television series RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Capitalizing on that global attention, the Tourism Administration invited the 28-year-old — who goes by he/him pronouns in everyday life and she/her while in drag — to serve as the country’s rainbow ambassador at the New York parade.
Photo: CNA
The agency also set up a booth in New York to promote the history and pioneering role of LGBTQ+ rights in Taiwan and the unique charm of the Asian equality movement.
Nymphia on Sunday told reporters that she wanted to visit the city in 2020, but that plan was nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, new opportunities opened up after she won RuPaul’s Drag Race in April.
Photo: CNA
The following month, she performed at the Presidential Office for then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), which she called a great honor, adding that it was not often a president hosts a performance by a man dressed in women’s clothing.
This year’s NYC Pride March, themed “Reflect. Empower. Unite,” started at 11am on Sunday from 25th Street and Fifth Avenue, with participants parading past several notable landmarks, including the Stonewall National Monument on Christopher Street, before dispersing in Chelsea at 16th Street and Seventh Avenue.
The parade was first held in 1970 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots in the West Village, which sparked a global LGBTQ+ rights movement.
It was the seventh time that Taiwan has participated in the march, which attracted many Taiwanese who showed their support for their country.
Separately, nearly 100 Taiwanese formed a group called “Taiwan With Pride” to march in the Toronto Pride Parade on Sunday, the third time that Taiwan participated in the event, which attracted nearly 200,000 marchers this year.
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