Transgender in Drag!?

Dragology for Beginners

Chapter 8

Transgender in Drag!

Hello, hello, hello brothers! Welcome back to another chapter of Dragology. I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves and building that fan base we talked about. In this chapter we are going to go into a topic that is not uncommon in our world, but as a new performer you may not know the details and sooner or later you will deal with this. Transgender men in drag!

First we are going to discuss the differences between transgender, transsexual, and drag kings/male illusionists. I am going to first give you the literal definitions of each category and then go more in depth.

Transsexual- Transsexual men are men who were born female, however they identify as being male. They dress, talk, act, walk, and try and hide their feminine aspects as much as they can, but they have not made a physical, permanent  transition from female to male.

Transgender- Transgender men are men that were born female, however they identify as being male. They take hormones and have surgeries to physically and permanently change their gender from female to male.

Drag Kings/Male Illusionists-(We are grouping these two together because in Chapter 6 we already talked about the distinction between the two.) Drag Kings/Male Illusionists are born female and still identify as being female, but they make a physical (yet not permanent) transition from female to male for purely entertainment purposes only.

Does being transgender give you a leg up in a competition against Drag Kings?

This is a question that has caused a lot of controversy among our brothers. Everyone has their own opinions and there will never be a set yes or no to this question, but it is a good idea to get both sides of the story to understand what exactly is the issue.

First we are going to discuss the ‘unfairness’ of transgender men competing against Drag Kings. The main argument is that for a ‘true King’ to be a King you have to go through that physical transformation every time you perform. i.e. Applying facial hair, breast binding, groin padding. That is what makes a female into a male for performances. Now if you are transgender (not transsexual) then the issue arises when you do not have to go through the same steps such as facial hair and binding.

Here is a bit from one of my personal influences, Nation Tyre, “ My opinion, I hope ur ready for this!!... but my opinion(Nation Tyre) I consider myself an M.I. female, I don’t have any probs with transgendered or transsexuals, but as far as competing, it IS an unfair advantage. It is an art, and craft,… when surgery and drugs are not involved, but when those come into play, I feel the entertainer should not be considered M.I. WHERE IS THE ILLUSION, U EAT SLEEP DRINK, AND CONSIDER YOURSELF A MAN, BUT YOU WANT TO POSE AS AN M.I.??? TRUE U ARE ONE, BECAUSE OF THE FACT U WERE BORN A FEMALE,BUT IF U GET THE SURGERY AND PROSTETICS AND WHAT NOT, LIKE A REAL BOI, LIKE THE QUEENS THAT R TRANSGENDERED, THEY ARE TRANS DAY AND NITE…. ITS JUST LIKE BASE BALL, U CANT TAKE STEROIDS AND STILL WANNA BE CONSIDERED THE HOMERUN KING, U TOOK A BODY ALTERING DRUG, THEREFORE YOUR TITLE, OR ABILITY TO PLAY WAS ALTERED.. THIS IS MY OPINION, AND NOT LAW!! I HAVE A RIGHT TO FEEL THE WAY I FEEL BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, I HAVE NOT EVER ONCE THOUGHT OF MYSELF MALE, I JUST GET PAID FOR IT!!!!(THAT IS ALL) BUT LIKE I SAIDS I HAVE NO PROBLEMS WITH TRANS, BUT WHEN I SPEND MY MONEY TO RUN IN A PAGEANT, I WANT TO RUN AGAINST OTHER FEMALES, NOT TRANSMEN AND ITS NOT ABOUT LOOKS, ITS ABOUT LIFE, AND WHAT U CONSIDER URSELF WHILE LIVING IT!!!”

Now we are going to jump the fence and look at the other side of this issue from both transgender men and non-transgender kings. I am going to start with a few quotes and then after that we will sum up the entire debate!

“To me, it’s always been the elephant in the room. I agree with Damian that the queens have been doing it for years and in a way it has helped to open up new systems and concepts of what drag is. If I spend all my time as a performer worried about what the guy next to me looks like, who he is on a daily basis, and all that crap, then I am wasting my time of trying to better myself.”- Joshua K Mann

 “As an entertainer who just happens to be transgender, I can tell you right now that my 5 years of hormone therapy and top surgery has not made me a better entertainer nor does it give me an edge in competition. Being around other entertainers, studying my own strengths and weaknesses, and giving each performance my all is what has made me a better entertainer.”-Teddy Michael

“I agree, it is the heart that makes the entertainer. In my case, I am NOT transgender, my stylist and I work really hard on creating my illusion. I don’t have a problem with transmen competing on competitions alongs side non-trans. Although, truthfully, this has not always been the case.. I used to think that it would be almost impossible for someone like me to compete with a brother who has has the top surgery and hormones, but have since changed my view on this. I have come to realize after following circuits and with the some wise and supportive opinions of some of my dear friends, that it is all about the performers spirit and dedication to the craft that makes them a winner, title or not!!”—Logan Dale

What my brothers are saying here is that we, as performers, shouldn’t worry about what other people around us are doing, we should be focusing on ourselves and trying to better ourselves because really, if you are an amazing performer and are a non-transgender man standing next to a transgender man who didn’t do quite as well as you did, then the fact that they are transgender doesn’t automatically make them a better performer. Transgenders do have to be careful in pageants because most of the higher end ones such as Master Illusionist have guidelines about whether a transgender man can compete or if you have to be fully female. Though these guidelines are mainly set for big national titles, pageant agencies should start adding specific rules stating if transgender men can or cannot compete so that the other performers will know what they are up against and don’t get blindsided when they see a bunch of shirtless men out on stage.

Many of you reading this are young and new to the entertaining world so you may not have encountered a situation where you have had to deal with this or had to have formed an opinion on the matter, but I assure you, eventually you will and it is best to get opinions from more experienced Kings before the occasion should arise so you will be well prepared. Now for a quick quote from my man Nikki Kidd to end this discussion.

“I believe we are all people with a drive to entertain in our community and help make it a better place through performing. I really believe that we need to embrace each other as brothers no matter what. Each Artist has their own ideas, creative outlets and tools. If we work together, we can become a stronger force. Hormones do not make an entertainer, it is the heart, drive and ability to help others grow and be willing to grow that make an entertainer. Even in competing rank means nothing, doesn’t mean you are any better means you have strengths and weakness just like everyone else. A true winner comes out on top when he offers tools to those that are willing to learn, a true entertainer never stops pushing themselves to be better.”- Nikki Kidd

ALWAYS LOVE AND SUPPORT YOUR BROTHERS! WE ARE ALL BROTHERS! EVEN IF WE HAVE NEVER MET! If we fight and separate ourselves among each other then who will have our backs when the world turns on us?!

Alright men that is all for this chapter. Make sure to come back next week to continue your advanced journey! ALSO if any of you would like to do some advertising on here, hit me up with your name, picture, and a form of contact and I will be posting them with the weekly updates! Peace out!