DRAG KING

A drag king performance troupe

'Drag kings' are mostly female-bodied or -identified performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of their performance.^[1] A typical drag king routine may incorporate dancing and singing or lip-synching.^[2] Drag kings often perform as exaggeratedly macho male characters^[3] or impersonate male celebrities like Elvis Presley or Tim McGraw.^[4] Several drag kings became British music hall stars in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and British pantomime has preserved the tradition of women performing in male roles. Yet it has only been recently that drag kings have begun to gain some of the fame and attention that drag queens have known for years.^[5]^[6]
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The term ''drag king'' is sometimes used in a broader sense, to include female-bodied people who dress in traditionally masculine clothing for other reasons. This usage includes women temporarily attempting to pass as men and women who wish to present themselves in a masculine gender role without identifying as a man. Some transmen also self-identify as drag kings.
Many modern women wear men's hats, ties, jackets, or even full suits for fashion reasons (e.g. the "''Annie Hall'' style"). These women are not considered drag kings.
Drag kings are largely a phenomenon of lesbian culture and can most often be seen at lesbian bars or festivals. However, not all drag kings are lesbians, and some participants in the drag king subculture are not otherwise involved in lesbian culture, society, or politics. Faux queens (also called femme queens, femme performers, bio queens or Kittens) often perform alongside drag kings and may or may not be lesbian-identified.

Drag king names

Drag Community

The Tools of Gender Illusion

Drag king names

Drag kings often take on playful names to reflect their stage personas. Sexual based names like "Buster Hymen" or "Smack Diaz" are common, as are general macho names like "Stanley Knife" and "Razor Blade." Similar to practices of drag queens joining "houses", kings will often join "troupes," practicing, performing and travelling together and even taking on a common last name.
Some drag kings have become popular perfomers in the LGBT community especially amongst dykes who admired the DIY bravado of reclaiming male and female gender roles. Some of these performers' stage names have become cornerstones in the community including Buck Naked,^[7] Mo B. Dick, Dred, Ken Vegas, Dante DiFranco, Murray Hill, Fudgie Frottage and Elvis Herselvis.

Drag Community

Fudgie Frottage, San Francisco underground performer and producer of the world's longest-running drag king contest. photo:Larry Utley

Unlike drag queens, who pride themselves on making individual names for themselves and creating a "lineage," drag kings tend to form troupes or performance groups. While they may join houses and maintain a solo persona, this is increasingly rare in the drag king community. Many troupes are created out of the desire to forge a cohesive unit in order to book shows and performances.
Although, there are more and more drag kings now branching away from the troupe stereotypes, and performing individually. Drag king shows are becoming more easy to find in this century and individual kings are getting bookings outside of the 'king shows' and finally sharing the stages with their male counterparts, the queens.
The International Drag King Community Extravaganza (IDKE) is one of the yearly gatherings of drag performers aimed at celebrating gender performance and exploration of gender issues. Delegates from various troupes throughout America, Canada and Europe congregate at IDKE to perform and engage in discussion and debate at a series of workshops organized by the host city under the guidance of the IDKE Board. A different city hosts this event each year which is selected by the board. It is city's responsibility to create a website.
The largest and oldest Drag King Contest in the World takes place in San Francisco, CA. It has been called "A parade of Gender-Bending Eye Candy" by the SF Weekly. The producer of the show is community activist and performer Lu Read, a.k.a. Fudgie Frottage. Another yearly gathering is, The Great Big International Drag King Show in Washington, DC created by Ken Vegas.

