Drag King

A drag king is a performance artist who adopts an exaggerated masculine look and persona for the stage. Historically most drag kings have been women, and today they include transgender men, non-binary people, and performers of every gender expression. A king's toolkit can include drawn-on stubble, contouring for a stronger jaw, binding, padding, and masculine costume, with acts built around lip-sync, dance, comedy, and song. The term appeared in print by 1972, but male impersonation on stage runs back centuries; English-born performer Annie Hindle was one of the most popular in nineteenth-century America. Drag kings have deep roots in lesbian and queer nightlife and are gaining wider recognition, though they have long received less mainstream attention than drag queens.