Whether you know her as Queen as the Shameless Plug, Queen Mutha, or just Mutha, Rayceen Pendarvis is a legend in her own rite. Lifelong work within art communities in Washington D.C. and beyond have fortified a distinctive identity of activism, celebrity, and whimsy for Pendarvis. “Art is inherently political…it’s an act of political defiance as artists are an essential part of the D.C. queer community,” said Pendarvis. “Visual artists, authors, poets, playwrights, actors, burlesque performers, comedians, singers, rappers, dancers, drag performers, they’re all telling stories and are often our ambassadors to the world.”
In honor of art as ambassadorship, Pendarvis, a lifelong Washingtonian, will now contribute to how the National LGBTQ Task Force presents the city’s culture as a local ambassador for Creating Change. “As an elder, I’ve seen many organizations come and go, but the Task Force has always been a light, they’ve always been a pathway to freedom and liberation,” Pendarvis said. “When you know the importance of organizing, mobilizing, and strategizing, you are greater than just one thing. They’re ambassadors of love.”
Pendarvis grew up first near the U Street Corridor in Northwest and later in the Northeast quadrant in the city as a Brentwood resident. The soprano-turned-tenor sings life in any space she inhabits, protruding her light into various roles within D.C.’s LGBTQ community as an emcee, ballroom judge, and overall supporter of the city’s art offerings, especially theater. “I was an original Dream Girl,” she joked.
The Ask Rayceen Show was a ten-season variety program that ran once a month from 2012-2021. The show featured artists from theater to ballroom, discussed diverse topics of LGBTQ culture, and invited local leaders from D.C.’s eight wards to touch on specific events and information in community forums.
Many of her show elements are still present in the numerous gatherings, including annual community events and Pride celebrations, which Pendarvis continues to host. One recent event was an LGBTQ town hall discussion, convened in October 2025 by Team Rayceen Productions, where community members shared their thoughts and concerns with representatives of the DC Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, Capital Pride Alliance, The DC LGBTQ Community Center, Equality Chamber, and other organizations.
Establishing intergenerational community, allyship and outreach, Pendarvis says, are key elements to ensure the LGBTQ community’s unity and inclusion in D.C.’s society. “We have to understand the importance of working and bonding together under the umbrella of human experience. We must give voice to everyone and come together as human beings in order to begin doing the work,” Pendarvis said. “It is important to build allyship to sit at the table with folks who don’t have my point of reference.”
As a queer elder, Pendarvis sees her work as multi-dimensional as she focuses on “moving the collective” through her wisdom and experience. “I don’t show up as just one thing: I am all. I am mother. I am father. I am brother. I am sister. I am two-spirit. I am everything. When you move in spirit, you move in light.”
She continued, “I have to be present, I have to show up in a way that allows myself to be vulnerable to my community, allow them to ask the questions to know from [where] they came from to offer a point of history and be a living, breathing entity that tells our story,” Pendarvis said. “I think it’s important that we share our stories and that, as elders, we acknowledge we need young people. Young people need us and we need them.”
Ambassadorship as a Native Washingtonian and LGBTQ Icon
“DC has one of the largest LGBT populations in the country, so there’s a lot of history here,” Pendarvis said. She has witnessed Washington birth and sustain its LGBTQ culture in passing same-sex marriage, the designation of Dupont Circle as a nationally-recognized landmark, and the first Black Pride being held across from Howard University at Banneker Field in 1991.
But that doesn’t always spell out queer equity, as Pendarvis highlighted the political imbalance for Washingtonians as the District doesn’t have any voting members of Congress. Community representation would be a motivating factor when Pendarvis ran for Ward 5 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in 2006. She became the first gender expansive, non-conforming person to be elected in the city. “There’s nobody in the Capitol voting for the citizens who live here, but members of Congress from all 50 states can interfere in our local affairs,” said Pendarvis.
With a little over a month to go until Creating Change, Pendarvis hopes to spark a collective change within the borders of the District and across the nation. “As a native Washingtonian in the DC ambassador program, it’s very important because we’re not always included or represented. Our lived experience is a unique perspective and, as someone who has seen many people and administrations come and go [natives] live, breathe, and die DC.”