The Tools of Gender Illusion

Drag kings, being women, face the opposite challenge drag queens do in terms of creating the illusion of gender. They must hide their breasts, add the illusion of male genitalia and make feminine features appear masculine. Clothing is the easiest change to make.
By far, the most challenging piece of the gender illusion puzzle for a drag king is hiding the breasts. While some drag kings are small breasted and may succeed using a tight sports bra, many kings resort to one of the following, or several of the following used in conjunction with other methods: Ace bandages; duct tape; soft, hard, or ribbed back braces (worn backwards); and compression shirts and vests. Some use a method involving cutting a hole in the crotch of pantyhose for the head and making sleeves out the legs. This creates a tight stocking shirt that compresses the breasts. While it is uncomfortable to bind one's breasts in any way for any period of time, duct tape is the most immediately damaging. Prolonged use has resulted, in some cases, of tearing off skin and excessive blistering after removal, or stretching of the breast tissue and skin after long term use.
The second challenge is creating facial hair. While transsexual performers may have facial hair from the hormones they are taking to aid in their transformation, this is not typical of most drag kings throughout the Western world. There are many drag kings who utilize shadow makeup to create the illusion of "five o' clock shadow" and forgo the look of longer facial hair, sometimes out of simplicity or because of the act they are performing. As for hair application, there are two major methods: loose or piece.
The first is the application of loose hair using an adhesive. Drag kings obtain hair through their own haircuts or purchase braids of synthetic hair in a variety of colors from costume shops. Once the hair is chopped very finely, it is typically applied using a skin-safe adhesive like spirit gum or liquid latex, also available at costume shops. Using liquid latex creates a facial hair piece that can be removed and re-used and is considered a better choice for those with very sensitive skin that doesn't tolerate the spirit gum or spirit gum-removal chemicals well.
The second method of applying hair is using a woven facial hair piece provided by skilled artisans that often supply costume shops. Far superior in look and feel to mass-produced costume mustaches found in party supply stores, professionally-created pieces are typically made from real hair and are woven onto a thin netting that is attached to the face using spirit gum or liquid latex. They are usually more expensive than those found at party stores, but create a more realistic effect.
The last great challenge in creating the female to male gender illusion is the masking of feminine features and movements. Despite a lack of scientific research on the subject, women move differently than men do in general, whether due to genetic predisposition or social programming. The stereotypical portrayal of a man finds the performer using masculine gesture and motion: decisive, crisp movements and dance, rather than smooth, sweeping motions drag queens may display during their performances while imitating women. Even smoking a cigarette during an act must be monitored by the performer; men tend to hold cigarettes with their fingers slightly curled, while women tend to smoke with index and middle finger straight and outstretched.
Masking feminine features includes dealing with hairstyle. While many drag kings have short hair, some performers that live their everyday lives with longer hair or feminine haircuts must manage this part of their appearance to make the illusion complete. While some performers with long hair opt to leave it down and styled in a masculine way, others tuck their hair into stocking caps and wear a variety of men's hats as part of their costumes. The same can be said with kings that tend to sport more feminine hairstyles in their everyday lives. Other features that must be masked or compensated for are the eyebrows, skin color and sideburns.
Eyebrows are usually thickened using eye shadow, eye pencils, or mascara, since women's eyebrows tend to be thinner and less substantial in general than men's. Skin color is sometimes darkened on the face of performers as women are typically lighter in skin color than their male counterparts. A slightly darker face powder or bronzer creates this illusion with much subtlety when applied correctly. Additionally, sideburns must be considered.
Men tend to have coarse hair growth beginning at the jaw bone where a beard would begin to grow. This hair is noticeably different in texture than the hair on their heads and is a feature women, not typically growing such impressive facial hair, lack. Drag kings use loose hair applications, piece applications or shadowing to imitate this look.

References

1. Competitive Drag Kings Strut Stuff: With some spit and polish, women perform in growing world of cross-dressing pageantry
2. Drag King Contest
3. Best of Sacramento - Drag King: Buck Naked
4. Bring Out the Kings!: Gage Gatlyn
5. The Macho In Me
6. Gage For Yourself
7. Balls Out

★ Girls will be boys: an article on the otokoyaku, or male role players, of the all-female Japanese Takarazuka Revue

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