Carter The Body on being an exotic dancer, masc-presenting lesbian TV star & engaged to the love of her life
Carter The Body has never conformed to anybody else's expectations.
Carter The Body is a former exotic dancer and masc-presenting lesbian covered in tattoos. When she first wanted to get into acting, she was told it wouldn’t be possible… unless she shed every portion of her identity.
“I remember someone I actually looked up to, he was on a hit show. I met him at the gym. … I would ask him for advice: ‘I’d love to get into acting. What advice would you give me?'” she said. “He told me that ‘you could go to the auditions, throw on a wig, put on some makeup.’ I was like, ‘What?'”
Carter never listened to her friend, and now finds herself playing the perfect role: herself. She stars in Tyler Perry’s BET+ original series, All The Queen’s Men, which is about a Black female nightclub owner and band of fiercely loyal employees.
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“I see a lot more masculine-presenting women on TV, and I love it,” said Carter. “One of my goals is motivating the youth into saying, ‘I can do it, too.'”
A Los Angeles native, Carter doesn’t just motive herself professionally. She’s also serious about her work in the gym. After all, “Carter The Body” must live up to her name… and those six-pack abs!
Queerty recently caught up with Carter to talk about her dancing past, professional obstacles and relationship with her beautiful fiancée, chef Nelli Face. Here’s what she had to say…
QUEERTY: What’s one aspect about being an exotic dancer that people don’t know about?
CARTER THE BODY: Coming into the world, I didn’t know we had to stay in contact with our tippers. I didn’t know I had to put much effort into talking to the women and flirting. I didn’t know I had to put in so much effort to keep the consistency of getting tipped every week. Even spending time outside of the club with them. I lost a lot of tippers that way. I was like, “I’m not about to go on dates with you. I thought you tipped me because I was good!” It turned me off.
But then I started getting booked internationally around the world, so it was easier for me not to keep up with the tippers. I was always on the move! They would try to spend time or go on dates, and I was like, “I have to leave in the morning!” That was the easy way out.
Do you enjoy replicating that world on camera?
I love it! It comes natural. Before this, I was on a YouTube series called Lipstick TV. I played nothing but myself. That’s when I fell in love with acting. When I got booked for this role, it was pretty easy becoming a character. I love that I get to play my authentic self. Before on TV, I never really got to see a lesbian in her true authentic way. They were always wearing makeup, they tried to feminize her out. Some masculine-presenting women are like that, but a lot of us aren’t. They always have to put makeup on us to make us more appealing for TV. That Tyler Perry is letting me be my authentic self, is very exciting. I went to the makeup room and was like, “Look, I don’t want any blush, no eye-liner, no lipstick.” It’s exciting. I never thought dancing in the exotic entertainment world would get me where I’m at.
What are some obstacles you’ve encountered?
I have a few stories. They didn’t take masculine-presenting women seriously. We’re the last… lipstick lesbians? Absolutely! Gay men? Absolutely! There have been gay men on TV for as long as I can remember. As far as masculine-presenting women, we’re just now being able to be on TV and represent ourselves authentically.
I remember someone I actually looked up to, he was on a hit show. I met him at the gym. He was very nice and would speak to me every single time. I would ask him for advice. “I’d love to get into acting. What advice would you give me?” He told me that “you could go to the auditions, throw on a wig, put on some makeup.” I was like, “What? If I had to go and do that, that’s not a role I would go for.” That’s not the advice I was looking for. It turned me off completely. It crushed my heart. I don’t feel like the world has taken us seriously until now. I see a lot more masculine-presenting women on TV, and I love it. One of my goals is motivating the youth into saying, “I can do it, too.”
Fitness is such a big part of your life. What are you training for right now?
I’ve been working out for 15-17 years consistently. And I’ve done the same routine, but it works for my body. But I’ve been wanting a challenge, because I’m getting older, and cardio is very important. But when I was doing cardio, I’m skinny, so I would shrink. So I didn’t do cardio or anything for my heart. So I needed someone to give me a new challenge and push me. I want my body to be the best it’s ever been. So I got myself a trainer, and he’s training me in strength and conditioning and mobility, which are things I’ve never done. I can see the improvements and developments of different muscles in my body that I’m not used to. That’s what I’m training for. Plus, I want to look great for next season!
What’s your routine?
We train three times per week, and then I’ll do two or three times without. He’ll train me legs one day, upper-body another day, and then full-body. I’ve never done a full-body workout. I always did legs, upper-body, legs, upper-body. I never did it in one routine. He makes me sprint a lot, which sucks, but it definitely helps. He has me cleansing a lot as well… gotta get the alcohol out of my body, and all the food I’m not supposed to be eating! Getting older, you have to take care of your body a lot more internally. You can’t just be vain and eat Fat Burger every day! Now, I have to be a lot more disciplined.
You mentioned food, so I have to ask about Nellie! How did ya’ll meet?
She used to be a dancer as well. I met her a long time ago at the club, had a huge crush on her. Then on Instagram, I got the courage to slide into her DMs. I didn’t know she was part of the LGBT community. I’m not the type of person who will go up to a woman and say, “Hey, do you like girls?” But I saw she was representing, and I was like, “Oh my God, I just gotta shoot my shot.” So I slid into her DMs trying to get meal prep, because I needed it at the time. But what’s crazy is, we went to the same school—different years. I was like, “I’m from Inglewood, too!” She went to a school called Warren Lane, which I went to. I started flirting with her by sending Warren Lane Middle School pictures of myself, then started sending her pictures of my brand new pots she can cook in. I have them in a book right here. She put together a little scrapbook of our first year or six months… there’s a picture of pots! So I would try and make her laugh. We were talking for a couple of weeks before we met. We met in person on my birthday, so she took me out for my birthday, and we have been inseparable ever since. I love the fact she’s from LA also.
What’s your favorite meal?
She has so many! She loves to cook lobster, and I used to hate lobster. But I guess I never had the right person make it for me. So she’ll make steak and lobster for me in those pots, with mashed potatoes and veggies. She makes these enchiladas that are very authentic. She’ll make the sauce herself, crunch up those spices. I’ll just watch her in awe, “How do you know what to put together?” There’s also a salmon plate with mango salsa she makes. She’s absolutely heightened my flavor palate. I used to be like .. “Onions? Nah!” But now, I’ll eat anything. Last night, I took her to dinner, and I ordered these deviled eggs. I didn’t look at the ingredients, because they’re deviled eggs, right? And she’s feeding me and not telling me, she has a smirk on her face. There was caviar in them, but they looked like little berries. She’s laughing at me. I’m like, “What?” She’s like, “That’s not berries,” and I’m like, “That’s not caviar, is it?” And she’s like, “Yes!” It’s good that she is in my life, because I probably would’ve never known about all of the delicious food that’s out here in the world.
But I flirt with her every day. I’ll send her songs to listen to. We just bonded over that, and have a lot in common. But as the years went on, we found out we’re like opposites, but in a good way!
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