trans view
Trans and Drag: When Worlds Collide The drag world and transgender community are often seen as two completely different worlds. Sometimes, this is an accurate assumption. Other times, this could not be farther from the truth. By Daniel Tirabassi
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or the first time in this column, I will talk about my own personal experiences as it relates to this topic. At 20, I created a drag persona that was nothing like me. Dontae Night was outgoing, flamboyant, charismatic and the epitome of male sexuality. He wore costumes with partially open shirts, tight pants and rhinestones that glittered in the stage light. At the same time, I was shy, reserved and did all I could to blend in, including wearing baggy black clothes at all times. Like many transgender people who aren’t sure who they are, I had labeled myself as a lesbian and idolized drag kings because they weren’t afraid of showing their masculine side through performance. In the summer of 2007, I decided that I wanted to try my hand at drag. I booked my first show at Ladies’ Night in an Akron gay bar called The Interbelt. When I got to the dressing room, the host, Danyel Vasquez, did something I was not prepared for. After thanking me for making the almost hour drive,
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she looked me up and down — and then asked me if I was transgender. Though my answer was no, the following six months would end up proving me a liar. The more I performed, the more time I wanted to spend as my persona. One day I bound my chest while I was hanging out around my house. For the first time off the stage, I felt comfortable in who I was. This is a story that I hear from so many transgender people now — drag helped them discover the person that they truly are. This is when the worlds start to battle. This mostly happens due to hormones being seen as an unfair advantage during pageantry. Though pageants are not judged on a performer’s appearance in their illusion, some performers feel that being transsexual should be disqualified because their art is no longer an illusion. However, performance and costuming has nothing to do with a person’s gender identity.
Dontae Night at Pride Youngstown 2017.
About a year after I came out as trans, a group of my transgender friends started a YouTube channel called TransOhioKingz. On this channel, transgender drag kings from all over the state talked about various parts of life being a transgender drag king. We discussed our decisions to still be referred to as drag kings versus male entertainers, what it is like in a dressing room as a transgender king, and how the lines between drag life and real life blur as one transitions. Many on the group were still competing in the pageant circuit and winning titles. I also competed in a few pageants and did well. It showed a slight shift in the drag community toward accepting transgender artists. Though preparing for shows became easier due to no longer needing to paste on a beard or bind our chests, transgender kings were showing that the art behind the performance doesn’t change as one transitions.
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