Do You Need A Penis To Be A Drag Queen?

You Don’t Need A Penis To Be A Drag Queen

It started with Victoria Scone on Ru Paul's Drag Race UK. At least that is what we were led to believe. In truth, cisgender female drag queens is not a new concept. Movies like Victor Victoria (1982) and Connie and Carla (2004) challenged the idea of real women pretending to be men pretending to be drag queens — well before Victoria Scone.

In fact, AFAB drag queens (as they’re usually called) have been challenging the male-dominated industry of drag since 1996, in the first ever “Faux Queen” Pageant launched in San Francisco. And, arguably, they were not pretending to be men pretending to be drag queens, they were just drag queens.

Which all begs the question: do you need a penis to be a drag queen?

“Oh no! Absolutely not.” says Sydney-based AFAB drag queen Spacey.

“First of all, it’s an artform. And second of all, it’s about challenging gender as a construct — of course, because gender doesn’t really exist. It doesn’t matter what’s going on downstairs, as long as you’re having fun.”

Spacey has been performing as a drag queen since 2017, and is now a regular staple at Universal and the Newtown Hotel. And despite the relief of not having to tuck away a dangly member, building her drag persona was not an easy feat. Even as a woman pretending to be a woman.

“I don’t know about everyone in the drag space, but particularly for me, it’s a bit like taking up space in a male-dominated industry. At the end of the day, that’s what it is. It is a bit of a boys club — well, boys being girls club.”

“And it is a lot of men making money off the way that women and trans people look. Which is fine — and I think it’s fantastic — but I do think there needs to be a space that isn’t challenged, where women can be in, too.”

The irony is, though, a lot of drag queens in the earlier era of drag became trans women. Entertainer-turned-activist Marsha P. Johnson for one, Australia’s Carlotta for another. Which clearly proves that your physical sex has no bearing on your right to be a drag queen.

It’s all about the outward appearance. The overarching eyebrows; the ostentatious costumes. They’re essentially clowns with better contouring and sexier figures. And despite having the similarities of comparable entertainment like burlesque, it’s just not the same.

Drag Queen Cis Female Woman AFAB LGBTQ Spacey Space Horse — Drag queen Spacey. Photo: Dream Syndicate.

“For a lot of people who perform drag, it’s not something like where you pick up a wig one day and *boom* you’re a drag queen,” Spacey says. “It’s a skill that you have to work on and work up to becoming whatever an audience would deem as a drag queen.”

“I’m sure when I started I could have delved into the burlesque space,” continued Spacey, “but that didn’t interest me as much. It also wasn’t having this moment in the zeitgeist like drag is; it’s got this real allure about it.

“To just say, ‘ah no, you can’t have a go…’ I’m like, why? Maybe have a critical think about why you don’t want women doing drag. If you think we’re worse at it anyway, then we’re not going to be taking your gigs — so settle down.”

It’s More Than Just Some Of Your Parts

Naughty vegetables. Drag Queen Cis Female Woman AFAB LGBTQ — Naughty vegetables. Image: Dainis Graveris on Unsplash.

“Half the time it just gets in the way!” says Sydney drag queen Carmen Geddit, refusing the notion that you need a penis to be a drag queen.

“To be a drag queen, all you need to do is rock up on time and have fun,” says Carmen. “That’s the thing, it’s supposed to be a comedic take on… well, I was gonna say femininity, but that’s not even true anymore!

“You just gotta be entertaining. Some people take it so seriously and I don’t think it needs to be taken seriously. It’s supposed to be entertainment, it’s supposed to give people a break from the mundane and take them into a magical world for however long they’re on stage for.”

Drag Queen Cis Man LGBTQ Carmen Geddit — Drag queen Carmen Geddit.

According to Carmen, drag is simply a performance. It’s no different to any other performance that involves dressing up for the part. But, even Carmen agrees that it ain’t like it used to be.

“When we started, way back in the dark ages, there were so many rules: you had to wear some sort of lashes, some sort of earring. The girls would all be dressed the same in the show, or the same hair in different colours.

“But now there’s no rules. There’s no wrong way to do drag anymore.”

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Drag Queen Scorned

Of course, the elephant in the room is that some people despise the idea of female drag queens. They much prefer men to dress up as women. Yep! Even though a majority of the time their penis is not on show, it seems that having one is part of the criteria. Which, no matter how you spin it, is quite sexist. It’s like telling women they can’t be clowns.

Even Victoria Scone faced criticism when she presented herself to the world. To which she heartily replied on twitter:

“Some need to understand that as a cis woman doing drag presenting as a woman it is still a fuck you to society,” Victoria wrote. “I embody every gender stereotype that’s ever been instilled on me (as a woman) by society. I heighten it, I laugh at it, and then take a big queer shit on it.”

Some need to understand that as a cis woman doing drag presenting as a woman it is still a fuck you to society. I embody every gender stereotype that’s ever been instilled on me (as a woman) by society. I heighten it, I laugh at it, and then take a big queer shit on it.
— Victoria Scone BLACK TRANS LIVES STILL MATTER (@VictoriaScone) August 21, 2021

According to feminists, isn’t being a woman hard enough? Now it’s women pretending to be women that are facing the public furore. Even AFAB drag queen Spacey faced a few scrunched noses.

“Not so much anymore to my face,” she says. “When I first started it was a lot of barraging at me like, ‘What is this? What are you? I don’t really get it!’ And now it’s moved out of the real world space, where it’s very much online.

“Most of the time, though, it’s someone who’s watched a bit too much Drag Race and hasn’t really got the ability to critically think — so I’m not getting too worked up about their opinions.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s enough to make me stop doing drag.”

Interestingly, though, much of the criticism seems to come from those who have never done drag themselves. Just those who think they know drag. Spacey has performed with a few Sydney drag queens, and all of them have been very welcoming to her.

“I’ve never had a fellow drag queen ever say anything,” Spacey says. “I mean, I might be tooting my own horn, but I do feel I am very good at drag. I make all of my own costumes as well. And I try to have a finger in every pie.

“So if someone turned around backstage and was like, ‘why are you here?!’, well, I could say: ‘here is the resume, girl!’

“But, in saying that, no. Everyone is so beautiful and supportive — especially in Sydney.”

At the end of the day, drag will always be changing and evolving. And despite however much we hope, mindless critics will always make a fuss. Especially when it comes to AFAB drag queens, as Carmen says:

“There’s always people who are gonna have a problem with it. But I think the more diversity, the better.

“There will be so many different takes on it, and that’s where you get some amazing performances that you haven’t seen before.”

Feature image: Oriark Designs.