'Paris Is Burning' was only just a glimpse into what was happening within the ballroom scene. The difference is that 'Pose' is opening the lens a little bit more, and it's diving into the personal lives of these women who fought for their kids - who raised their kids to be strong individuals so that they can move on and have a legacy, too.
— Mj Rodriguez
When I was in high school, I was doing a fashion show, and my House Father would host fashion shows at the school. He was great at it. He saw me and said, 'That's my daughter.' The rest was history! We went to New York City to rehearse and go to balls, and I was in the ballroom scene until I was 17 years old.
There's so much you can say about the ballroom scene. But, simply, it's just a way of life. It's a place you can live out a fantasy you never lived before.
I just want to instill love into everyone's hearts. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true.
It all started when I was 11 months old, singing a song by Jodeci in the back seat of the car. My mother turned around and said, 'Who is that?' When she saw it was me, she said, 'I think we have a singer on our hands.'
When it comes to my career, I'm an actress before I'm trans. I think people should see the talent first.
The one thing I thought I would never be able to do was sing on television.
I'm obviously fighting for my community simply because I'm trans, and I have to do that, and I do it because that's my existence. I wake up in the morning, and that is my activism.
I'm ready to get a Marvel role, honey.
Today I may advocate through my art, but I've won my share of 'hood fights.' So if I ever saw one of my sisters being beaten in the street, I'd be the first one to jump in.
I have so many ways I can explain the ballroom scene. But the essence of the ballroom scene would be elegance, extravagance, and fabulousness to its 100 per cent. It's a place where you can be whoever you want to be inside of already being who you are.
For a long time, with a lot of women of the trans experience on television, people have only got to see one aspect of their life. With 'Pose,' it's broadened the scale.
It's a blessing that I have my family in my life and they were supportive, but there were times when I needed to find an outlet for me to understand my people and my own journey, and I found that through my chosen family, which was the ballroom community.
I always believe that the experiences that you go through are what make you stronger and what help you push forward through life.
Every day, I walk the streets with my head held high, but deep down inside, sometimes I'm like, 'I just hope I can get through the day.'
It was me that was holding myself back because I felt like I had to fit into this mold of what people want to see.
A lot of people have forgotten the severity of this disease, of HIV. So I think it's important that we just talk about things like this: how we can prevent it, how we can make sure that people are safe, how they can move forward, too, if they do have HIV.
Every single day, I wake up and take a glimpse of where I am now compared to where I was before, and the work that we have all put in to be in this space. I think of that, and being able to express myself through my art and show up and be present - that's activism, advocacy, and artistry in itself.
The ball scene was never really only gay people. I think people have this notion that if there's a man hanging around a gay man, he must be gay, but that's just stigma. Back in the day, it was the same; there were lots of different people there: gay, straight, whatever. They did not care what they were called because they knew who they were.
Being able to change the world and change hearts and minds - it's uplifting.
It feels completely amazing to finally be in the space where there are so many people taking me seriously as an actress.
I always wanted to be a mom.
I was always scared about my voice.
When I started 'Rent,' I already had an idea of how I was going to portray Angel, simply because of who I was at that moment. Everyone always perceived her as a drag queen, but the reality of the matter is that I truly believe she was a trans woman.
I do like to think of myself as a star: because there's room for many stars up in the sky - and we all have the chance to shine bright.
Home is like my detox: it's what keeps me grounded.
Me, as a woman of the trans experience, I'm not able to have children biologically. And I have always been someone who was very, very... I wanted to have a traditional family, as a young kid. The wife and the kids and, you know... as I grew older, times changed, and my mindset changed.
For people who have been ostracized, who have been all the way at the bottom, there's only one way that we can go - and that's up.
Throughout my life, my mom, my dad, my grandmother - these were people who made sure that I had the right people around me uplifting me.
'Rent' was one of the main defining moments, and it was like the precipice of my transition.
You can't force anyone to understand anything that they don't want to understand.
I started out in the ballroom scene when I was fourteen years old.
I never thought in a million years that people would be able to take me seriously as an actress, and now, being a part of the Golden Globes, that's just a stamp of approval that people are seeing me as the actress I am.
Sometimes I wake up, and I wear jeans; sometimes I want to wear khakis or full-on overalls.
There's a lot of hope and comfort and nurturing in the ballroom scene.
I hear from a lot of young kids. One said to me, 'You remind me of my house mother that passed away,' and another said, 'You remind me of the mother that I didn't have.'... It's beautiful that I can instill that in people.
I just want to be a light of hope for anyone who might be in the dark.
Hopefully I can play a role where I'm not stigmatized to just being a trans woman.
Sometimes I feel like my life is at risk. It doesn't matter if I'm famous or not. My life is as much at risk as other women.
When I was little, all I could think about was just being on some kind of stage, whether it be on a live stage, whether it be on a set stage.
I would never try to measure fame; I'm really just a regular chick from New Jersey.
If I had seen 'Pose' in the years I was a kid, it would have probably meant everything to me.
'Pose' itself is about family. It's about all kinds of families and how they bring themselves together and how they uplift each other and how they fight even harder to move forward.
Whenever I go onstage or in front of a camera, I always want to pour my soul out because I know I have a lot to offer.
There were moments where I was called many derogatory names. I've gotten into a couple of fights. People have jumped me. You know, I've had a lot of things that have happened to me, but I look past those things now.
I had always known I was female, since I was 7 years old.
My mom is my biggest cheerleader.
