After being named Miss Gay America 2023 in Little Rock on Friday night, Jonathan Jackson, a.k.a. Tatiyanna Voche', of Washington, D.C., said he was "speechless" in achieving a dream he had worked toward in 16 years of competing.
"There is overwhelming gratitude to all the people that helped push — get me to this point," Jackson said. "This is not a one-person job, and I'm a really lucky person to have some amazing, amazing people in my corner and they have been for a long time."
Over the past two years, Jackson traveled the country to support "sisters" in preliminary competitions and at their regular club performances.
When he's not in drag, Jackson is a hairstylist, but said his favorite title is "uncle."
To his fellow contestants vying for the crown, he wants to remind them to appreciate the journey.
"When the moment finally happens, it's almost like a flash of all of the years of people that you've met, people that have supported you and pushed you. The journey makes the end that much sweeter," he said.
Among the other contestants named in the top 10 of the national competition at the Robinson Center Performance Hall, Jackson stood out in the talent portion with the only tap dance, a performance of "42nd Street." Earlier in the competition, he did a number to "Flashdance."
Despite his technique, Jackson said he's never taken a tap dance class but went to school for musical theater at Towson University in Maryland and had help from "amazing people" along the way.
Amid potential laws surrounding the restriction of drag queens' rights, Jackson said the community needs to "bond together" and "stay strong."
"We've been down this road before," he said. "This is not uncharted territory. But we need to stand very strong together and make people know, we're here and we're not going anywhere and we're very proud. And we offer a lot to this community by taking people out of their daily struggles or the sad things that they face on a daily basis. If we can take that away and out of their mind for five minutes, then it's worth it, so it's our time to stay strong as a community."
He said the Arkansas Senate committee's approval last week of Senate Bill 43, which would suspend drag performances in public spaces and categorize them as "adult-oriented" among adult live entertainment and theaters, escort agencies and more, was sad and surprised him.
"After being here the last two years and talking with the hotel staff or the theater staff, they're not in support of that," he said. "And it seems that there are a lot of people in the state that are not. So the only thing I hope is that they speak up and that they make their voice heard. We have a platform as female entertainers, and everyone has a responsibility right now. That's how we move forward in this world, strong and together."
Chloe Knox, named to the top 10 at the Miss Gay America Pageant, performs her talent on Friday at the Robinson Center Performance Hall in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)