In our “Strong Women” section, we present women who achieve great things for society. This month, on the other hand, we’re putting a strong person in the spotlight: Oxa is a singer, a musical performer and non-binary. For the people out there, Oxa has a simple and powerful message: be who you are.
At the age of 32, singer, dancer and musical actor Oxa has already been able to build a very successful career in show business. Raised in a small town near the Brazilian city of São Paulo, winning a competitive show saw Oxa land a backing dance with pop icon Jennifer Lopez in Las Vegas. “For me, that was the first big – and great – production of my life,” Oxa recalls in an interview. It had been Oxa’s dream to date to be able to work with a “Hollywood diva”, as she describes it (Oxa uses the pronouns “they/them”, which are used by non-binary people in English. In German there is still no established counterpart, which is why we use the English pronouns). At the age of 21, the dream of working with a “diva” had come true. “It was one of my highlights in life, as a person and also as an artist.”
“Two souls live in me”
At the time, Oxa was still using her birth name, Clayton Sia. But when their own sister died of cancer, something changed in them. “I felt something in my heart, like something inside wasn’t really true,” she recalls. At that time, Oxa had gotten her second job in Germany and was on stage for the musical “Kinky Boots”. The play showed Oxa a lot about the queer world and made them realize that Oxa couldn’t limit himself to one gender. “I realized that I’m not really a man or a woman, I feel like both.”
Oxa is non-binary, meaning it cannot be reduced to either binary gender. They have always carried this knowledge within themselves. “I think that there are two souls living in my body, and every day I look in which direction I’m going.” Oxa, who until then had only used this name for the stage, decided to adopt it as their own. “My mother gave me the name Clayton Sia, but I had to find a name that felt better for me.”
The “O” stands for the male energy in nature, the “A” for the female. “And the ‘X’ in the middle is my body, or my soul,” explains Oxa. “It means the simultaneity of the different sides. And I thought to myself: That’s exactly what represents me.”
“I stand for people, love, acceptance and respect.”
Oxa is open about her own gender identity. In an interview with “Schwulissimo” Oxa once said that representation is a message and that Oxas says: “Be who you are.” People would be able to see who they are unfiltered on social media. “I show my personal life on Instagram, people can see that I’m an LGBTQIA+ person. I don’t have to explain who I am on a daily basis, but the non-binary community is still young. Pronouns like ‘they/them’ or ‘ he:they’ are still new to many and make some people nervous, but it brings everyone together.”
The LBGTQIA+ community is here to create a better world, Oxa said. And they want to do their part. “I have a reason to be on this earth. And I’m fighting for myself and my dream. It’s important to me that people get inspiration from my life.” But even if Oxa is a queer person, they stand for more than that, emphasizes the musical actor: “I stand for people, for love, for acceptance, for respect. If we all did that If the world were a better place, we would have a better society.”
With the message: “Be who you are”, Oxa doesn’t just mean queer people. “I’m not saying, ‘Be lesbian or be non-binary.’ But be who you are, as a person. Be honest. Say what you want. Say it with respect. Be friendly. Don’t ask yourself in every situation whether you can or should say this.” It is important that everyone starts small. Because first you have to be honest with yourself – “then everything else will come”.
“Boys and girls should feel represented” Oxa will be appearing on the stage of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”. © Matthew Murphy
From November 6th, Oxa will be back on stage. This time she slips into the role of Baby Doll in the musical version of “Moulin Rouge”. A quote that is often used in the context of the film and now also the musical is: “No matter how sinful your lust, no matter how pleasurable your sin, you are welcome here.” A quote that, in Oxa’s opinion, perfectly sums up the atmosphere of the musical (and establishment): “When they walk through the door to the musical, people can be themselves for those three hours. They can celebrate passion, freedom and beauty with us. “
Oxa’s role Baby Doll is a drag queen who plays more of a “she” in the first act, and more of a “he” in the second, as Oxa describes it. “This character, this role of Baby Doll, is so important because I want the guys and girls who are in the audience and see Baby Doll to feel represented and inspired. They should see Baby Doll and think, ‘Okay, I can do that too do like that.’ Not just on stage, but off the stage: just be who you are.”
Sources used: Interview, schwulissimo.de, staatstheater-nuernberg.de, moulin-rouge-musical.de