Drag vs. Trans

Many times in public people come up to me and ask where they know me from. My first response is always that I’m a performer and have performed at Mad Myrna’s as Danny Cockring and elsewhere with The Last Frontier Drag Kings. About 90% of the time that is where they recognize me from. This discussion also gets brought up in casual conversation when people ask what I do (which is actually a long list). After I use the word Drag King, however, people look confused. Unless they have watched me perform, they assume I am a Drag Queen. The next question is always to see if I sing live. Well I don’t have the talent for that, so I say that I dance and lip sync. That I perform as a male. “Well then what is a drag king?”

            While their questions are valid, it sometimes gets old having to answer the same questions all the time. The only time it’s not is when cute women hit on me and can’t believe I’m not a biological man. Yeah that’s a great feeling… anyways; I’m here to clear up a few things: for me, drag is an art form. It is performing outside of my typical everyday life and mannerisms. It is a passion and blends music and dancing into a soulful expression of emotions. Being a drag performer is about creating an illusion and going over the top. While I dress normal (most of the time) and my beard is real, my performance and energy is over the top a bit. I try to embrace every ounce of whatever character I am playing. The fact that I am still biologically female also adds to the illusion. No one guesses I have to bind my tits and that my thick package is cyber skin in a jock strap. It is all an illusion.

            People try to argue that I am a man now so I shouldn’t be classified as a drag king. Or the other argument is that because I classify myself as a drag king I can’t be classified as a real man. REALLY; why can’t I just say I’m a performer? Why must we be so obsessed with labels? I still classify myself as a drag king because I am performing in a different character than who I am, and I do not live sing. I dance, lip sync, and get into costumes. It is an art form; an illusion. While typically a drag king is a female who dresses like a man ONLY for performing, times have changed. There are transgender individuals all over the world who perform as the gender they have transitioned to. Many drag kings down in the lower 48 that I have researched are transmen. Drag isn’t about gender for us anymore- it’s about the performance.

            I’ve seen the same arguments brought towards biological and Trans women who perform at drag shows or even just in general. The world insists on putting labels on us, so we just use whatever seems to fit. Frankly, a performer is a performer regardless of what their talent and presentation is. I still say I’m a drag king because it’s how I started, and I’m technically two genders so regardless of the gender I perform, it’s a type of drag. However to eliminate some confusion, let me lay out the basics…

A Drag King is typically a female who dresses and presents as a male for the purpose of performing as an impersonator/illusionist.

A Drag Queen is typically a male who dresses and presents as a female for the purpose of performing as an impersonator/illusionist.

            The beauty of acting and performing though is that you don’t have to fit in a box. There is no set limit on who you can or cannot be. We are gifted entertainers and performers, and we enjoy what we do. The role that we play is not as important as the simple fact that we are playing a role. Performing for me is like cleansing myself of all emotions. My song choices always reflect my emotions that have built up. While this is not true of every performer every time, for me personally, it is truth.

            Performing gives me an opportunity to release emotions in a positive way. Yes I am transitioning to a man, but I don’t care what the title is. I’m simply a performer expressing himself. When I have a lot of romantic or sexual tension, you will see my Casanova side come out or my down and dirty sex songs. When I’m in a moving happy mood and just want to dance, you’ll see my N’sync and other pop music come out. Country music has a wide range of emotions within it and it usually means I’m just my happy self playing a cowboy like I’ve always wanted to be. When I’m angry or depressed you’ll see Breaking Benjamin, Disturbed, or Theory of a Deadman, among others. Performing is my release; it is my therapy; it is an addiction. It’s the healthiest addiction I have actually. Regardless of what character or persona I enact, I am releasing my energy and emotions and just enjoying my life.

            I’ve never been one for labels or boxes. I really don’t fit in them. I’m just too complicated: I’m a Mormon lesbian turned drag king transman gay boy who loves women. Ya have fun trying to figure me out. I’ve been trying for years and still surprise myself at times. There was one point that a rumor about me using Meth was going around because of all the different personas I had and all my mood swings related to the T; I think they were just jealous of my absolute awesomeness and talents. I have been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder but again, I think they are just mistaking my awesome acting talent for a disease. I’m just a transman who loves performing as a Drag King. Is it really that complicated to understand?