Honey Dijon has been given the GAY TIMES Honour for Outstanding Impact.
On Thursday (21 November) night, the world-renowned DJ appeared at the GAY TIMES Honours 500 ceremony, which honours queer people and their allies who have had a profound impact on the community over the last 12 months.
A self-described selector in the world of music and fashion, Honey first started her career in the 90s and quickly became famous for her cross-genre sets. But the level of success she enjoys now didn’t come overnight.
After more than a decade of playing clubs, Honey finally found herself as a globe-trotting superstar with her own headline shows and Comme Des Garçons-backed fashion line. “I just stuck around long enough for culture to turn,” she tells us.
“Everything I’ve manifested creatively has come from being a fan and loving it so much that I’ve willed myself into these rooms with these people.”
Those people include the likes of Naomi Campbell, Dior creative director Kim Jones, and most recently Madonna, who personally asked Honey to remix her song I Don’t Search I Find.
While Honey doesn’t consider herself an activist, she is acutely aware that as a trans woman of colour working in the white male-dominated world of dance music, her very success challenges the status quo.
“The fact that I’ve been able to manifest all of these really highly creative opportunities for myself is political in itself. I mean, five years ago that wouldn’t have been possible – two years ago, it wouldn’t have been possible,” she says.
Of course, Honey is proud trans woman of colour, but that’s just one facet of who she is and it doesn’t tell the whole story.
“I think there are so many more important things about me as a human being than what my gender expression or identity is,” she says. “I think my music is more important, and I think the way I choose to navigate the world is much more interesting.
“The fact I can go and do a Dior [show], and then do something like a [leading British house label] Defective party or an all-queer party, that’s much more interesting than the fact I’m trans.”
GAY TIMES Honours was first established in 2017 as a ceremony to acknowledge those who have made a profound impact on LGBTQ people in the past 12 months. From community trailblazers to highly-visible queer stars, it’s an event that brings together people from all across our community to celebrate, uplift and inspire.
To mark our recent landmark 500th issue as Europe’s longest-running LGBTQ publication, this year’s event is named GAY TIMES Honours 500. It marks the biggest event in our company’s recent history, with more than a thousand people packed into the venue for show-stopping performances by Pabllo Vittar, ALMA, L Devine, VINCINT, Little Gay Brother and DJ sets from Honey Dijon, Jodie Harsh and BBZ.
Make sure to follow us on Instagram to be part of the GAY TIMES Honours 500 action.
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