CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As Pride month continues, a Charlotte comedian is using his talent to educate, inform and entertain audiences across the country, but particularly in the southeast.
“I didn’t know if anyone just stumbled in, following the rainbow brick road,” joked Shaine Laine at the start of a recent comedy show in Charlotte.
The show, held during Pride month, with donations going to a local transgender support group, is Laine’s latest attempt to mix comedy with education, laughter and visibility.
“It’s a nice way to just let out what I’m needing to let out. And, it’s just a good way to process things and you know, humor’s the universal language,” Laine said before the show began.
Hosting the show and introducing fellow LBGTQ+ comedians to audiences across the city is a typical night for Laine. For five years, he’s been taking his comedy show on the road.
“Doing a lot of hosting gigs, and starting to build out and get more corporate hosting,” Laine explained.
In the last half decade, Laine performed in a multitude of states, including Hawaii. A map at his home has little push pins dotting the cities and towns he’s visited so far, with many in the southeast.
In addition, his shows usually have an LGBTQ+ theme.
“Those are the events that I get to go where I actually feel comfortable and can express who I am with other people who are open and honest about expressing who they are,” Laine said.“Those are the events that I get to go where I actually feel comfortable and can express who I am with other people who are open and honest about expressing who they are,” Laine said.
Despite performances in a multitude of regions, even an international show in Canada, his focus remains on the American South and his hometown of Charlotte.
“Honestly, queer folks in the South don’t really get that opportunity, they don’t get the opportunity to go to events such as a comedy show, or drag show, and be able to express themselves that way,” Laine said.
His five-year comedy career coincides with his journey as a transgender man, after coming out on stage at the start of his career.
“My comedy career and my transition coincide, because the first time that I came out as trans was on stage to a hundred people,” Laine recalled.
The comedian, who lived in the Charlotte region for most of his life, said he knew he was transgender around second grade. He says he was blessed with understanding and accepting parents.
“They were just like, ‘I don’t know what’s happening, but we’re going to let you do you,’” Laine joked.
At Moss Counseling Services in Charlotte, psychotherapist Beverly Moss said access to transgender health care can make a difference for people who need it.
“When individuals have the ability to have access to care, it enhances and promotes resiliency, and it empowers the individuals,” Moss said.
At her Charlotte clinic, Moss said over 50% of her clientele comes from LGBTQ+ communities. And, she said as Pride month continues; she hopes people will listen and try to learn about other people’s lives.
“Educate yourself and allow yourself to be open with it. A lot of times, people don’t realize how it could be the next of kin to them, or someone that they really love. And, individuals who are trans are human beings,” Moss added.
Moss said limits on access to all types of health and mental care, whether it’s blocked legally, financially or socially, can cause higher rates of depression and anxiety among LGBTQ+ individuals.
Laine said his ability to receive the health care he needed was an important step in his life.
“It meant the world to me, it meant my entire life to have that affirming care,” Laine said.
He began medically transitioning at 24, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country. Now, he says he can perform comedy as his authentic self, using his platform to educate and inform audiences about his experiences through laughter.
“That was an awesome transition, pun intended, to experience,” Laine said. “That just meant the world to me, cause once I came out of the pandemic, I could fully, truly be — who I wanted to emulate.”