COLUMBUS, Ohio — Most days of the month you can find Caleb Mikayla Goins-Robinson putting on makeup getting ready to perform in drag.
Goins-Robinson, who identifies as a non-binary person and uses they/them pronouns, has been a drag queen entertainer since 2008.
What You Need To Know
- The Columbus Pride parade and March is today hosted by Stonewall
- The annual event started in 1982 with just around 200 people
- Today it welcomes more than 700,000 visitors to Columbus and the central Ohio region
- Stonewall Columbus’ Patron of Pride is an individual who has fought to ensure the LGBTQ+ community is not only present but seen
“Drag has helped me find my way, find myself, find my identity,” Goins-Robinson said.
They live their life out loud and proud as a member and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. They work as a case manager for Central Outreach Wellness Center and help provide access to health care for all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Goins-Robinson also advocates for HIV and AIDS awareness and helps fight for rights for transgender people.
“My ultimate goal is for the world to realize and understand the individuality of our humanity isn’t a crime,” Goins-Robinson said.
Because of their years of activism, they’ve been chosen as this year’s Stonewall Columbus Patron of Pride.
“I’m willing to stand toe to toe when it comes to my community and my friends and family,” Goins-Robinson said. “So I’m grateful to be the Patron of Pride.”
Stonewall Columbus said the annual event started in 1982 with just around 200 people and today it welcomes more than 700,000 visitors to Columbus and the central Ohio region.
“Pride is always very important because we have legislation canceling, making laws against us, so we fight, we stand, we rally, but it’s not a fight. It’s a march, a celebration,” Goins-Robinson said. “It’s a celebration of life for all people, all identities, all expressions, all generations of life, just being able to be happy and free.”
To Goins-Robinson, Pride is also about celebrating authenticity.
Caleb Mikayla Goins-Robinson dressed as her drag persona Mikayla Denise. (Spectrum News 1/ Taylor Bruck)
“Your life is your life. My life is my life. And we were all created to live individual lives, just celebrate life as a whole and expand the world as a whole, not keep it stuck,” Goins-Robinson said. “We’re not in the 50s or 60s no more. We’re in the new millennial world. So we cannot go back to a boxed experience, a boxed life when we didn’t have the accessibility to what we have today.”
Goins-Robinson said our country has come a long way in terms of rights for LGBTQ+ people, but the community still fights hate every day.
“LGBTQI people have some very amazing journeys and sometimes friends and family miss out on it due to simplistic mindsets, hate and, you know, sometimes bigotry and a lot of things but give us the opportunity and chance to live the life that everyone wants,” Goins-Robinson said. “We all want to have the American dream no matter who you are, your identity or expression. If you take everything flesh-wise and separate it and you see just a skeleton, no matter if you’re Black or white, we’re all the same. So equity, equality, that’s what we’re standing for and fighting for.”
With this Pride and many more to come Goins-Robinson plans to stand up for LGBTQ+ people, aiming to spread more love, in hopes to drown out hate.
“Happy Pride, everyone,” Goins-Robinson said.
The Stonewall Columbus Pride Parade and March steps off at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The festival and resource fair at Goodale Park goes until 8 p.m.
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