Drag Kings

Reporter: Elise Thatcher

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Script

HOST: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term "drag" means: "feminine attire worn by a man" OR "a *party* or *dance* attended by such men wearing feminine attire." In Washington, DC a *drag* troupe called the DC Kings puts on well-attended shows twice a month... but they're all women, and they dress like men.

SOUND EFFECTS: Fade in the crowd before ken introducing maestro/rick james; KEN LAS VEGAS: "Just to define what is a drag king, drag king is a gender performer, and i know that one would assume it's, uh, a person who a female performing as male."

ELISE THATCHER: That's king Ken Las Vegas, 31-year-old leader of the all-female D.C. kings. Most sport thin sideburns and moustaches drawn in with eyeliner pencil... Some create facial hair with theater glue and clips of their own hair. Their costumes include camouflage and suave attire fit for a Boys 2 Men concert. With broad shoulders and a nonchalant attitude, drag king *E*Cleff is convincingly male.

*E*CLEFF: "There's the Harlem shake, a lot of moving my shoulders, a lot of, uh, *crotch* thrusting."

MUSIC: Fade out rick james, fade in "fast love."

ET: Such provocative body language is welcomed by screaming girls pushing five and one dollar bills into the willing and waiting hands of kings onstage.

*E*CLEFF: "Dallas, working for tips"

ET: King *E*Cleff's real name is Ebony Bell. She often learns such less than subtle moves on stage from another performer, Shevon. Shevon, who is female, dresses femininely with a campy flair reminiscent of drag queen shows. This role, where a woman performs as a woman, is called a bio-queen. For Shevon it's it a great way to get away from the daily grind. SHEVON: "I can't go into work tomorrow and wear leather chaps. But on the stage I can, and no one's going to question me."

MUSIC: Out with "fast love," in with metal rock

ET: A D.C. king show usually begins at midnight. Each king commands the stage with a lip-sync and dance combo -- they've spent weeks memorizing their act. The result attracts an audience hard to stereotype, both in age or gender.

At one show, behind the screaming girls, a cluster of female couples showed more interest in the performance than their drinks. Towards the bar, a young man tries pick-up lines on whatever female crossed his path... regardless of how she was dressed.

Whatever their sexual or costume preference, the fans are what prompt king Rocky to don men's clothing on a regular basis.

ROCKY: "They know your name in costume and they know your name when you're not. So their reaction, to hearing your name, it's so warm. It makes you want to come back and give it to them again. I love it, I love it."

MUSIC: Fade out with the Ken Goodbye, crowd cheering, then fade in background dance music from Chaos club scene.

ET: The show ends, but many fans stay to hang out around the bar with female kings still dressed and moustached. As someone new to drag kings, I couldn't help but wonder if the show was an act... or a way of life. For emcee Ken Las Vegas, whose real name is Kendra Couliga, performing as a man doesn't mean she wants to *be* a man.

KLV: "I'm a 100% woman, i mean, i'm just performing gender, that's all."

ET: The same goes for Bell, who says that dressing as a man has everything to do with power.

*E*CLEFF: "And I wanna explain that, because I don't want people to think that being a man means you have power. It's just for me, it's just really liberating to be able to be a totally different person. And that's what *E*Cleff is: You know, he's smooth, and he's not afraid to get up out on that stage and, and shake what his momma gave him."

ET: The D.C. king shows may not prompt the Oxford English Dictionary to change it's definition of "drag" to include women dressing as men. For the kings, what's important is "letting it all hang out" -- even if the hanging requires, well, a few well-placed socks and enough attitude to saunter across the gender line... chaps and all.

For Intern Edition, i'm Elise Thatcher.

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