January 30, 2024 • 11 mins
Lady Shug or Ky Victor is an Indigenous nonbinary queer drag activist working for equal rights and protections.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha and welcome to stuff.
I never told your prediction of I hear radio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Happy still January twenty twenty four, because yeah, in my
head it's like April. For some weird reason, like I
saw a TikTok like six months in and we're like, wait,
this is only January, Sines, this somehow become the longest
month in my head? Is it always like that?
Speaker 1 (00:33):
To me? January and February is the longest month.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Okay, it just feels like maybe because I'm still stretching
twenty twenty three in my head that it feels super
long anyway. But you know what, Happy January twenty twenty four,
and we are talking about Native drag artists Lady Sug.
I'm very excited about this. So Lady Sugar or Kai Victor,
(00:56):
I hope I'm saying that right. I couldn't find their names,
so we're gonna stick with Lady Shug, who goes by
she Her. Are they in them pronouns? And we're going
to stick with they them pronouns. It's a non binary
queer drag activist and is a part of the Navajo
Nation or DNA Nation and have been quote fighting for
equal rights as an activist for LGBTQ two s to
(01:20):
spirit indigenous relatives to create equal rights in rural areas
and reservations that do not protect those on indigenous lands,
nor are there no laws or hate crimes laws to
protect us. This is a quote as well as if
you're in the same sex marriage, your marriage isn't valid
through the DNA Navajo tribe. And this is according to
a twenty twenty two Advocate dot Com article with Lady
(01:43):
Sug and bt dubs. Yes, that's still a thing, and
that's still a conversation, especially as the new anti queer
policies have traveled all over the country. The different indigenous
communities have also been affected obviously, or have all it
has been affected? Apparently in two thousand and five there
was an anti LGBTQ two spirit policy outlawing marriage for
(02:09):
queer people. So, yeah, that's not great. And one of
the things that Lady Shug has been really really active
and passionate about are these types of policies.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Right, but their activism expands much further back than that. However,
before we get into all of that, let's talk about
who they are and how they got to where they
are today. Lady Shug talked with The Queer Review and
told their story on how they were introduced and became
a part of the drag scene. Quote. I went to
a boarding school on my reservation, graduated high school, and
(02:44):
my goal was for the longest time, I don't know why,
but I wanted to go to Vegas. It was like Vegas, Vegas,
Vegas for like all four years of high school. Me
and my best friends said, as soon as we get
out of here, let's go to Vegas. Of course, my
senior year came and I went to California, where it
was introduce to the club scene, and that's where I
got adopted for a little bit, so I dabbled in
(03:04):
the artistry of that. I didn't really see too much
of the drag scene. It was more like the makeup
and the androgyny of the club kid culture club life.
I got into that really quickly, and my backbone grew stronger,
I guess you could say. And I finally achieved my
goal from high school about two years after I left,
when I moved to Vegas and went to school over there,
and they go on quote, I just walked into a
(03:26):
bar one day and it was a Latin night and
I saw my first drag show. It was an all
Latin cast, and I saw this entertainer and she thought
I was one of the Latin kids. Normally living in
these big cities. They assume that I'm Latin, and when
I tell them that I'm Indigenous or Native, they are like,
what Native like TP. Then I have to educate them
about the stereotypes of being indigenous, that we are still
(03:48):
walking amongst these people and we're not a taboo. And
so my drag mother was performing in front of me
at Hamburger Mary's and we just had a connection.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Right, And the story continues quote. Three times a week
I would go to see my drag mother, Coco Vega.
She's a well known pageant gown designer, and she took
me under her wing. I was one of her backstage assistants.
So that's how I was first exposed to drag. One day,
my drag brother said that one of the girls had
canceled and she was like, I'm putting you in drag.
So that day, Coco Vega painted me, put a costume
(04:19):
on me and said there you go, go out there,
and it just kind of clicked I felt like I
was a transformer, like it just felt so right, and
it just kind of took off from there. I ended
up working at Crave, which is no longer open, but
it was one of the largest gate clubs in Las Vegas.
