“You identify as gender-fluid,” Drag Race Season 9 finalist Trinity “The Tuck” Taylor says to Nico Tortorella as she beats the actor’s face with a makeup brush. The star of TV Land’s Younger is seated, wearing a robe, eyebrows glued down for their fierce drag makeover — Tortorella recently started using they/them/their pronouns — as they discuss their gender-fluid identity on camera for the first time.
“I just pretty recently have come to terms with the fact that maybe I am not fully cisgender,” Tortorella confesses. “This isn’t something I’ve actually talked about on a public level quite yet.” This is how a drag makeover also becomes an important discussion of gender, sobriety, and what it’s like to be judged within the LGBTQ+ community.
In addition to their dreamy leading role in Younger, the multitalented Tortorella recently debuted a book of poetry, All of It Is You. They also stunned at the GLAAD Awards in gowns designed by Christian Siriano, and wore a gender-neutral white robe for their dazzling queer polyamorous wedding with their partner Bethany Meyers.
And even if you’ve never seen an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, you might have heard of Taylor, famous for her fierce lip syncs and the tightest tuck ever to grace reality television. Chris Pine certainly knows her, anyway — he name-dropped her in a skit on Saturday Night Live. You know, no big deal. Is it any wonder the Alabama beauty came so close to snatching the crown?
“I haven’t really had a full-on conversation with someone who believes that, especially someone who looks outwardly very masculine,” Taylor says in response to Tortorella's discussion of their gender identity. “I am a guy, that’s what I say, but most people when they look at me from the back think I’m a woman. I answer to ma’am.” The conversation later turns to sobriety, with Nico confessing that they stopped drinking because they were hurting themself. “I got a DUI once,” Taylor says. “I’ve never even talked about this on camera.”
Of course, there’s also foundation, a full glitter beard, and the moment of truth: that notorious tuck. Nico’s transformation from TV heartthrob to purple-haired queen of the club is stunning. “I feel beautiful,” they say, admiring their corseted waist and pink outfit. Taylor has to clock them for not going all the way with the tuck. But who among us, really?
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John Paul Brammer is a New York-based writer and advice columnist from Oklahoma whose work has appeared in The Guardian, Slate, NBC, BuzzFeed and more. He is currently in the process of writing his first novel.
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