Drag Kings

A Drag King is anyone (regardless of gender or sexual orientation) who makes a performance of masculinity. A more recent movement than drag queens, drag kings are part of an international drag movement that began in the mid 1980s. The difference between a drag king and a male impersonator is the drag king makes an entertaining show out of their male impersonation. Although drag king in itself is part of the recent renaissance of drag it can be seen in the history of cross dressing and male impersonation. Male impersonation has occured on the stage for many years, when after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, female actresses were introduced to the stage. Some women played young men in breeches which in recent times has translated to women playing the dashing young lead boy in plays and pantomimes.

Drag Kings are mostly lesbians, but they may also include female-to-male transsexuals as well as bisexual, androgynous and straight women. Even males can perform as drag kings. Because of the variety of sexual orientations that drag kings exhibit there is a variety of characteristics both on and off stage that drag kings have. Transgender drag kings tend to maintain a male gender identification off-stage, lesbians who identify as 'butch' often elaborate their off-stage female masculinity and female-identified drag queens often leave their masculine persona on stage understanding they are involved in a parody of masculinity.

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These two videos show the process of Drag King makeup and explain some of the background behind it

Drag King Makeup

Drag King Makeup

No Makeup

For my drag king makeup I wanted to create a gender transformation without the use of things like prosthetics of hair to see if this was a realistic accomplishment. I started by adding shading under the eyes and under the eyebrow to create the look of deeper sockets and and a heavier brow bone which from my research I know that this is a main difference between men and women. I also added shading very wide either side of the nose to create the appearance of a wider, bigger nose. Finally I added some slight shading in the cheekbones to create the look of more pronounced cheekbones. I then added eyebrow wax through my brows, going underneath the arch to make them look lower and much fuller, I also brought them slightly closer together. I made my lips appear slightly thinner and less coloured by using a small bit of concealer  around the lips and blending this with my finger. Finally I used one of the stubble techniques I had experimented with in my hair experimentation using greasepaint and a stipple sponge. I mixed a few tones of brown together and stippled this over my chin, upper lip and down onto neck where facial hair would naturally grow. Finally I brushed my own hair forward to create a more masculine style.

Overall I was happy and surprised at the outcome of this look. Not much makeup was used but the changes, especially those made with the shading were subtle but made a lot of difference. I liked how more deep set the eyes immediately looked and how creating thicker brows make the entire brow bone look heavier. From afar this method of stubble is definitely effective and can look like real stubble however up close it is more obvious that this was created with makeup and is not real hair growth. The changes do add a more masculine appearance but I feel it would still be classed as a 'feminine' looking man. This, therefore shows me that there are fundamental differences in the bone structure of males and females and to truly look like a male I would need a heavier brow bone and wider jawline. Masculinity and femininity do not just come from the absence or adding on of hair etc.

Gender Mixing Makeup

After looking at cases in my research where people had mixed genders or had chosen not to fit into gender norms I wanted to do a makeup that crossed gender norms and mixed elements from both gender makeup skills. This is one of the most interesting aspects of gender as people are less likely to accept people in between genders than changing straight from one to the other as people generally like gender to be split evenly. I created a look which took the blank canvas from my agender look then added different gender markers on top of it. I created a stubble beard using greasepaint which I'd experimented with previously, lipstick and classic women's eye makeup then men's lower thicker eyebrows.

Overall I was happy with the outcome of this test makeup and if I had time I would like to explore more into it. The bald cap has been evaluated in my non-gendered makeup post. I was happy with the stubble beard as I had tried a real hair stubble on a model before so wanted to try a greasepaint stubble on a model, not just myself. I think the colour worked well for the skin tone and eyebrows and from afar it looked effective as stubble. From close up it is more obvious that it isn't real hair growth but because of other elements of this makeup such as the eyebrows this isn't the type of makeup that would be appropriate to be shot up close. The lipstick and eye makeup application were relatively simple as I wanted to stick to natural makeup instead of going into drag. I think they're both effective as natural feminine makeup. The eyebrows were drawn back in with eyeshadow and were put a lot lower than the models natural brow to create a more masculine shape. This worked well for shaping but because I was drawing back on top of covered brows, up close it is obvious the hairs are not real and drawn on. This could be rectified in a more detailed makeup with techniques like laying on hair for the eyebrows. Overall I was happy with this makeup as I feel it confuses the norms of gender and makes it a lot harder to tell the natural sex of the model.