So I was working on the Las AGAs Strip for
like seven nights a week doing drag, having my own night,
(04:40):
and then they had a cabaret drag show I was in,
so I started to be more comfortable in my drag,
but it was more on the glamour side. That's how
I was taught. And in another article for Extra magazine,
they talked about how they came up with their stage name,
and they said, quote, actually, before Sugar, my name was
Sugar Booger. I used to hang around a bunch of
the kids in Los Angeles and they used to call
(05:02):
me Sugar Booger because they always said, oh gosh, sug,
you know, you're really sweet, but your makeup and your
drag is kind of boogerish. Then when I moved to Vegas,
I found my drag mother, Coco Vega. She was like, no, honey,
you're no Booger. From now on, you're going to be
named Lady sug it just kind of stuck. Mind you,
I was the Lady before Lady Gaga. That's probably how
(05:22):
long I've been doing drag. I should let out a
quote was one.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Yeah, and they have been using their performance and shows
as a way to help not only the LGBTQ two
S community, but the indigenous community as well. Throughout their career,
(05:46):
Lady Shug has been on the rise in the drag community,
working to advocate for rights and acceptance from their own community.
In that same Queer Advocate article, they say, quote, on
our reservation, we have little fares in the fall. So
there's an Eastern fair, a Western fair in the different agencies,
and these fairs are big. Our relatives come from small
communities from all over to these towns to these fairs.
(06:10):
They're like the Texas State Fair or something like that.
They have traditional dances, they have powows, they have rodeos, carnivals,
they have four h and a lot of people that
parade from the little children to the elders. I thought,
you know what, I'm going to bring drag to that.
So I was trying to hit up all these fareboards
and organizers to say, hey, I can produce a show,
(06:30):
give me a space I can fill it, but they
never wanted it. They never approved it or even responded.
So in twenty sixteen, right after I won Miss New
Mexico Pride, I started performing in Arizona where they have
a fair which is the Navajo Nation Fair held in
Window Rock, Arizona. I performed outside of the gates, and
I remember the first time I performed there. It was
(06:52):
raining like cats and dogs, but people were into it.
They had blankets and umbrellas and they had to wait
for an hour before the show could start out in
the dirt. There were no lights, there was no stage.
We just had a good sound system and we were
excited to perform for our people. By the end of
the show there was a rainbow over as it was
so beautiful.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah, and they continue on after that. I just kept
plugging away, trying to get inside fairground, but they never
would allow me until this last year when Tuba City,
which is the Western Navajo Nation Fair, finally picked me
up and put me on the main stage to be
the opening act for Snow the product. I mean, we
had our own banners, we had the headline stage. We
(07:31):
weren't in the corner. We were actually on the main stage.
We were on the lineup, and we were treated like
one of the main entertainers. I broke down after that show.
Of course, when I do those shows on my reservation,
I have an all indigenous cast, and they talked about
how sometimes they get flak because they don't put white
drag queens in the show. But I think that makes sense.
(07:53):
This is for an indigenous group. But you know, and
when asked of what their heritage meant and why it
was important to them, ladies show said, I was raised
by a really strong matriarchy. I had my mom, my grandma,
my dad's grandma, my aunts. I was always around strong women,
and I think that's where I developed my backbone and
my love and passion to give back to my people.
(08:14):
I always see it with my queer and trans friends.
They're the caregivers. They're the ones that take care of
grandma and grandpa. They're the ones that cook the meals.
But then they're also the ones who sometimes have to
go to chop the wood or fix stuff because they're
the ones who are there helping their elders or helping
their nephews, nieces, their brothers and sisters. And then I
have drag children, and one of my dragged daughters, she
(08:36):
does traditional dancing and she dances for both sides of
the spectrum. She dances on the female side and the
male side. We're the caregivers. We are the people who
are able to be on both sides of the spectrum.
