Nemis has performed as 'Lactatia' since he was seven

A Canadian mother has been accused of ‘sexualising’ her nine-year-old son by allowing him to perform in drag.



Nemis Quinn Melancon Golden adopted his drag persona, Lactatia, at the age of seven after becoming hooked on TV series RuPaul’s Drag Race.



While Nemis’ age prevents him from performing in 18+ drag shows, ‘Lactatia’ has featured in benefit shows and will soon head to Mexico for the Man Drag Ora Festival.

Nemis adopted his alter-ego 'Lactatia' at age seven. (Image: ITV)



During an appearance on UK daytime show This Morning, mum Jessica said she supports her son’s passion “100 per cent”, even helping him apply his makeup.



“I thought it was the most fantastic thing, because drag in general is super creative - you have music, there’s lip-syncing, there’s dance, there’s makeup, there’s costumes,” the Montreal-based mum explained via video link.



Jessica urged all parents to foster their children’s passions, whatever form they might take.

Jessica supports Nemis' passion for drag. (Image: ITV)



"I think it's extremely important to allow your children to really tap into their creative side, encourage and foster that independent spirit and being an individual,” she added.

However, not everyone watching at home was so positive about the concept of a child performing in drag.

One viewer accused Jessica of “sexualising” her son, while others claimed she was trying to live vicariously through him.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nemis. Lactatia. Mizrahi (@queenlactatia) on Aug 23, 2017 at 3:21pm PDT

“Not sure how much that little boy is expressing himself or living out his mum's frustrated ambition,” one wrote.

“By all means let the little chap dress as he wants to, but not go all out to make him a star. What about his childhood?” another queried.

However, Nemis disagrees with the idea that drag is an adults-only domain.

Nemis says he'll be a drag queen "forever". (Image: Elle)

“I know people would go up to their parents and tell them they want to be a drag queen, and then their parents would be like, ‘You shouldn’t even know what that is’,” he said in a previous interview with Elle magazine.

“I don’t think that should be a thing. I don’t think other people should judge what people do.”

The school student was first introduced to the world of drag through the popular reality series RuPaul’s Drag Race, which aims to uncover America’s next top drag superstar.

Lactatia was originally called Peaches Demure. (Image: Elle)

“When I started watching [it], I was like, ‘This is an actual form of art and something that actually happens in the world, and I need to do this right this second’,” Nemis told This Morning.

However, he had been dressing up in his sister’s tutus and “dancing around in pink dresses” from the age of three, long before his drag alter-ego - originally called Peaches Demure - emerged.

“I think I’ve had Lactatia inside of me since I was born,” he told Elle.

Listen to the latest episode of 9Honey's parenting podcast SuperMums here: