A Question To Ponder

I went to Wall Mart today and did some grocery shopping. (Yeah I know I'm a guy and a stereotypical guy doesn't do shopping, right?) I saw a huge, really muscular guy wearing a dress. I really didn't think anything of it, then I started pondering it, and one question's been nagging me all day now so I put it you guys n gals at ATS

I realize it isn't the weightiest question in the world, nor is it the deepest one to ponder philosophically. Still, it is stuck in my head.

If a guy wearing female clothes is called a drag queen, why can't a woman who wears men's clothing be called a drag king?

I don't mean something like jeans, although a long time ago jeans and pants were once thought to be what men wore. But I mean something like a suit, slacks or dress pants, and a tie, or even a zoot suit.

So I ask it once more, If a guy wearing female clothes is called a drag queen, why can't a woman who wears men's clothing be called a drag king?

I guess you could say drag king or butch lesbian.

reply to post by EvilSadamClone


I think it's because they're called lesbians. At the very least: Cross dressers.

you just blew my mind!...
But no seriously, we should be able to call women who wear mens clothes for drag king.

That has gotta be a great "people of walmart" photo....did u get a pick??

reply to post by jiggerj


Not lesbians, just cross dressers.

reply to post by anonomorphic


No, no pictures. I don't believe in harassing people like that.

A drag queen is someone who is an entertainer, if they are not an entertainer, they are called a cross dresser/transgender (not 100% certain on the later, but im pretty sure transgender is pre-op and transexual is post-op)

Because there is no market for a female cross dresser entertainer, there is no such thing as a drag king, however there is a market for male cross dressing entertainers (drag queen) which is the reason that there is such a term.

Hope that clears things up.

I think the term drag queen is derived from the flamboyant nature of some men who cross dress. Not all men who cross dress are drag queens. Some are just men in drag. They are also called transvestites sometimes. Drag queens are usually over the top. They sometimes are performers and do stage shows where they sing and dance in a type of Cabaret.

There are very few women who do this kind of performance acting. The term drag queen was coined and is now being used the categorize all types of men who cross dress. Although I think this is an improper use of the term. It likely also has to do with the negative connotation that the term transvestite has.

Society has begun to try and gain some acceptance for the LGBT community and so the term drag queen puts a sort of positive spin on this once frowned upon activity. The feminist movement would frown upon women who wear men's clothing being called drag kings. Unless they are specifically trying to do so as an act.

So while the term drag queen is put into a positive light. Drag king would still hold that negative connotation for both the feminist movement and the lesbian community.

reply to post by Trolloks

Because there is no market for a female cross dresser entertainer, there is no such thing as a drag king, however there is a market for male cross dressing entertainers (drag queen) which is the reason that there is such a term.

There actually are "drag king" performances and contests. It appears that these performers do indeed call themselves "drag kings".

I won't post any videos but you can do a search on youtube and find many results.

There's even a wikipedia page for drag king

en.wikipedia.org...

Drag kings are mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of their routine.[1] A typical show may incorporate dancing and singing, sometimes live or lip-synching to pre-recorded tracks.[2] Drag kings often perform as exaggeratedly macho male characters,[3] portray marginalized masculinities such as construction workers, rappers, or "fag drag," or they will impersonate male celebrities like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Tim McGraw

and other websites like this one

sfdragkingcontest.com...

reply to post by MagicWand67


Thanks magic, it does answer a few things, but I still have some confusion because around here any guy who wears a dress for any reason is called a drag queen.

reply to post by MagicWand67


That makes sense, i have never heard of a drag king but i would certainly not rule the possibility out.

I guess that anyone with the word 'drag' infront (whether king or queen) is an entertainer. Others who are not an entertainer and cross dress could be called transgender/cross dresser (depending on the political correctness in your area)

I don't know 100%, but it seems to make sense, just dropping my 2pence.