I Was a Teenage Drag Queen: Part 2

By Robert Joki

November 16, 2007

7 comments

In exactly two weeks time, Youngstown's guilty little holiday pleasure, How The Drag Queen Stole Christmas, will open at the Oakland Center for the Arts.  In tribute to what will be a delightfully devilish train wreck of a show, I am blogging about all things drag related for the next few weeks.  Last week, I invited readers to submit questions they would like me to answer.  These are some of my favorites:

Why do you do drag?

This answer is different for every performer, I am sure, but I like to do drag because I love musical theater...and all of the best parts are written for women.  In dragland I make a STUNNING Grizabella, or Norma Desmond, or Effie White.  I also just love the camp of it all.  I was a huge fan of Monty Python when I was growing up and I think men in wigs and dresses are HILAAARIOUS. 

Is there a difference between a drag queen and a transsexual?

Worlds.  In the realm of cross dressing, there are many creatures.  When a man is trapped in a woman's body, and decides to have an operation to correct nature's mistake, he/she is a transsexual.  When a straight man dresses up in his wife's undergarments to get his sexual kicks, he is a transvestite.  (You know that crazzzy uncle you had...the one who, when he died, they found boxes and boxes of size 13+ high heeled shoes just sitting in the back of his closet?  He was probably a transvestite. )  When a gay man tries to legitimately pass as a female, he is a female impersonator.  When a gay man (or really anyone these days) dresses up in ridiculous drag for entertainment purposes...he is a drag queen. There is nothing sexual about it.  The major difference is that drag queens are performers, and for the most part, transsexuals, transvestites, and female impersonators are not. 

When you do drag, where do you hide your penis?

Someone always asks this.  The hiding of the penis, or "tucking" as it is called is truly an art form in itself. Drag queens with teeny weenies can get away with just wearing an extra pair of pantyhose, which causes their twig to turtle itself beck into its shell. Some of the more hard core performers will apply duct tape directly to the base of their johnson and then pull the tape back between their legs, stretching the skin and creating a dimple that, to the naked eye, looks very much like a camel toe.  Personally, I wear a very tight undergarment referred to as a "tucking panty" which stows my package snugly in the overhead compartment.  I then wear several pairs of pantyhose to keep everything in place.  Is it uncomfortable?  Only if you don't do it right.  I give private lessons for a fee...

What is the biggest challenge you face as a drag queen?

I wish I could say it was "fighting the man"...or the "journey toward acceptance", but I haven't really encountered much negativity when I am all dolled up. I've been doing shows in NE Ohio for over ten years.  I've been shopping in drag...been to concerts in drag.  I rode the city bus in drag...and one time I was even paid to do a strip tease to a blindfolded fraternity boy at the SAE House at YSU.  People are usually excited, but gracious...and curious.  And they take lots of pictures.  The hardest part for me is finding women's shoes in size 16W.  I am a big girl, with big feet.

Do your parent's know you are a drag queen?

Absolutely.  Everyone knows.  I don't like secrets.  My family is very supportive of everything I do.  My mother comes to my drag shows and my sisters have worked backstage and even styled a few wigs for me.  The family that cross dresses  together, stays together.

Where do you find your costumes?

I make everything I wear.  It is next to impossible to find clothing off the rack that will fit my beautifully padded proportions. Also, my drag persona has a very unique sense of style...and it is hard to find gowns made of snack cakes at Macy's.

Why do drag queens lip sync.

Many drag queens don't like to ruin the illusion by singing in their super deep manly voices.  Others simply can't carry a tune.  I say fruck it and sing live because I figure, there's no hiding the fact that I am not really a woman.  When I am onstage I generally look like a float in the Rose Bowl parade...so I'm not really going for any kind of illusion.  I try to create a caricature...50% man, 40% woman, 10% duct tape.  Something like that.

That's all for this week.  If you have a drag related question you would like answered, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will be more than happy to oblige.

Just a reminder:  My show,  How The Drag Queen Stole Christmas will be performed at the Oakland Center for the Arts on November 30th and December 1st at 8:00PM.  Call 330 746 0404 for reservations.

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