I guess you'd say the man and a woman part
of it. Were considered five finger people and there are
five different genders of masculinity and femininity, and then intersects
then you have your more masculine and more feminine. So
(08:58):
it's something that I totally see within myself, but also
within my peers. Those are also the ones who are
trying to keep our language proud and our heritage alive.
And yeah, they've been able to do all of that
throughout their career, including being on the Emmy Award winning
HBO series We're Here, which follows drag queens as they
quote continue their journey across small town America spreading love
(09:22):
and connection through the art of drag. This was from
HBO where they were able to highlight their queer culture
in indigenous spaces as well. And with all of this,
they have continued to fight for the rights of quick
people not only on a local community level, but federal
level as well. They've been speaking up about the discrimination
they've been facing, large in part to the latest anti
(09:45):
queer policies in the United States. They're also really big
about advocating for healthcare and accessible healthcare for everyone, including
and especially for the Indigenous people because we know what
happened during COVID and how little was done for them,
and they are very big advocates in talking about getting
access to that. So really cool to see. I did
(10:07):
see and I don't know if this is true that
they were renewed for a fourth season, but I feel
like they got canceled at one point. We're here.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
It could be HbA just listed their they like big
shake ups of the cancelation's continuation right new shows, So
I'm not sure, but.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Yeah, it's a really cool story. Again, someone will be
checking in see what they do in the future. Yes,
in the meantime, listeners, If you have any suggestions for
this segment or anything at all, you can email us
a stuff Media mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You
can find us on Twitter at mom Stuff Podcast, or
on Instagram and TikTok at stuff Whenever told You we
(10:48):
have a tea public store, and we have a book
you can get wherever you get your books. Thanks as
always too our super producer Christina, executive producer My and
our contributor Joey. Thank you and thanks to you for
listening stuff I ever told you. Production by Heart Radio.
For more podcasts from my heart Radio, you can check
out the heart Radio app Apple Podcasts, where you listen
to your favorite shows.
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha and welcome to stuff.
I never told your prediction of I hear radio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Happy still January twenty twenty four, because yeah, in my
head it's like April. For some weird reason, like I
saw a TikTok like six months in and we're like, wait,
this is only January, Sines, this somehow become the longest
month in my head? Is it always like that?
Speaker 1 (00:33):
To me? January and February is the longest month.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Okay, it just feels like maybe because I'm still stretching
twenty twenty three in my head that it feels super
long anyway. But you know what, Happy January twenty twenty four,
and we are talking about Native drag artists Lady Sug.
I'm very excited about this. So Lady Sugar or Kai Victor,
(00:56):
I hope I'm saying that right. I couldn't find their names,
so we're gonna stick with Lady Shug, who goes by
she Her. Are they in them pronouns? And we're going
to stick with they them pronouns. It's a non binary
queer drag activist and is a part of the Navajo
Nation or DNA Nation and have been quote fighting for
equal rights as an activist for LGBTQ two s to
(01:20):
spirit indigenous relatives to create equal rights in rural areas
and reservations that do not protect those on indigenous lands,
nor are there no laws or hate crimes laws to
protect us. This is a quote as well as if
you're in the same sex marriage, your marriage isn't valid
through the DNA Navajo tribe. And this is according to
a twenty twenty two Advocate dot Com article with Lady
(01:43):
Sug and bt dubs. Yes, that's still a thing, and
that's still a conversation, especially as the new anti queer
policies have traveled all over the country. The different indigenous
communities have also been affected obviously, or have all it
has been affected? Apparently in two thousand and five there
was an anti LGBTQ two spirit policy outlawing marriage for
(02:09):
queer people. So, yeah, that's not great. And one of
the things that Lady Shug has been really really active
and passionate about are these types of policies.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Right, but their activism expands much further back than that. However,
before we get into all of that, let's talk about
who they are and how they got to where they
are today. Lady Shug talked with The Queer Review and
told their story on how they were introduced and became
a part of the drag scene. Quote. I went to
a boarding school on my reservation, graduated high school, and
(02:44):
my goal was for the longest time, I don't know why,
but I wanted to go to Vegas. It was like Vegas, Vegas,
Vegas for like all four years of high school. Me
and my best friends said, as soon as we get
out of here, let's go to Vegas. Of course, my
senior year came and I went to California, where it
was introduce to the club scene, and that's where I
got adopted for a little bit, so I dabbled in
(03:04):
the artistry of that. I didn't really see too much
of the drag scene. It was more like the makeup
and the androgyny of the club kid culture club life.
I got into that really quickly, and my backbone grew stronger,
I guess you could say. And I finally achieved my
goal from high school about two years after I left,
when I moved to Vegas and went to school over there,
and they go on quote, I just walked into a
(03:26):
bar one day and it was a Latin night and
I saw my first drag show. It was an all
Latin cast, and I saw this entertainer and she thought
I was one of the Latin kids. Normally living in
these big cities. They assume that I'm Latin, and when
I tell them that I'm Indigenous or Native, they are like,
what Native like TP. Then I have to educate them
about the stereotypes of being indigenous, that we are still
(03:48):
walking amongst these people and we're not a taboo. And
so my drag mother was performing in front of me
at Hamburger Mary's and we just had a connection.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Right, And the story continues quote. Three times a week
I would go to see my drag mother, Coco Vega.
She's a well known pageant gown designer, and she took
me under her wing. I was one of her backstage assistants.
So that's how I was first exposed to drag. One day,
my drag brother said that one of the girls had
canceled and she was like, I'm putting you in drag.
So that day, Coco Vega painted me, put a costume
(04:19):
on me and said there you go, go out there,
and it just kind of clicked I felt like I
was a transformer, like it just felt so right, and
it just kind of took off from there. I ended
up working at Crave, which is no longer open, but
it was one of the largest gate clubs in Las Vegas.
So I was working on the Las AGAs Strip for
like seven nights a week doing drag, having my own night,
(04:40):
and then they had a cabaret drag show I was in,
so I started to be more comfortable in my drag,
but it was more on the glamour side. That's how
I was taught. And in another article for Extra magazine,
they talked about how they came up with their stage name,
and they said, quote, actually, before Sugar, my name was
Sugar Booger. I used to hang around a bunch of
the kids in Los Angeles and they used to call
(05:02):
me Sugar Booger because they always said, oh gosh, sug,
you know, you're really sweet, but your makeup and your
drag is kind of boogerish. Then when I moved to Vegas,
I found my drag mother, Coco Vega. She was like, no, honey,
you're no Booger. From now on, you're going to be
named Lady sug it just kind of stuck. Mind you,
I was the Lady before Lady Gaga. That's probably how
(05:22):
long I've been doing drag. I should let out a
quote was one.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Yeah, and they have been using their performance and shows
as a way to help not only the LGBTQ two
S community, but the indigenous community as well. Throughout their career,
(05:46):
Lady Shug has been on the rise in the drag community,
working to advocate for rights and acceptance from their own community.
In that same Queer Advocate article, they say, quote, on
our reservation, we have little fares in the fall. So
there's an Eastern fair, a Western fair in the different agencies,
and these fairs are big. Our relatives come from small
communities from all over to these towns to these fairs.
(06:10):
They're like the Texas State Fair or something like that.
They have traditional dances, they have powows, they have rodeos, carnivals,
they have four h and a lot of people that
parade from the little children to the elders. I thought,
you know what, I'm going to bring drag to that.
So I was trying to hit up all these fareboards
and organizers to say, hey, I can produce a show,
(06:30):
give me a space I can fill it, but they
never wanted it. They never approved it or even responded.
