Supergirl star, Nicole Maines, 22, typically celebrates Pride month at the Los Angeles Pride parade. But the 2020 GLAAD Award nominee who is known by many fans as ‘Dreamer’, TV’s first transgender superhero on the CW hit series, feels the definition of Pride has “shifted” this year. In the wake of George Floyd‘s tragic death on May 25 at the hands of disgraced former officer Derek Chauvin and the Trump administration finalizing a regulation that will erase protections for transgender patients against discrimination by doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies on June 12, Nicole recognizes the need for “solidarity.”
Nicole Maines, transgender rights activist, EXCLUSIVELY tells HollywoodLife:
What does Pride mean to you? “The definition of Pride for me has kind of shifted this year. Normally it’s a celebration for me. It’s a celebration of our community, the culture, the progress we’ve made, the freedom to be openly queer. But I think this year with everything that’s been going on in the world, I’ve really become more aware that not everyone has that same freedom to celebrate.
“A lot of people, especially Black queer people, have been fighting multiple battles. I think Pride, this year, and Pride moving forward, needs to be about the solidarity of our community. It needs to be about all of us uplifting each other and recognizing struggles that we might not necessarily have the other members of our community do, because I don’t think we can really, truly celebrate our freedom unless we all have that same freedom.”
How are you honoring Pride Month while in quarantine? “I decorated the entire front of my house and I’m in a Texan suburb so there’s not a lot of rainbow representation out here. So I went online and I bought a bunch of Pride flags and Pride gear. Along the entire front wall of my house I hung different Pride flags across the side of the house. I had many Pride flags on a string that I hung up between the trees, and I bought some of those plastic lawn flamingos, but they’re rainbow, so I have those in the yard, too.”
How do you normally celebrate Pride Month? Do you go to a parade? “Normally this time of year I’m in Los Angeles and I’d normally go to LA Pride and get on my Pride gear. Last year, I went with a couple of friends and some cast mates, and we had a really, really good time.”
Who is your ultimate LGBTQ icon? “There are a few, but Lady Gaga never ceases to amaze and inspire me. I mean, I will never forget the year ‘Born This Way’ came out and it was the first time I had heard the word ‘transgender’ in a song ever let alone, being celebrated. And I went, I was going to Camp Aranu’tiq, which is a camp, a summer camp for trans and gender non-conforming kids. And you have never seen a happier group of kids running around that summer.
“That song was on constant repeat. It was just so, I mean we were so proud to be trans listening to that song. I remember when she was going around doing her Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Tour and she came to me and I watched her speak in the park with my dad and she was just so brilliant and well-spoken.”
What advice do you have for LGBTQ celebrating their first Pride this year? “The first thing I would say is that I swear there’s usually more glitter than this. I would say that just because we’re social distancing does not mean that we are alone, and it does not mean that we have to celebrate alone. You know, we’re more connected than we’ve ever been. FaceTime, Zoom, reach out via social media to your friends, so many of us have an online queer community that we can reach out to and celebrate with. So I would say do that, don’t isolate yourself. Don’t trick yourself into thinking that you don’t have a community this year.”