A DEFIANT mum has hit back at critics who have accused her of child abuse for letting her gender-neutral eight-year-old become a drag queen.

Mill Blackburn, from Denver, Colorado, was instantly hooked when they first watched RuPaul's Drag Race at the age of two, but didn't debut their own stage persona until August last year.

The youngster, who was born male but doesn't identify as either gender, now performs fortnightly at Denver's Dragutante as their sassy alter-ego Salt Qween.

With Salt Qween’s career taking off, life for Mill has become a whirlwind of colourful wigs, sparking sequins and gruelling weekly rehearsal runs.

Mill’s mum Manige Blackburn, 34, is more than supportive, but not everyone has been as kind, with some critics even accusing her of child abuse.

The charity outreach worker said: "I get a lot of people saying that letting my eight-year-old perform in drag is disgusting – there’s a lot of Biblical quotes being thrown around too.

"I’ve been told I am exploiting my child at the expense of letting them have a ‘normal childhood.’

"But I don't see how anyone could make an eight-year-old put on a big dress, a wig and have them lap up all that attention against their own will.

"To me, drag is like protective armour. It protects children as they explore their gender.

"I honestly classify it as mental health care for Mill. The big purple wigs, the make-up and the new name – it's all so cathartic."

I’ve been told I am exploiting my child at the expense of letting them have a ‘normal childhood’

Manige, who also has a daughter, Teya, 12, explained how Mill’s first foray into drag came at just two years old.

After watching an episode of VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race, the toddler proudly announced “I’m a drag queen” while pottering around the living room in a pink fluffy dress.

Manige, who has been in a relationship with stay-at-home dad Cameron, 37, for four years, said: "Growing up, Mill could be uber-effeminate, wanting to dress up in Teya's clothes and make-up.

"But it was very rare, and I never expected them to take such a shine to drag.

"Other times, they could also be uber-masculine, dressed in their favourite Hulk outfit or a bow-tie."

Then, last summer, Mill experimented with drag once again during  a family day out watching Denver Pride.

Manige said: "We walked past a booth which offered kids the chance to drag up and perform on stage with a local drag house, and Mill was determined to get involved.

"When Mill has their mind set on something, there's no changing it, so we let them get paired up with a drag artist who spent the next hour or so transforming them."

I was so nervous waiting for them to step out onto the stage, but as soon as they did their whole face lit up. The audience was lapping it up

But before Mill could take to the Dragutante stage, there was the all-important task of coming up with a name for their feminine alter-ego.

Explaining how she helped think up the pseudonym, Manige said: "Mill's always had quite a salty attitude – salty meaning sassy, and maybe even a bit grumpy.

“Even as an infant, when people would coo over them, they’d roll their eyes, as if to say 'Urgh'.

"They’ll come out with the funniest phrases and say things like, 'Manige, you are out of control’ to me.

"So that's where the name Salt Qween came from."

With Mill’s stage name chosen, Manige waited with bated breath as Salt Qween made her stage debut to Lizzo's Like a Girl, clad in a fuchsia pink dress – with a wig to match.

"I was so nervous waiting for them to step out onto the stage, but as soon as they did their whole face lit up. The audience was lapping it up,” she recalled.

“I thought, 'Oh my goodness, you're good at this.' In the past, I tried getting them into dance, karate, running  – but it was clear in that moment this is what they were meant to do."

It was not just the audience that went wild for Salt Qween – the drag community holding the event insisted Mill join them for regular performances.

"It pretty much started from there. Mill became part of Denver's drag community instantly," Manige said.

The fortnightly performances are normally to a crowd of 45 people, with 12 performances by six or seven queens.

Taking place at lunchtime at a local pub every other Sunday, Manige is up religiously at 6.30am to ensure things go smoothly.

"Mill chooses the song they want to perform a week in advance and then they'll come up with their own choreography and lip-sync – hustling the crowd for tips," she added.

Though they currently fit perfecting their act around school, Mill is determined to one day become a full-time performer.

Although Manige is hugely supportive, she also wants to ensure her children have “realistic” job aspirations.

"Mill’s number one dream is to become a full-time drag queen, but I'm not sure if that is realistic and I've made that clear to them," she said.

"I've asked them what else they would like to pursue and they said they'd like to be an astronaut doula – someone who delivers baby's in space – as they're convinced we'll all be in space having babies by the time they're an adult."

On the whole, audience members and fellow performers alike all rave about Salt Qween – but Manige has faced flak for letting her child dabble in drag.

She said: "Most little kids know who RuPaul is now – it's part of pop culture. He's no longer the evil man in a dress on TV, but you still get the odd comment.

I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on wigs and make-up. I'm the least feminine female I know

"At the end of the day, it can make some people uncomfortable, children that age playing with gender.

"But everybody who knows us knows that I'm not the driving force behind this.

"I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on wigs and make-up. I'm the least feminine female I know. I don't even own a skirt!

"I just let my children pursue what interests them and if it fizzles out, it fizzles out – in this case it hasn't yet."

Determined not to let other people's "medieval opinions" spoil Mill's fun, Manige is adamant that drag can only be beneficial for youngsters.

"I think their confidence has increased ten-fold," she said.

"It's hard to find a place to experiment with gender role play and drag has enabled them to do that.

"It's been invaluable – I can't quantify how much. Mill is only eight and there's still so much to flesh out about who they are.

"We can't know what Mill would be like without drag, they're only eight, but I imagine that they would have struggled with some gender identity issues a lot more without it."

And Manige could not be more grateful to have the drag community's love and support – describing it as "one big family."

She said:  "People like to sexualise drag, but if someone is gay, they are going to be gay regardless of whether they dabbled in drag as a kid.

"Mill turned to me the other month and said, 'I don't know if I'm a he, a she or a they.' That never would have happened so organically without being part of Denver's drag scene.

"I just told them that's fine and to let me know once they've figured it out and I know they will – because of their drag family.

"My kid is loving every second of life and is now part of a huge, loving community that they can look up to and talk to – how could that be a bad thing?"

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