Rainbow Crew is an ongoing interview series that celebrates the best LGBTQ+ representation on screen. Each instalment showcases talent working on both sides of the camera, including queer creatives and allies to the community.
Next up, we're speaking to Pangina Heals about her new show Tongue Thai’d on WOW Presents Plus.
"Pangina who?" On UK Vs The World, Pangina Heals announced her presence globally as she waacked her way into our hearts during the very first episode. But shame on you if you hadn't heard of Pan Pan Narkprasert before that.
As co-host on Drag Race Thailand, the franchise's first Asian spinoff, Pangina had already played a key role in one of the best versions of Drag Race that's ever aired. And then Pangina herself made herstory again when she became the first host to compete during her now infamous run on UK Vs The World.
We could go on to describe Pangina's billboards or her involvement in New York Fashion Week, but you should already be a Fangina by now, and if not, you need to question all your life choices.
So for all the real Fanginas out there, Digital Spy spoke to Southeast Asia’s most famous drag queen, the RuPaul of Thailand, to discuss her new show, Tongue Thai’d, and what's next for Pangina.
Can you talk us through the concept of Tongue Thai’d?
Well, Thailand is famous for our food, from all over the world. And I think it’d be great for me to introduce other dishes, other than Pad Thai and Pad See Ew.
So I tried to make sure that people are introduced to different dishes that are interesting and somewhat unique. And what’s more fun that making other queens try something that’s really spicy and kind of crazy to them? Because it’s a good cultural exchange. And food really links people and culture, anyway.
I think with drag – I showcase who I am, and where I came from, and my culture through drag. So why not through food?
How did you choose who appears on the show?
Each of the individuals that was there is just such a positive light in the community. That was something that is really important to me.
Maxi Shield just has the best smile. Kim Chi’s so funny. Jimbo is just a clown. Cheryl Hole, I was really close to. Ongina is one of the reasons that I got into drag in the first place. She’s my inspiration. And Honey Davenport, I got really close to her during the pandemic, when everything shut down.
So each person had a very special place in my heart. And Mark Kanemura is, you know, one of my dance idols as well. It’s so surreal to be able to just sit down and have lunch with them.
So, UK Vs The World. We loved your talent show song – we were always looking on Spotify, hoping it would appear on there, and it never did.
I'll send it to you. But I don’t have it on Spotify because I don’t want people to just crash into buildings because they’re so annoyed by it. It’s for the safety of the world.
You've been asked a lot about your exit, of course, so we don't need to get into that, but we saw you react online recently when Kendall Gender said "I got Pangina'd" on Canada Vs The World. How did you feel about that surprise name drop?
Well, I think it’s an honour to be a verb now. It’s really sweet of her, and I really like her. I think for me, I can talk about my elimination all day long, because it’s in the past, and also I’m at peace with it. It’s funny, because, you know, I was devastated, and if I can laugh at my own devastation, I can laugh at anything.
There's something really powerful and healing in reclaiming those painful experiences.
That’s exactly it.
Would you ever want to compete again in another All-Stars? A lot of people have returned, like Jinx Monsoon.
I would compete. But if Jinx is competing, I’m not competing with her. She is a titan. She is a titan and… I wouldn’t be able to start. I don’t even know. She is up there in my periphery as one of the best drag queens there ever was and there ever will be.
After experiencing Drag Race as a contestant, has it impacted the way you approach critiquing other queens as a host on Drag Race Thailand?
Absolutely, because now I feel like to do a season three – if I was to do a season three, I would love to speak English the entire time, just because I’m very comfortable with English, you know? And also, I kind of felt that being able to compete, I saw a lot of things…
I mean, I have compassion, but I feel like I’d be more compassionate now if I was judging. Because I get it. I get it.
Judging must be really tricky because you want to be constructive, and you want to push people to inspire them, but you also want to make good TV. What’s it like balancing all those elements at once?
I think that my personality – I’m kind of like a loose cannon anyway, and I don’t have a filter. So that’s already good TV. I don’t think I’ve ever faked who I was, whether I was judging or I was competing. You really do see the real me. The audience knows when you’re putting on a character – and I’m not a character.
