Valentine Holmes’s drag queen sibling reveals their struggles growing up Polynesian in Townsville

Growing up in rugby-league obsessed Townsville, there wasn’t much else to do except pick up a footy if you were a young boy.

But what if football didn’t connect with you? And what if you didn’t know if you were a boy at all? 

That was the reality of Roÿmata Holmes, the sibling of North Queensland Cowboys and Maroons centre Valentine Holmes.

Today, Roÿmata [who goes by the stage name of Miss MarToya], uses they/them pronouns and is attracted to both men and women.

Roÿmata is a performer, a drag queen, a singer and a dancer appearing on stages across Australia and New Zealand.

Their latest show is I am King. I am Queen, an autobiographical performance detailing the rise of a disconnected kid in Townsville to the glamorous life they enjoy on the stage today.

‘Creating this autobiographical show is reclaiming my voice, reclaiming my truth and reclaiming my brown queer body,’ they told Broadwayworld. 

‘For the majority of my life, I felt I had to hide and suppress my authentic self to fit into the football circle. 

Roÿmata Holmes goes by the stage name of Miss MarToya and is a popular performer

Manly’s pride jersey has divided 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 learnt by being my own authentic self I was going to attract the right people who would appreciate me and my gifts.’

Growing up in Townsville meant that Roÿmata was primarily exposed to two demographics, the footy crowd and the music crowd. To hang around their siblings and friends, it meant picking up the Steeden even though it never felt right. 

‘I grew up in a small town called Townsville. If you’re a footy fan, on the league, then the Cowboys, you know those ones,’ Roymata said recently said in an interview with The Heat FM Rotorua 991.

‘So it was very small town I guess to express yourself and the only way you could express yourself was through football.

‘It was a beautiful 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 that found that disconnect within the football culture.

‘But because all my mates were doing it, it was just a social thing that we all did. We’d play music after school and then we would go to footy training and after that we would just keep jamming out.

Valentine Holmes takes a selfie with fans after the Cowboys last-gasp win over the Tigers

‘But there was no really, like, passion for it. Until I found performing and that kind of spoke to me and was like this is what you’ve got to do, this is your calling.’

Representation was a huge factor for Roÿmata in Townsville. There was no one around that represented who they were inside.

It wasn’t until Roÿmata moved to Wellington in New Zealand to pursue a career in dance that their eyes were fully opened. 

‘When I grew up in the small country town of Townsville, there was no representation for me to kind of be like “oh, I’m like that” or “that’s kind of cool”,’ they said.

‘It was just very hot so you’re just everyone is always in singlets and stubbies, so there was no way to express in clothing.

‘I couldn’t find the language until I had moved to Wellington where I went to the school of dance and got to experience such diverse range of people living there in that city.

Roÿmata is non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them and is attracted to men and women

‘It really taught me a lot about the expression to be free and that there was no judgement from others.

‘No one even cared once you walked past. I could be walking down Cuba Street in heels and nobody would [react] – and I loved that.

‘I do me for me, I don’t do me for someone else.’

The NRL is currently in the grip of a major debate around pride, equality, inclusion and diversity following Manly’s forced attempt at a pride jersey that resulted in seven players standing down from their game against the Roosters on Thursday.

Roÿmata often combines traditional male and female looks in the same performance

Roÿmata’s interview was before the pride jersey had ever been announced, but their words still ring true today. Roÿmata believes that education, not forced inclusion, is the key to harmony.

‘You want to educate but you don’t want to sound like you’re preaching. You don’t want to enforce on someone that this is what is happening,’ they said.

‘You want people to discover it for themselves, you almost just want to plant the seeds and just allow them to maybe tap into that or see that’s a thing.

‘That a they/them pronoun isn’t just what might be trending, but it’s actually a way of life and a way to represent yourself.     

‘My only hope is that the next time (people) see a drag queen in the street, club or theatre venue, see us and say hello.

‘At the end of the night, we’re still humans, we have somebody that loves us and is waiting for us to get home just like you.

‘Treat us with the kindness and compassion you want to be treated.’