Meet the 'street walker, queer talker' with a heart of gold

Marie-Adélina de la Ferrière: Tell our readers a bit about yourself.

Tiara Skye: Firstly, thank you so, so much for having me. I would say that I'm a "street walker, queer talker." I'm a queer girl, darling. And I've just been connecting with our community and people in the streets in a way that we were all longing for, which is to be able to connect and laugh and be a bit silly.

How did you become the "street walker, queer talker"?

Well, I've always been a performer. I'm from Cape Town, South Africa, and when I was there, I was a performer until I came to the U.K. However, I decided to give it up for a bit because it felt like passion didn't pay, darling. We've all been there.

So I went back into the workforce. I worked at Madame Tussauds for a while. And that felt like performing in itself, speaking to so many people. I would talk to about 5,000 people in a day. And it just reminded me of what I was capable of.

That's when I decided to speak to strangers. As a trans woman, I've always been kind of scared of the world in a way, and I've always acted out by showing up loud and proud. But this also taught me that people do want to get along. People are not that afraid of difference. We just want to be happy together.

Who has been the source of inspiration when doing your on-the-street interviews?

There have been a few. I've always loved RuPaul. Billy of the Street. Dame Edna. Joan Rivers, I adore, darling. And just, you know, being queer in general is the inspiration. We do want to put ourselves out there in every possible way that we can.

You've had several viral videos. One of the most recent ones involved you countering a transphobic woman on the street who hurled insults toward you. What is it like in that moment?

I was so shocked in that moment.

I'm so oblivious to those things. But it does happen. But my wish is always to just focus on the positive. But when it happened, I was so shocked. I really couldn't believe that this girl is the guy started by screaming batiman (a slur for effeminate/gay men) at me. So, I went past them, and they started screaming. But I went to them and said, "Do they think that it's okay to be screaming that at someone in the streets, you know?"

As a trans woman, I can be very defensive. So just being able to use my words in that moment was a big growing lesson for me, actually. Someone pulled my hair once in the streets, and I slapped him. It was a big step for me to use my words, but I was hurt in the moment.

So, what is the best tactic to stand up against hate?

I think being a bit confrontational is important. Never be the first one to spew hate to others. However, when we do receive it, it is essential for us to let them know that we are not satisfied with it.

It's important for our allies as well to say, "Excuse me, don't speak to that person like that." Because not everyone is confrontational. But being queer is worth standing up for, darling. There are a lot of people in the street standing up for me when she [the transphobic heckler] was going off like that.

This is why I want to record, because it does make a difference. It does change people's opinions, and it also helps me not to hide myself and go out there and do my thing, darling.

But yeah, we should check a bitch.

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