Move over drag queens, India’s drag kings have much to say

More and more queer AFAB( assigned-female-at-birth) folx have been exploring masculinity, defining what it is like to be on the other end of the spectrum of drag culture.

Like peacocks, India’s fabled drag queens–Rani Ko-HE-Nur, Betta Naan Stop and Glorious Luna–are having their moment in the spotlight. They are strutting their feather boas, straightening their tiaras and standing tall in their stilettos, as the country’s LGBTQIA++ rights movement gains momentum, and queer desis, along with their straight allies, smash patriarchal notions of gender.

In the recent few years, albeit in a style which is more gradual and understated, a lot of queer AFAB folx have been exploring masculinity, defining what it is like to be on the other end of the spectrum of drag culture.

Drag kings: A brief history

Now even though most drag kings maybe assigned female at birth, regardless of their sexual orientation, it would be safe to say that drag kings have existed as long as theatre has been around. Blues singer Gladys Bentley crooned her way through the Harlem Renaissance between the 1920s and 1940s, performing in speakeasy bars dressed in a tailcoat and top hat, backed up by a camp chorus of drag queens. New Orleans native Stormé DeLarverie was a butch lesbian whose 1969 scuffle with local homophobic cops was the final straw that ignited the Stonewall Uprising in Greenwich Village, New York City.

Lady Gaga’s male alter ego Jo Calderone is a drunk, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed man, who has made cameo appearances in a few stage concerts, including in her 2011 downtempo song ‘You and I,’. Meanwhile, Saturday Night Live comedian Kate McKinnon’s hilarious versions of Justin Bieber and Donald Trump, are well, in fact, outstanding examples of drag impersonations.

The alpha of the pack 

While there may have been many more before them, in India, gender-fluid sculptor and artist Durga Gawde, is one of the first to find mention in mainstream media in in recent times. Gawde (they/them), who simply goes by the stage name Shakti, went on to inspire a host of other queer and non-binary AFAB (assigned-female-at-birth) performing artists.

Since June last year, event organiser Gay Gaze Bombay starting belting out a party calendar frontlined by drag kings. The Gay Gaze Bombay essentially caters to the LGBTQIA++ community as a whole, but being a lesbian-owned business, it really is the preferred safe space for trans and non-binary folx in the country. "We recently kicked off a support circle called Drag Kings Anonymous to help AFABS, non-binary folx, transmasculine identities and drag kings explore this art form as well as their gender through drag,” co-founder Winnie Chopra (he/she/they)–who runs the initiative with her domestic and business partner, Gurleen Arora (they/them)–explains. The novelty caught on, with party organisers Maya Bazaar and Kitty Su soon joining the fray. 

The drag king circuit 

Donning a Sikh turban, Chopra’s alter ego Inqalaab Singh dances to bhangra and cracks Punjabi jokes, inspired by Chopra’s cultural roots. At other times, dressed up in a leather jacket and oozing a biker’s bad boy persona, Chopra apes 80s pop icon George Michael. Chopra is often questioned why most of the country’s famous drag kings hail from Mumbai, and she explains that the city’s cosmopolitan and liberal nature may have something to do with it. She also goes on to say that all the drag kings on Gay Gaze’s roster regularly travel to cities like Goa, New Delhi and Bengaluru to perform at partner events, and that they do recieve emails expressing admiration from closeted kings from small towns such as Bilaspur, Nashik and Ranchi, wanting to participate. 

As a thespian, Arora has dabbled in theatrical training most of their adult life, which informs their alter ego, Melancholia, who explores the boundaries of pain, sadness and consciousness through drag. “There is no mannerisms of a man as far as Melancholia is concerned, because for them, drag supersedes the idea of gender and goes into being whoever and whatever form you want to be. What Gurleen can't say or do, Melancholia can!” they says, verbalising their catharsis. 

Another inspiring power couple on the drag circuit is MX Siaan (he/they) and Wanda Hendricks (she/her). The latter displays a split personality through appearing on stage as the Catholic ‘Father Wanda’ whose gospel preaches that it is “absolutely normal to be, and love whoever you want, irrespective of who they identify as,” whereas ‘Magic Wand’ leans more towards being someone who isn’t afraid of norms, and is able to own their sexual nature without any guilt.

As a biromantic lesbian trying to fathom the psychological depths of their sexuality, Siaan’s alter ego MX Stallion emerged during the pandemic-induced lockdown, while the mass media student, like every other straight or gay person, was facing an existential crisis at the time. Musician and writer Angelique Jacquet’s (preferred gender pronouns: she/her), ‘He Larson’ is less drag king, and more drag court jester. “He's a more exaggerated and somewhat more personable version of me,” she explains. 

 Crowning a king 

A drag king routine, both in terms of make-up and character preparation, in essence inverts what a drag queen does. If a drag queen stuffs a bra, a king stuffs a sock into his crotch. If a drag queen covers her face with layers of pancake make-up to conceal some facial hair, a drag king applies kohl to exaggerate it. In the near future, Drag Emperor Naaz (Ze/Zer) wants to host a routine with drag queens and kings performing together as part of the same act to highlight these contrasts. The popping and hip-hop dancer’s preference go back to 90’ music, with Usher and Chris Brown as icons. “In a recent performance at the Gay Gaze Bombay’s ‘KingDom of Anarchy,’ I even dressed up as Lord Krishna, because like him; I, too, am fliratuous and polyamorous,” they say. Emperor Naaz doesn’t reveal his name assigned at birth, as ze feels that would be deadnaming zem. Unlike the other contenders on this list, zey doesn’t have an alter ego–Naaz is who ze are.

The general perception of drag culture is that it involves a transperson who uses cosmetics and costumes to portray their desired gender, which is only half true! All of the drag kings in this story agree in unison that everyone, at some juncture, in a private moment, has fantasised about what it would be like to dress and live life as the opposite. This is the singular reason why drag nights attract such a large cis-het audience.

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