How a Drag King Parodies—and Finds Joy in—Masculinity
The art of glued-on facial hair, lip-syncing to 2 Chainz, and skewering male swagger.
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Episode Notes
Pretty Rik E, a D.C.-based drag king, talks to host Aymann Ismail about what it means to treat masculinity as a performance. Rik E is part of a group called Pretty Boi Drag, whose drag shows involve lip-syncing to hypermasculine songs, dancing confidently, and sporting glued-on facial hair. In their performances, drag kings simultaneously celebrate and skewer male swagger. In the case of Rik E, sometimes they even carry their onstage personas into their offstage lives.
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Podcast production by Cameron Drews and Danielle Hewitt.
