Interview with DigiDragon7

Kai, aka DigiDragon7, (he/they) is a queer art and gaming streamer. He recently helped fundraise for my new streaming computer! I asked him about themself and their content, as well as content he’s been enjoying recently. You can check out Kai at the links at the end of the interview.

1. What queer terminology do you use for yourself publicly? Do not feel pressured to come out as anything in your answer. Please only disclose whatever you’re comfortable with.
   • I’d call myself a polyamourous demisexual panromantic trans masc individual. being called a man has never felt right for me. i’ve considered calling myself maybe a demi-boy, but i’m content with just being known as a trans masc. at least for the moment, it describes me.
   • although i will say that i only really describe myself as this to people who are also queer as they’re more likely to understand and accept things and only ask questions out of intrigue.
   • to general cishet allo people i’d just say i’m queer and a trans man as its easier for them to understand most of the time, especially if i’m the first openly queer person they’ve ever met.
2. What non-queer demographic terminology do you use for yourself? Again, please only disclose whatever you’re comfortable with.
   • i’d just call myself white british.
   • i’m 21.
   • i live in england and hail from herefordshire, but currently live in leeds in west yorkshire county.
3. What projects are you involved in?
   • i’m not currently involved in any projects as my living situation has caused me to become very stressed about involving myself with things, but i’m hoping to participate in projects as part of the communities i’m part of in the future.
4. What non-creative hobbies do you enjoy?
   • non-creative hobbies i think would include watching a lot of youtube to chill; playing video-games; discussing topics of interest with my partners, usually involving politics; and generally perusing the internet and social media.
5. What does the queer community needs to do better about understanding, accepting, and supporting?
   • the queer community as a whole needs to do better to unite and show solidarity within itself. there has been so much infighting between communities that has been needless and fruitless. younger queers especially need to understand that there are more important things that need to be discussed and worked on than things like flag discourse and the definitions of certain labels.
   • the people who are doing important community work and fighting for peoples rights need to be heard and supported better by more privileged queers who have the means to boost those voices.
   • there’s a lot i could say on the matter from what i’ve observed from people IRL and online, but in general the community needs to work on a few things:
     1. learning to accept that every persons experiences are unique and that doesn’t invalidate anyone else’s experiences regardless of the labels they decide to use.
     2. realizing that gatekeeping is a divisive and generally unhelpful barrier to put in place because regardless of how inclusive you try to make your community, if you are still trying to gatekeep identities you are going to exclude someone.
     3. accept that all parts of the community are going to experience oppression for their relevant identities due to the inherent nature of our white cis het allo perisex society as it currently stands, and that listening to those communities and helping them is more important than trying to work out whether the oppression they face is “real” or not. At the end of the day if you aren’t part of it you probably won’t see it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
     4. working together to create helpful resources for younger queers who want to be involved in discussions but don’t have the experience or knowledge to participate properly, as well as including older members who may still have slightly outdated language but are still doing the most for their communities.
     5. holding people accountable for their actions and preventing further harm where possible.
6. What are you excited about going forward? Can be anything from creative projects, personal or professional milestones, etc.
   • i’m excited first of all at the moment to move into a new home, and
   • second to start getting back into producing art and streaming content regularly. it’s helped boost my confidence massively and i genuinely enjoy it. creating things for people makes me happy, and i have the potential to put it out there. i’m planning on starting to branch more into animation, as i have the capacity to learn it and do it. and potentially, at some point, i’m planning on maybe making a furry visual novel dating game centered around trans masc people, because i want to see more rep of people like myself (even if it’s in furry form). and if no one else is going to do it, i sure as hell am going to try! but that’s something that’s very much still in thought than anything conclusive at the moment.
7. Are there any pets or plants in your life?
   • unfortunately there are no pets or plants, though i guess i have a little aloe vera plant my partner regularly takes care of. at some point i want to get some lovely cats, and when i do, they will be spoilt rotten!
8. What content / content creators have you been enjoying recently? This could be anything from books, to podcasts, to tutorial videos, etc. Anything you want other people to know about.
   • recently i’ve been enjoying a lot of art content from a variety of people on youtube. i like to watch speedpaints and animation memes to see what kind of techniques people use and i often find it motivating for myself to create.
   • although for a specific content creators i’ve been watching a channel called Baumgartner Restoration who is one person who works as an art restorer and its both fascinating to watch and very relaxing. i’ve never been one for historical paintings but watching him put so much love and effort into restoring these pieces makes me appreciate the artwork a lot more.
   • in addition i also would recommend the Drawfee Show, because their art is always fun and they’re always so positive towards each other about what they do despite having very different styles of artwork. i feel there are some people who like to criticize others who should take a leaf out of their book.
   • another person i just thought of that i enjoy is Khadija Mbowe on YouTube who does educational content and discussions about relevant topics related to racism and feminism, which are both very informative and entertaining to watch.
9. What is your favorite thing about yourself?
   • my favourite thing about myself if i had to think about it, is that i have a lot of capacity for love, be that for what i enjoy doing hobby wise or for other people. if i love something i will put the effort in to make it the best i can within my ability, and i’ve been told by others that it can be inspiring and that makes me happy.

Kai can be found on Twitter, Twitch, Ko-Fi, and their Carrd.