Love Languages: Drag Race Down Under star Anita Wigl'it on pursuing her passions

Anita Wigl'it featured on the first ever series of Ru Paul's Drag Race Down Under. Photo / @anitawiglit

A love language I couldn't possibly skip past in this series is passion. It's the reason we follow our dreams. Our passion can be anything from sport to music or art, or if you're Anita Wigl'it, it's drag. This week, I sat down with the RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under contestant to talk about all things drag and how a fiery passion ignited a star.

Anita is personable, her smile is friendly, her energy warm, and it is not surprising that she has such a loyal fan base. In just the past three weeks, Anita's Instagram following has grown from 49k to an impressive 68.3k (and counting). With a large following like hers, I couldn't help but ask if her online community involves any haters.

"The only hate was like 'oh she's too much for me' or 'I can't handle her nose' and I'm like neither can I, try living with it," she laughs.

And any hate she receives in person is brushed off just as quickly. "It's not worth worrying about their opinions because their opinions don't matter to me at all. I'm surrounded by an incredible community, like Family Bar where you can go, and you're celebrated for being you."

Speaking of Family Bar, the K Rd institution holds special significance in Anita's career. After making her drag debut at her own Priscilla-themed 21st birthday, she couldn't help but seek more opportunities. "I contacted Family Bar and said I've started doing some drag, would you ever be interested in getting more performers? I started working with them and it's kind of just eventuated."

Anita tells me her passion for drag ignited after watching Priscilla, and from there she started seeing drag performers and practicing her own shows. When she felt the joy it brought other people as well as herself, she decided to leave the Navy band in which she played the trumpet and build a career in the wonderful world of drag.

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"Making the decision to leave the Navy was the best thing I've ever done because it's just opened so many opportunities and now, I'm making a name for myself."

One thing you'll notice about Anita is her positive outlook. It's an asset she brings to her businesses, particularly Caluzzi on K Rd, which she owns with fellow drag queen and RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under winner Kita Mean.

"When people go to Caluzzi, we want them to act childish and act silly. Have a couple glasses of wine and dance and be stupid with your friends because it's so fun, it's such an escape."

The world of drag is an inclusive one where all bodies, genders, sexualities and identities are encouraged to participate and enjoy the show.

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"Drag is for everyone. Previously it used to be a man dressed as a woman but now it can be anything.

"It's nice in a world where gender doesn't matter."

During the screening of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, Anita would receive great stories from fans, one of which included a very wholesome dad. "There are great videos of people watching Drag Race, like dads. The dad will be like 'she shouldn't have got out' and get really into it. It's so cute."

But it's not surprising feedback. When we spoke about what makes drag so appealing, Anita put it perfectly.

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"They are so magical as soon as you see them. If a drag queen walked in now, they would steal the attention because of the way they look and on top of that, they put on a show. It's just so fun."

So, what's next for the popular Kiwi queen?

She is performing her solo show around the country and has a booked-out schedule until October, but ultimately Anita is going to work hard and say yes to almost everything in the hopes it will lead to her dream role: Bernadette Bassenger in the stage performance of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.

Or maybe even a movie.

"I see all these people at the Academy Awards, the Tonys, the Oscars and I think gosh, why not try and see where the world takes you. I could be in a movie one day when they need a drag queen."