Shia Ho And The Dim Sum Divas Are Taking Over The NYC Drag Scene

Photos by Troy Hallahan for So.Gay

After finding a desire for more nightlife that embraces queer and AAPI pride, Ho began hosting the Dim Sum Divas events to great success.

Read our full interview with Shia Ho, and see our photo shoot with fellow Dim Sum Divas Angel Au and Felicia Oh below.

So.Gay: How did Dim Sum Divas begin?

Shia Ho: Dim Sum Divas started because we wanted to do a drag bunch that was all Asian, while also celebrating Asian culture. That’s exactly what Dim Sum Divas offers.

When we started almost a year ago, there wasn’t really any dim sum drag in New York. There have been a few throughout the country in Chicago and San Francisco, they’re even in Canada, but there’s nothing like that here. The cast we have now is the same as what we started with. The team is: Shia Ho, Angel Au, Felicia Oh, and BaeJing.

It’s definitely the same, but it used to be at a different venue. It was not at a restaurant, it was at a club that used to serve dim sum, which they no longer do. After a short break, we saw that Meili opened up. We worked with the owners before at a different restaurant for another event. We brought back Dim Sum Divas.

So.Gay: Congratulations. Dim sum and drag seem like the perfect combination.

Shia Ho: Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. The food is actually very delicious. I think just generally, it’s a better experience for the customers as well.

So.Gay: We’d love to know about your experience being an Asian drag queen in New York City. When did you begin and how has it evolved for you?

Shia Ho: I’ve been doing drag for over six years, closer to seven years at this point. I started it as a hobby. I like makeup. I like making clothes, doing fashion, or just fashion in general.

I like to perform. Performing started as a hobby, and then from there, I realized there wasn’t a lot of Asian representation in nightlife as a whole, and especially in queer nightlife. I wanted to create spaces for that. I started the very first all Asian drag show, a recurring Asian drag show that happened every week at a club that shut down, no longer exists in Hell’s Kitchen. From there, I was like, “Hey, let’s take another step and like make it bigger.” That’s when I started creating parties and drag shows specifically for the AAPI community or queer AAPI community.

My parties are a place for Asian folks to shine, where we are celebrated, and it’s a safe space for us, while also being unapologetically queer. I think before that, there wasn’t much of that. People have tried. There have been clubs that are more Asian in the past. However, they no longer exist now.

Spaces like that don’t really exist. For most drag performers, I think Asian people were kind of tokenized or forgotten about. We still are. I still see it now. I still call out people for not having diverse casting, especially if you have 20 drag queens in one show. Why are none of them part of the AAPI community? My work, in a way, is a protest. I love creating shows and parties where we can shine.

Being an Asian drag queen has been kind of difficult. When they say, “if you’re not invited to the dinner table, you create your own table.” So that’s exactly what I did.

So.Gay: Between planning events and performing at them, do you have a preference?

Shia Ho: Well, I started off performing. I would say I love performing. I love getting into drag. But there are days when I hate getting into drag. Just producing parties is a lot easier for me. But also producing parties is a lot riskier because, you know, you will not always make your money back. You’re booking all these queer people, and you have to pay them.

Will I take the risk and lose some money, just so I can provide it back to the community? I think they’re both rewarding. Drag is a different outlet for me. It’s a lot more artistic. The spotlight is on me. With parties, it shouldn’t be about me. There are, of course, party producers who make it about themselves. But I don’t really see it that way.

It should be a place for queer people to celebrate, have fun, and forget about what’s going on in the world right now. Drag is similar, it’s showing off what I have to offer and my way to give back to the community in a different way. But yeah, I wouldn’t say I prefer one more than the other. There are weeks where I perform to perform. I’d rather just perform and not have to be in the background planning and organizing. Some days, I don’t want to get into drag because it’s not comfortable. I like both equally, just depending on my mood.

So.Gay: How does it feel to be the glue that’s bringing people together?

Shia Ho: For me, it just comes naturally. We need to stick together in order to win any kind of fight or any kind of injustice. Even just doing drag is very political for me.

I think it should be political because right now our existence is being politicized. I also like to organize things, I’m very much a Capricorn. It just comes naturally for me.

I also think there could be a lot more work in nightlife or parties. We can change and book more diverse people. Putting into perspective, for like drag shows, most times you only see drag queens, but there are a lot of drag kings and people that are very talented that we don’t showcase enough or aren’t given opportunities to. I want to create these spaces. I could book these people because I am the boss, and I can make these decisions to book more diverse performers. Also, highlighting disabled or differently abled people and performers, as well as creating space for disabled and differently abled people, is important. I would say like 90% of my shows have an ASL interpreter. I always provide seating for people who can’t stand.

And even though I’m not providing like 100 seats, it’s at least like five or whatever amount that people request, I’m happy to provide that. Drag should be for everyone. It is an art form that should be appreciated by all. There are queer people who come from different walks of life.

So.Gay: In addition to Dim Sum Divas, you throw really fun events. Talk about Twink’y — ‘For Twinks, Twunks, T-Boys, and T’wases.’ What the hell is that, and how can we attend?

Shia Ho: It’s a new bi-weekly party. It is a party for Twinks, Twunks, T-boys, and T’Wases. I made up that last one, for anyone who used to be twink-y. Most people think of Twink parties as being like skinny, young boys. But this is actually a party for everyone, which is why I use all the names in the title.

I like to book trans masc folks as go-go dancers and hosts, because I feel like there’s not a lot of space for trans masc people.

T’Wases are anyone. Whether you’re a bear now or you feel you aged out of being a twink, or if you’re a doll that transitioned, I think everyone falls within the T’Wases category.

The branding is very much based on the Twinkie snack that we eat. It’s a very camp, it’s fun. But it’s also very diverse. I try to keep it very diverse and accessible as much as possible, just like my other events.

It’s just mostly pop music and house music. We also do the ‘Twinkie of the Month.’ It happens at the Rosemont in Brooklyn.

So.Gay: That sounds insanely fun. You should be so proud of that.