Hello! Working drag king here 😎
(a warning, this is going to be a long'un. But I wanted to give anyone looking to get into kinging a comprehensive launch pad, or as much of one as I could)
It's definitely true, there's nowhere near as many resources for kings as there are for queens, but over the last couple of years the community has exploded in size and visibility, and there are some great places to start.
I'll link some videos down below that helped me get started when I was first trying to figure myself out. Also, as much as there are some valuable indictments to be levied against pageant culture as the only aspect of drag that people are exposed to, I'd really recommend checking out Dragula. It's a great exposure to a more varied range of drag artistry than is shown on Drag Race, and I personally found it helpful when I was trying to work up the courage to try drag for the first time.
This is a brief history of male impersonation, and while it's not exhaustive, it offers a great jumping-off point to start your own research!
These are a variety of news pieces about drag kings, all from several years ago. I watched these obsessively, over and over, and all of them really helped me to find the courage to start performing:
This is just a bunch of videos from Hugo Grrrl, a New Zealand drag king. The first time I did "real" drag makeup, I followed his tutorial step-for-step, and his tips and performance videos really helped me figure out how to take up space on stage with a flamboyant but masculine persona!
I'm also going to drop a couple of Landon Cider videos here; he's a pretty ubiquitous name in the king community, and I love how different his stage persona is from Hugo's.
And now it's just time for me to plug all my friends 😅
But seriously, especially since we as drag kings have so much less visibility, person-to-person community is so important.
I'm going to tag @kingriverglass (same name on insta and TikTok). They're a great friend to me, and they're so good at what they do 🥰
You should also check out Jarvis Hammer (@ jarvis.hammer) on Instagram, another dear friend and a walking cartoon 👀
Speaking of cartoons, I wouldn't dream of omitting Spank Knightly (@spank_knightly on Instagram)
Baba Moon (@kingbabamoon on Instagram) is such an inspiration tbh, all of his makeup is such a masterpiece 😍
Chris Griandher (@c_griandher on Instagram) is a fantastic horror and sfx-based King!
And the final photo dump: a few of my credentials 😅 I'm no expert, but I've been at this for a while now, and here's some of my favorite stops along the journey!
In closing, I'll just reiterate what I mentioned about community. The local drag scene in your area will become like a family to you. If you want to get on stage, I'd start looking for open call nights at gay bars near you. Most will have some kind of open stage for new performers. Even if you're not performing, I can't recommend strongly enough going to support local acts, buying your neighborhood queens, kings, and things a drink or two, and chatting with them. Drag can be a very "who you know" business, but that's not all bad. It means you have each other's backs.
It's also a good idea to just go to shows to see the kinds of drag being done in your area. Boots-on-the-ground observation is some of the best research and prep you can do.
And don't be afraid to ask questions! Any performer worth their salt loves helping out people coming up in the industry, whether it's someone local or not.
My ask box is always open. You can also DM me @king_robin_ransom on Instagram 😊
I hope this is helpful!!! I sincerely wish you the best of luck with these first steps. They're the hardest, but it gets easier from here 💕
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