Meet Mama MadB: the Canberra drag queen changing the lives of queer and trans Indigenous youth
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Local drag queen and founder of Rainbow Mob, Mama MadB, is on a mission to improve the lives of queer and trans Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth across Australia.
The drag persona of Shawnah Cady (they/she/he/it) – a Djabunganydji and Kaurareg person who moved to Canberra from Cairns 12 years ago – Mama MadB has become a darling of both the local and national drag scene since they started professional drag in 2017.
Identifying as a sisterboy (a term coined by local Alistair Ott to describe non-binary Indigenous people), MadB – which is short for ‘mum and dad both’, inspired by their dual role to their four children – has performed at major events including Sydney World Pride and Mardi Gras, and took home the Miss Personality title at the Miss First Nations drag pageant in 2018.
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Rainbow Mob
Founded in 2017 by Mama MadB, Rainbow Mob is the first organisation in Australia dedicated to providing peer support services for SBLGBTQIA+* Indigenous youth.
According to a report published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2022, SBLGBTQIA+ Indigenous people have a compounded risk of suicide-related behaviour due to their intersecting experiences of discrimination, exclusion, and violence.
For Indigenous youth, the fear of rejection is especially pronounced. Due to a lack of awareness and education around SBLGBTQIA+ people in rural communities, some young SBLGBTQIA+ Indigenous people move to bigger cities in search of acceptance and support. However, without access to the right support services, many find themselves in unsafe situations.
Rainbow Mob is attempting to intervene at these critical points by securing funding for SBLGBTQIA+ education and awareness campaigns for Indigenous communities, as well as supporting SBLGBTQIA+ Indigenous youth in urban areas through the provision of food coupons, temporary housing, and mentorship.
“The remote communities… don’t actually have an awareness campaign on the whole [SBLGBTQIA+] acronym and such,” explains Mama MadB.
“They get lesbian, they get gay, some of them get bi[sexual], but everything else is such a grey area. A lot of that creates confusion. I’ve got family who have killed themselves over gender [confusion]. Our youth need to make it to adulthood. Ideally, every city will have a house one day where queer Blak kids can stay. Until then, we will keep fighting.”
An activist drag queen: “big white sneakers and a flamenco dress”
Outside of Rainbow Mob, Mama MadB is a key fixture of the activist scene and is vocal in advocating for the rights of other marginalised groups. In fact, it was through activism that they got into professional drag.
During the Safe Schools Coalition Australia initiative in 2017, which sought to make schools safer and more inclusive for SBLGBTQIA+ students, Mama MadB took to the streets in “big white sneakers and a flamenco dress” to show their support.
“I talked to my friend and they were like, “I’ll do your face – we’ll have a ball… [it was about] showing young queers – and especially young Blak queers – that we’re here, we’ve been around for a long time.”
It was at that event that Mama MadB was approached by a drag queen and brought along to a drag show.
“It was a competition run by an older queen named Tammy Paks. It was ‘Canberra So You Think You Can Drag’. And that’s when I was actually, fully, properly finding out about drag.”
Prior to this, Mama MadB had been involved in performances through their community arts centre, where they experimented with non-binary characters and integrated elements of feminine influence into their shows. Performance was part of how they came to discover their sisterboy identity.
“I’ve always been a diva… I’ve had my parents both confirm that I was asking for sparkly dresses to be a fairy when I was seven or something. It was always there!”
Drag is for everyone
When asked whether drag has any limits on who can participate, Mama MadB was adamant that there are none.
“It’s definitely a place for everybody. It’s not a thing just for cis-men. People who see it as that are not realising where they’re coming from and their privileges.”
“Drag doesn’t have all those barriers. It’s about accepting everybody… Anybody who wants to be a part of it – as long as they participate – can be.”
For some people, drag may be a critical part of their self-discovery, as it provides a safe and comfortable space to explore and experiment with gender and identity. Mama MadB is passionate that queer spaces should be about inclusion and allowing people to express themselves without the fear of judgment.
“We have transmascs and transbabies who use drag as where they learn about their stuff before they come out… Drag is that breeding ground for getting to find yourself as a human and where you fit.”
Find out more:
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Mama MadB
- Facebook: facebook.com/MadBDiva
- Instagram: @madbdiva
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Rainbow Mob
- Instagram: @rainbowmoborg
- Tiktok: @rainbowmoborg
*SBLGBTQIA+ stands for sistergirl, brotherboy, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and/or aromantic, and the + acknowledges other identities within the community. Sistergirl and brotherboy are terms used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to describe transgender people.
Feature image via Facebook.