I felt like before going into the competition… I had a talk with myself. I literally came to the conclusion that "you are enough".
Can you share any updates on Drag Race Thailand season three?
I think season three would be great.
So are you involved in the show still?
Hopefully I am. Jesus, I hosted two of the seasons already. I just competed! I’m sure the universe will be kind.
How has the response to drag evolved in Thailand over recent years?
With the show and with me competing, people are just really familiar with the art of drag itself, and the possibility of queer artists, not just with drag but in general. It’s become much better. I have my own club called The House of Heals, and people travel from all over the world, after the show, to see my baby.
So it’s full circle for me, to be able to have a space to showcase queer artists, and a place that drag can be seen. Because in many places that I’ve travelled to, you can only see drag, like, once a month.
Some people in the West have an assumption that drag is accepted everywhere now because of Drag Race, but that’s not true, of course.
Not at all.
How has drag helped you, personally?
Well, I told you that my club is called The House of Heals. It’s because I feel like drag really does heal people. You can be in a bad relationship, and then you come to a club where you’ve just broken up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, and someone takes you out of that, into their world of fantasy. And you forget about that hardship for a while.
For me, I think that’s kindness. And it heals me! I was not confident. I was an overweight child that became bulimic. I struggled a lot with being a self-hating Asian at the beginning, with body issues. Drag really just helped me reclaim those experiences, and made me into the person that I am that just loves myself, no matter what size I am now, you know?
So many Fanginas around the world are extremely vocal about their thirst for you online. How do you process that kind of reaction?
I love it. I mean, honestly, like you said, it’s not only about reclaiming the experience, but also, I don’t feel like, a lot of the time, Asian men are sexualised. So for me, it’s kind of powerful in a way.
I had Gender Studies classes in UCLA, and that’s what we talked about. A lot of the time, we’re very desexualised. We’re comedians. We’re turned into something that does not have a sexual aspect to it. So for me, it’s all good. I mean, if you want to f**k me, and I’m single, I’ll do it.
I’m sure many Fanginas are going to be very happy to hear that.
I’m sure a lot of Fanginas already did. [laughs] That was a joke! That was a joke, people, that was a joke.
Looking back, what moment of representation onscreen really resonated with you most?
I know this is going to be a cliché but watching Paris Is Burning was life-changing. Also, just seeing Marilyn Monroe onscreen, really sparked something about me – wanting to emulate that quality of femininity. Watching Priscilla Queen of the Desert just really made me feel like…
You know, the art of drag is really so inspirational. And just watching the recent series of Pose is still life-changing for me. There’s been so many things that have shaped me.
What advice would you give to queer fans who are struggling with their identity?
You are in every single way correct with what you are. You are perfect the way you are. Don’t let other people tell you that you have to change. Find the people that love you, and accept you, and find your own family for those who appreciate you for who you are. That's how you become who you are.
Sometimes you run into people, and you think they’re good for you, and they’re pretending to be your friends. You’re not blooming. You need to bloom, because life gets short. So find those people, and hold onto them.
What are you most proud of?
On the surface, people would think the things that I’ve done, like being the first of many things… Being the first host to compete, being able to do New York Fashion Week as a Thai drag queen, walking a real fashion show. Or even having a billboard in Thailand. It’s like I’m a pioneer. And that’s all very great.
But the thing that really touched me was just my mother or my father texting me, saying, "I’m proud of you." That just moves me and shakes me to my core, because it’d been a while before they accepted me. My mum didn’t watch me perform in drag for the first two years because she was embarrassed. Because I grew up in a Chinese family.
So sometimes, when my parents just tell me that they’re proud of me – that’s bigger than being in a hall of a million people.
Tongue Thai’d with Pangina Heals is available to watch exclusively on WOW Presents Plus. Subscribe now at https://uk.wowpresentsplus.com/
Pangina will be attending RuPaul’s DragCon, the largest celebration of drag culture, returning to the UK at the ExCeL London from 6th - 8th January 2023, with quadruple the queens, triple the space and double the glamour. Get your tickets here.
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