Ginger Minj Says ‘Acceptance Starts With Ourselves’ While Picking Songs ‘The Sound Of Pride’ (Exclusive)

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It’s Pride Month! Throughout June, HollywoodLife is celebrating with The Sound Of Pride, where celebs and stars of the LBGTQ+ community pick songs for the ultimate 2023 Pride Month playlist. It’s the perfect soundtrack to planning your Pride party, researching how to protect LGBTQ+ rights, or reading about the history of Pride Month. Ginger Minj, the drag performer who stars in Golden Girls Live! and has appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars, now joins in to offer some southern comfort to the playlist.

“I think the most life-changing time for me was Pride season right after PULSE, and we didn’t know what was going to happen,” says Florida native Ginger Minj to HollywoodLife when discussing Pride Month while picking songs for The Sound of Pride. Based in Orlando, Ginger felt the impact of the June 2016 mass shooting at the PULSE nightclub, leaving 49 patrons dead and 53 more wounded. For Ginger, the attack on the queer nightclub sent ripples throughout the LGBTQ+ community. Ginger put on a brave face to fulfill her bookings. Ginger said that “every single Pride I was invited to [that year] broke attendance records, and the overwhelming sense of love and acceptance was healing.”

With the continual legislative attacks on the community, Ginger says that Pride 2023 “feels a lot more important than any Pride in recent history.” With drag bans and attacks on gender-affirming healthcare running rampant – especially in Ginger’s native Florida – the drag superstar tells HL that a great showing of queer “visibility and joy and strength” needs to be seen by the world.

It also needs to be heard. That’s where The Sound of Pride comes in, as Ginger shares her new single – “I Am What I Am,” along with two other fierce queens. She also shares how to catch her this summer before she drops her new memoir/cookbook/tell-all, Southern Fried Sass.

Ginger Minj, “I Am What I Am”

Kacey Musgraves, “Follow Your Arrow”

Heather Small, “Proud”

“Or, Honestly, anything from the Queer As Folk soundtrack!”

HL: How does this year’s Pride celebration feel when compared to last year’s?

Ginger: “This year feels a lot more important than any Pride in recent history. Visibility and joy and strength in our community needs to be seen and shared with the world.”

Pride is a time to celebrate unsung heroes. Is there anyone you’d like to see get some more of the spotlight this year? 

“We lost Drag Icon Heklina this year, and as popular as she was, I don’t think she ever got the credit she deserved for breaking down doors when other people were too afraid to tip-toe through them. She was abrasive, she was funny, she was unapologetic, and she was very, very important.”

Do you have a memory of Pride Months’ past?

“I was very lucky to be raised by a bunch of queens who went through the Stonewall riots, the AIDS epidemic, Divine becoming the first mainstream drag superstar, RuPaul taking those reigns and reinventing drag more times than Madonna’s reinvented her career, so I’ve never taken a single moment of any Pride celebration for granted!”

“I think the most life-changing time for me was Pride season right after PULSE, and we didn’t know what was going to happen. Would anyone show up? Would we be safe? Would anyone even feel like celebrating? Every single Pride I was invited to broke attendance records, and the overwhelming sense of love and acceptance was healing.”

What do you have planned for June (and the rest of 2023?)

“So much! Right now, I’m in Atlanta playing Blanche in “The Golden Gals Live!” then it’s off to Provincetown all summer and headlining tours in Australia, Europe, and Mexico before releasing my memoir/tell-all/cookbook, Southern Fried Sass, on November 7th! Everything from the meatloaf to the gossip is juicy; preorder a copy now!”

Do you have a Pride 2023 message to share? 

“Acceptance starts with ourselves. Look in the mirror, love what you have to offer, and celebrate YOU! When you put that energy out into the world, you really do get it back!”

Keep reading HollywoodLife throughout June for more entries in The Sound of Pride and additional Pride Month coverage. And remember — fix your heart or die!