Growing up in Townsville obsessed with rugby competition, there wasn’t much to do but buy football when you were a little boy.
But what if football doesn’t appeal to you? And what if you didn’t even know if you were a boy?
That was the reality of Roÿmata Holmes, the sibling of North Queensland Cowboys and Maroons center Valentine Holmes.
Today, Roÿmata [who goes by the stage name of Miss MarToya]she/she uses pronouns and is attracted to both men and women.
Roÿmata is an artist, drag queen, singer and dancer who has performed on stages in Australia and New Zealand.
Their latest show is I am King. I am Queen, an autobiographical show about the rise of an unconnected child in Townsville to the glamorous life they enjoy on stage today.
“Making this autobiographical show is about reclaiming my voice, reclaiming my truth, and reclaiming my brown, gay body,” they said. Broadway World.
“For most of my life I felt like I had to hide and suppress my authentic self in order to fit into the football circle.
Roÿmata Holmes goes by the stage name Miss MarToya and is a popular performer
Manly’s pride jersey has split opinion across Australia after seven players refused to play
“I dimmed my own light so I wouldn’t be seen for the wrong reasons, but as I grew older and wiser, I learned by being my own authentic self that I would attract the right people who would appreciate me and my gifts. ‘
Growing up in Townsville meant Roÿmata was mainly exposed to two demographics, the footy crowd and the music crowd. To stay with their siblings and friends meant picking up the Steeden, even though it never felt right.
“I grew up in a small town called Townsville. If you’re a football fan, in the league, then the Cowboys, you know them,” Roymata recently said in an interview with The Heat FM Rotorua 991.
“So it was a very small town I think to express yourself and the only way you could express yourself was through football.
“It was a nice way for some, but for others who didn’t know how to find that expression within football, struggled a bit and had a bit of a disconnect.
“I was one of those people who found that gap within football culture.
“But because all my friends did it, it was just a social thing that we all did. We played music after school and then we went to footy training and then we just kept jamming.
Valentine Holmes snaps a selfie with fans after the Cowboys’ latest win over the Tigers
“But there was no real passion for it. Until I found the performance and it appealed to me and I thought: this is what you have to do, this is your calling.’
Representation was a huge factor for Roÿmata in Townsville. There was no one around to represent who they were inside.
It wasn’t until Roÿmata moved to New Zealand’s Wellington to pursue a dance career that their eyes opened completely.
“Growing up in the small country town of Townsville, there was no representation for me to be like ‘oh, I’m like that’ or ‘that’s pretty cool,’” they said.
‘It was just really hot, so you’re just everyone is always in shirts and stubbies, so there was no way to express yourself in clothes.
‘I couldn’t find the language until I moved to Wellington, where I went to dance school and got to know such a diverse range of people who lived in that city.
Roÿmata is non-binary and uses the pronouns she/she and is attracted to men and women
“It really taught me a lot about the expression to be free and that there was no judgment from others.
“Nobody cared once you walked past it. I could walk down Cuba Street in heels and nobody would [react] – and I loved that.
“I’m doing myself for myself, I’m not doing myself for anyone else.”
The NRL is currently in the throes of a major debate about pride, equality, inclusion and diversity following Manly’s forced attempt at a pride jersey that resulted in seven players withdrawing from their game against the Roosters on Thursday.
Roÿmata often combines traditional male and female looks in the same execution
Roÿmata’s interview was before the pride jersey was ever announced, but their words still ring true today. Roÿmata believes that education, not forced inclusion, is the key to harmony.
“You want to teach, but you don’t want to sound like you’re preaching. You don’t want to force anyone that this is what’s happening,” they said.
‘You want people to discover it for themselves, you almost just want to plant the seeds and maybe let them tap into it or see that it’s something.
‘That a she/she pronoun isn’t just trending, it’s actually a way of life and a way of representing yourself.
“My only hope is that the next time (people) see a drag queen on the street, in a club, or in a theater, they see us and say hello.
“At the end of the night we’re still human, we have someone who loves us and waits for us to come home, just like you.
“Treat us with the kindness and compassion with which you want to be treated.”