Plastique Tiara on Vietnamese Identity and the Power of Drag

The world knows Plastique Tiara as a “social media queen” — she’s TikTok’s most-followed drag creator with over 11 million followers, and has gone viral countless times for looks inspired by her Vietnamese upbringing and pop stars from her native country. She’s also a fan-favorite contestant from season 11 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and is now back in the franchise, currently competing to win $200,000 for The Asian American Foundation, her charity of choice, on season 9 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.”

But before she created her drag alter ego, Duc Tran Nguyen was a quiet, A+ student who grew up in a religious household in Vietnam and was raised by her grandparents. “I always knew that I was different. But I loved my grandparents so, so much and never wanted to hurt them in any way, so I hid myself. I kept to myself and buried my thoughts in studying,” she says. She explains there were “little to no” LGBTQ+ influences in Vietnam at the time. She didn’t know what “being gay” meant, let alone that queer and drag communities even existed, until she immigrated to the US at 10 years old.

“When I realized that I do have that same power in and out of drag, it rocked my whole world.”

That’s when she discovered “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and eventually, Plastique Tiara was born. “I watched [‘Drag Race’] on Logo [TV] back in the day at 11 p.m. every week when my mom was asleep,” she says. “I started to realize, ‘Wow, who I am is kind of OK,’ and everything changed.” At 18, Tiara started performing in amateur drag contests at a local bar in Dallas, and at 21, she auditioned for “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and made it onto season 11 of the series. Although she was eliminated early on in the competition, her social media presence skyrocketed.

At first, Tiara says she used drag as a “shield” to hide behind. “When you’re a drag queen, you come with no other preconceived notions. You’re not known by your name, how you look in real life, or your occupation. You’re this untouchable character.” But “slowly and surely,” this persona allowed her to gain confidence in herself — without the drag. She adds, “RuPaul always says, ‘The power that I have in drag is the same when I’m out of drag,’ and that is so powerful to me. When I realized that I do have that same power in and out of drag, it rocked my whole world.”

She had a similar epiphany when she returned to Vietnam for the first time in 14 years after the pandemic. Many Asian Americans have talked about experiencing an awakening of sorts at some point in their lives, in which they feel empowered to embrace their roots after rejecting their heritage for so long. Tiara compares her own to that of a transformation scene in “Sailor Moon.”

“As an immigrant, when you go over to a new country, you just want to assimilate as much as you can in order to blend in to the culture: head down, walk fast,” she says. But while on vacation with her boyfriend, she was surprised to see how the country had changed and drag culture had started booming. “That was when I realized, ‘Wow, this is a whole different world. I don’t have to hide who I am just to get by. I can be 100 percent myself and be celebrated by everyone.’ I realized what I’m doing is way bigger than me and could influence other kids to be themselves and live their authentic lives. Me being Vietnamese, me being Asian is a lot of who I am, and what I’m doing really matters.” Since that revelation, she’s made every effort to pour her Vietnamese culture and pride into her drag. “Everything that I do now, I try to represent where I’m from,” she says.

The power drag holds is not lost on Tiara. Drag challenges gender stereotypes and increases visibility of all LGBTQ+ folks, especially the younger generation. But in Tiara’s own life, drag has allowed her to reconnect with her family. “When I was trying to come out, it wasn’t very well received,” she shares. “So when I turned 18, 19, I went out on my own and did my own thing. I didn’t want to really contact them until I made something of myself. I think during that time, they realized that who I am was not of my own choosing, but how I was made.”

Now, Tiara’s family recognizes her influence and the successes under her belt. “My relationship with my family is almost mended now because of drag,” she says. “My grandma texted me this morning. She was like, ‘I saw that you won a challenge — congratulations!’ My family being proud of me doing drag is something that I never saw coming honestly.”

That’s the beauty of representation. It helps people all over the world — even your own family — understand you and your identity better. And for Tiara, “It means everything to me.”

Yerin Kim is the features editor at POPSUGAR, where she helps shape the vision for special features and packages across the network. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, she has over five years of experience in the pop culture and women’s lifestyle spaces. She’s passionate about spreading cultural sensitivity through the lenses of lifestyle, entertainment, and style.