When in college I had the chance to preform in a drag show. I lived with a transman and his girlfriend, as well a another friend of mine. At one point the couple decided to direct a drag number, and asked me to be a part. The other roommate was already involved doing a high femme part, so I decided to go for it. At first I had a bit of a complex about the fact that I was very "femme" and did not fit the stereotypical drag king profile. At our first practice my fears were renewed, as all of the other participants seemed able to project a much more masculine persona. I felt like such a girl! However, after a bit of practice, I got over it and discovered a fun in performing in drag that I had not experienced in more traditional dance and theater performance. I was far less inhibited - it was a blast!

Sure, there were some odd moments. A friend of mine came to the show, (without realizing that I was in that number), and after asked me if I would introduce her to one of the guys in the show; that "guy" turned out to be me. Whas this a big time trauma? No. We laughed for a bit, I reveled in the fact that I had been able to pass after all, and that was that. Similarly, a gay acquaintance of mine admitted that he was attracted to the boy I would be, if I were a boy. Again, we lauged and moved on.

There was no big drama. No desperate need to justify my gender or sexuality when the show was over. My husband (then fiance) did not worry that my sexuality or gender identity had somehow changed, just becuase I put on some men's clothes. I have not officially done drag since then - although I did rock a wicked Christopher Walken halloween costume - but I would in a heartbeat if given the chance.

Given my brief foray into the world of drag, I think this article says far more about Ms. Yoffe than it does about the actual experience of being a drag king.

As, in turn, your comment says more about you than Emily's article. In fact it says practically nothing about the article.

Perhaps you were being ironic.

Ignore last reply--awesome comment. I'll bet you're a generation or two younger than Ms. Joffe and her editors. Older folks are more attached to male/female designations and more threatened by the loosening of definitions and the play therein. You can see why men didn't want women to wear pants--what a slippery slope it's been!!