So in twenty sixteen, right after I won Miss New
Mexico Pride, I started performing in Arizona where they have
a fair which is the Navajo Nation Fair held in
Window Rock, Arizona. I performed outside of the gates, and
I remember the first time I performed there. It was
(06:52):
raining like cats and dogs, but people were into it.
They had blankets and umbrellas and they had to wait
for an hour before the show could start out in
the dirt. There were no lights, there was no stage.
We just had a good sound system and we were
excited to perform for our people. By the end of
the show there was a rainbow over as it was
so beautiful.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah, and they continue on after that. I just kept
plugging away, trying to get inside fairground, but they never
would allow me until this last year when Tuba City,
which is the Western Navajo Nation Fair, finally picked me
up and put me on the main stage to be
the opening act for Snow the product. I mean, we
had our own banners, we had the headline stage. We
(07:31):
weren't in the corner. We were actually on the main stage.
We were on the lineup, and we were treated like
one of the main entertainers. I broke down after that show.
Of course, when I do those shows on my reservation,
I have an all indigenous cast, and they talked about
how sometimes they get flak because they don't put white
drag queens in the show. But I think that makes sense.
(07:53):
This is for an indigenous group. But you know, and
when asked of what their heritage meant and why it
was important to them, ladies show said, I was raised
by a really strong matriarchy. I had my mom, my grandma,
my dad's grandma, my aunts. I was always around strong women,
and I think that's where I developed my backbone and
my love and passion to give back to my people.
(08:14):
I always see it with my queer and trans friends.
They're the caregivers. They're the ones that take care of
grandma and grandpa. They're the ones that cook the meals.
But then they're also the ones who sometimes have to
go to chop the wood or fix stuff because they're
the ones who are there helping their elders or helping
their nephews, nieces, their brothers and sisters. And then I
have drag children, and one of my dragged daughters, she
(08:36):
does traditional dancing and she dances for both sides of
the spectrum. She dances on the female side and the
male side. We're the caregivers. We are the people who
are able to be on both sides of the spectrum.
I guess you'd say the man and a woman part
of it. Were considered five finger people and there are
five different genders of masculinity and femininity, and then intersects
then you have your more masculine and more feminine. So
(08:58):
it's something that I totally see within myself, but also
within my peers. Those are also the ones who are
trying to keep our language proud and our heritage alive.
And yeah, they've been able to do all of that
throughout their career, including being on the Emmy Award winning
HBO series We're Here, which follows drag queens as they
quote continue their journey across small town America spreading love
(09:22):
and connection through the art of drag. This was from
HBO where they were able to highlight their queer culture
in indigenous spaces as well. And with all of this,
they have continued to fight for the rights of quick
people not only on a local community level, but federal
level as well. They've been speaking up about the discrimination
they've been facing, large in part to the latest anti
(09:45):
queer policies in the United States. They're also really big
about advocating for healthcare and accessible healthcare for everyone, including
and especially for the Indigenous people because we know what
happened during COVID and how little was done for them,
and they are very big advocates in talking about getting
access to that. So really cool to see. I did
(10:07):
see and I don't know if this is true that
they were renewed for a fourth season, but I feel
like they got canceled at one point. We're here.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
It could be HbA just listed their they like big
shake ups of the cancelation's continuation right new shows, So
I'm not sure, but.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Yeah, it's a really cool story. Again, someone will be
checking in see what they do in the future. Yes,
in the meantime, listeners, If you have any suggestions for
this segment or anything at all, you can email us
a stuff Media mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You
can find us on Twitter at mom Stuff Podcast, or
on Instagram and TikTok at stuff Whenever told You we
(10:48):
have a tea public store, and we have a book
you can get wherever you get your books. Thanks as
always too our super producer Christina, executive producer My and
our contributor Joey. Thank you and thanks to you for
listening stuff I ever told you. Production by Heart Radio.
For more podcasts from my heart Radio, you can check
out the heart Radio app Apple Podcasts, where you listen
to your favorite shows.
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