Gina Touche

Can you tell us your name and where you are from?

My name is Christopher Sadler, a.k.a. Gina Touche. I'm originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, but I now live in Mount Vernon, Washington.

What are your pronouns, and how do you identify?

I go by he/they, and I fall in the queer spectrum because I feel a lot of gayness. I feel non-binaryness and a little bit of two-spiritedness. So, you know, it's kind of a mix of glitter.

What brought you to the Seattle area?

My best friend I met in high school and we instantly connected. We were just like Siamese twins. I never had that kind of friendship. And then she moved up here, so I was like, Well, I might as well because I don't know anybody anywhere else. I don't want to be in Louisiana. It's the prime opportunity. I was just finishing up some school and here I am. That was 2003.

And so, what have you been doing since you moved to Mount Vernon?

I am creating love and light, of course. Working and living in my dream realm, as I like to say, are things I get to do that I never really thought I'd be doing. And I also get paid to do some of them, which is crazy. So because it doesn't feel like work, it just feels like fun.

What brings you the most joy?

Creating joyful moments, joyful situations, joyful events, and joyful creations like Gina to help people to love themselves.

Tell us about Gina Touché.

Yeah, I'm Gina.

I was allowed to flourish, with drag into a broader sense of community, and Gina was the catalyst for that change. She is the glitter and singing sassy part of me because it's just me but that extra stuff on, but it's like armor, really.

I mean, when you think about it, anybody who does any kind of creative art is showing the armor that they created through the turmoil and strife of bullying and name-calling, taking the negative and turning it into something that I just call love light.

How have you come to understand yourself better?

It comes down to perspective. [Performing allows] you get to see yourself through other people's eyes, their words, and actions because it's a reflection of what you're giving to them. So, for me, it has allowed me to watch how people behave and hold myself accountable, knowing that it's not all just one-sided and taking responsibility for my own life and removing that guilty conscience that says, “I have to be responsible for other people” Because you can choose to be negative, or you can choose to be positive. I choose to be sassy and positive.

How are you building a drag community?

So, I have a plethora of drag children now. I'm the mother of the house Touche’, and it's been really interesting to see what I wanted to put out into the world manifest itself into other characters who then go out and kind of emulate that without me having any control over it,

Which [is difficult because] I'm a control freak. But it's nice to see that I have tried to create this love/life, which is reciprocal joy, and that people are willing to take that name, message, and energy and give it out to other people. That means a lot to me. It's one of those out-of-body experiences.

I watch them and hear their name, which is attached to my name and all I do. Then, I hear the response from other individuals. And that's really where you find that validation of creation.

What do you say the differences are between Christopher and Gina?

Gina's nicer than Christopher. Christopher is more like the no-bullshit, very frank blood; kind of tell it how it is, but not as cushiony. Gina does it more with love. [When performing] I just kind of put Chris on the back burner, and I try to live that Gina life because it is all me, you know, and my regular self. And this happens with a lot of drag performers and artists in general. When you're making your normal self, you tend to think about things that may be darker, or you may set an energy.

Chris is a quieter version of Gina, the most reserved version of Gina that still doesn't bullshit.

What would you say is the color of your soul?

Well, I am connected to the color green. I'm Taurus, Earth-signed, so I'm very water, sand, and fire. I'm very connected to the earth; I feel like green is the color and energy of growth and process.

 I'm taking from the good to create more good, and it's just a good-feeling color: green.

How how do you feel valued?

I want people to value my sense of love, tenacity, and effort. I want people to value the lessons they take from interacting with me. I want people to value what they receive from me in their own lives and get to create.

What are some words of advice?

I would tell people to love, light, and lift them up where they stand. Reintroduce them to their inner light so they can feel better about life in general, maybe create their tidal wave of love for other people, and then just continue to lift people up because we're all at the bottom sometimes, and we always need a hand.

It can be a simple smile.