Lady Gaga’s male alter ego, Jo Calderone has definitely turned lots of heads and started something of a cult following; and not just within the lesbian community mind you, she’s got straight girls gushing too. I don’t blame them; she makes a pretty hot guy. Gaga stayed in character all night and did an interview after the VMA’s and he was pretty damn sexy, it invokes this desire in you to want to know even more of this fictitious character.
Calderone opened the world’s eyes to the art of ‘fag drag’, a relatively quiet scene. Interestingly enough, Gaga’s Calderone is not the first person in the mainstream music scene to pull off fag drag. Think back to 2003 when Madonna put on a rather androgynous outfit for her performance of Me Against the Music and kissed Britney right after that. Nowhere near as convincing or attractive as Calderone, in my opinion, but still a pretty decent effort at fag-dragging. Think back even further to 1983 when Annie Lennox played both a man, who looks very much like Calderone, and a woman at the same time. The resemblance is uncanny- very original, Gaga.
That really got me thinking though; how is it we hardly see drag kings out and about? There are heaps of drag queens, as well as butch girls, lurking in every corner of gay clubs – Freddie Beperfect is just one drag king on the Amateur circuit in Perth but where are the rest? It’s all quite strange because fag-dragging has been around for quite a long time. The earliest recorded performance of a drag king was in the 1920s when Gladys Bentley did live shows for two decades, dressed as a man. But if we’re going to get technical, the act of women performing as men dated back to the eighteenth century in the age-old art of theatre and opera.
For those of us who aren’t very sure of what drag kings are, it’s a pretty simple concept to grasp; they’re pretty much the opposite of drag queens. They perform exaggerated ‘macho male characters’ and sometimes impersonate male characters like Michael Jackson or good old Elvis. Unlike drag queens, they usually perform in groups and troupes.
Their gender illusion process consists of three main steps- breast binding, the illusion of facial hair and incorporating male movements in their performances. The most significant thing that physically differentiates a man from a woman is the chest; drag kings bind their chests by putting on a sports bra and then wrapping a bandage around their breasts. To make their look more convincing, they also use a technique called ‘shadow makeup’ to create the illusion of facial hair- beards, thicker eyebrows and soul-patches. They also sometimes stuff cloth in their pants to hide their hips and create the illusion of a crotch.
That said however, something that really annoys me is how people throw judgemental statements at the lesbian community- if you like women, then why are you attracted to a woman dressed like a man?
Simple – I want to be taken care of but ultimately, I love boobs. I think the whole concept of androgyny and cross-dressing is extremely sexy; you actually get the best of both world. She’s usually dedicated to the concept of chivalry; she’ll take care of you and protect you. But at the same time underneath it all, she’s got soft and supple skin with the beautiful breasts and curves of a woman. Drag kings add one more dimension to androgyny- they entertain too. Now, what more could a girl ask for?
Vanessa Manivannen
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