Faux queen

A faux queen, AFAB drag queen, female drag queen, bio queen, diva queen, or hyper queen [1] is a drag queen who identifies as a cisgender woman, a transgender (FTM) man, or as a nonbinary person who was assigned female at birth ("AFAB"). These performers are generally indistinguishable from the more common cisgender male or transgender (MTF) drag queens in artistic style and techniques. [2][3]

Cross-dressing

While all these terms are used both by performers and in the media, many are considered offensive. The term "faux queen" is rejected and considered outdated by many drag artists for implying that AFAB drag queens are not as "real" as cisgender male drag queens,[4][5][6] and the terms "bio queen" and "female queen" are considered by many performers to be transphobic as they imply that a transgender (MTF) woman who performs as a drag queen is not female and that a transgender (FTM) man is.[7][8] Other descriptions include "biologically challenged" drag queen, "female female impersonator",[9] or "female impersonator impersonator."[10] All of these terms are generally considered acceptable only when used by the performer themselves, and many drag queens reject all terms that define them by their sex.

Concept

Like all drag performers, AFAB drag queens play with traditional gender roles and gender norms to educate and entertain. AFAB queens can appear alongside drag kings or drag queens at drag shows and are interchangeable with other drag queens as emcees, performers, hostesses, and spokesmodels.[11]

For some it can be a way to redefine postmodern feminism; AFAB queen Ms. Lucia Love stated, "Drag queens would be nowhere without women."[12] For others it simply is about dressing up and having fun.[13]

In San Francisco, the first ever "Faux Queen" pageant was produced as a benefit by Diet Popstitute[14] and the first title holder was Coca Dietetica aka Laurie Bushman. The Klubstitute Kollective[15] was formed after Diet Popstitute's death to continue to raise funds and provide a space for the performers who, at the time, weren't always welcome in regular drag venues. Pageant organizer Ruby Toosday had "friends who got fired (from drag clubs) for being women...it seemed like we had definitely hit a nerve.[9] Contestants were judged on drag, talent, and personality by a panel of judges[16] and the winner helped "femcee" the following year. The pageants were held from 1996 to 2005. The Faux Queen Pageant was resurrected in 2012 by former title holder Bea Dazzler, and will continue to be a yearly competition in San Francisco.

Fauxnique (dancer & performance artist Monique Jenkinson) became the first cisgender female drag queen to win a major drag pageant—competing against male or MTF drag queens—when she was crowned Miss Trannyshack 2003. From Bust Magazine: "'(drag) comes down to a sort of self-awareness, a self-consciousness about playing around with femininity,' says Fauxnique. She adds that while drag for her is primarily about performance, it's also a 'rejection of traditional oppressive forms of masculinity—and that's part of an affinity with gay men as well. I wouldn't say every faux queen is a feminist, but I would say that a part of them is in some way.'"[17]

In the 1970s and 1980s, German-born Brazilian cisgender female queen Elke Maravilha became a popular TV personality after participating as a judge in Chacrinha and Silvio Santos talent shows. According to her, "many people think I am a transvestite. When they ask me this, I jokingly reply that I'm a man indeed. And of the most gifted ones".[18]

The comedy films Connie and Carla[19] and Victor Victoria both center on cisgender female drag queens, but the main characters of both films are women who are forced by circumstance to work as drag queens. They keep their gender a secret and impersonate men when off-stage, quite unlike their real-life counterparts.

The 2020 reality TV vogue competition Legendary was the first US reality television show to include cisgender women performing and competing as drag queens, including the all-female team representing House of Ninja[20]. The reality competition Dragula featured two AFAB performers in their third season, but winner Landon Cider performs as a drag king and contestant Hollow Eve identifies as a non-binary drag artist, not specifically a drag queen.[21]

Controversy

AFAB drag queens are not always permitted or welcomed within drag spaces, which are typically owned and run by cisgender gay men. RuPaul, the producer and host of the reality TV competition RuPaul's Drag Race, has banned female artists from his shows, stating "Drag loses its sense of danger and its sense of irony once it’s not men doing it, because at its core it’s a social statement and a big f-you to male-dominated culture. So for men to do it, it’s really punk rock, because it’s a real rejection of masculinity."[22] After significant backlash, RuPaul amended this response in 2019 to state “I’ve learnt to never say never.” [23]

There are widely-held beliefs within the community that female drag queens do not face the same challenges as cisgender male drag queens, and do not need to use padding, makeup, or tucking to create the illusion of femininity. AFAB artists typically counter that they use the same makeup techniques to create exaggerated femininity, and many do use padding and corsets to create an extreme body shape.[24][5] Female queens on Instagram often mock this belief that they do not "transform" their bodies by sharing strikingly different images of themselves in and out of drag with the hashtag #wheresthetransformationsis, started by AFAB queen Creme Fatale.[25]

The rejection of AFAB drag queens is often closely linked to other reports of discrimination and objectification that women, transgender men, and nonbinary people assigned female at birth face within LGBT spaces. These artists frequently report groping and harassment from cisgender gay men in gay bars and performance spaces, and report less pay and less tips from audiences.[26] Artists also have complained about drag terminology that they state is exclusionary or offensive; AFAB artist Hollow Eve sparked a significant debate in 2019 when an episode of Dragula aired where they spoke out against the term "fishy," used to mean a drag queen who looks like a cisgender woman and referring negatively to the smell of a vulva.[27]

The rising prominence of AFAB drag queens and increased dialogue around inclusivity has resulted in many drag artists rejecting any distinction based on their gender and calling for drag competitions to remove all gender and biological sex requirements for contestants.[28]

  • German-born cisgender female drag queen Elke Maravilha became a famous TV personality in Brazil in the 1970s.
  • Holy McGrail is a faux queen and nightlife socialite in San Francisco. Making her debut in 2005, Holy is known for her outrageous self made wigs, signature makeup and drag performances.
  • San Francisco Faux Queens From Left: Kegal Kater, L'Ron Hubby, Trixxie Carr, Fauxnique, Hoku Mama Swamp, Holy McGrail at the Trannyshack Kiss Off Party August 23, 2008.
gollark: <@213674115700097025> Thoughts?
gollark: Hmm, does Tux1 roll?
gollark: APL rolls due to being a shape of constant width.
gollark: Or secrets which you don't want to get out, say.
gollark: "Real" antimemes don't do this because you know about their existence/can perceive them, but just don't want to spread them for whatever reason.

See also

References
  1. "Can't Drag Us Down: Meet London's Female Queens". Broadly Staff. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  2. Levin, Sam (2018-03-08). "Who can be a drag queen? RuPaul's trans comments fuel calls for inclusion". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  3. "Meet the Trans, Non-Binary and Bio Queens Who Deserve a Spot on 'RuPaul's Drag Race U.K.'". KQED. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  4. "Crimson Kitty Is Biologically Female, And A Drag Queen. Got A Problem?". Oxygen Official Site. 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  5. Coull, Jamie Lee (2015). "Faux Queens: an exploration of gender, sexuality and queerness in cis-female drag queen performance" (PDF). PhD.
  6. Nicholson, Rebecca (2017-07-10). "Workin' it! How female drag queens are causing a scene". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  7. Muse, Amy (2020-03-06). Text & Presentation, 2019. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-4058-7.
  8. Nicholson, Rebecca (2017-07-10). "Workin' it! How female drag queens are causing a scene". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  9. "'Faux Queens' bend gender-bending". CNN.com. 2000-11-22. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  10. "This Week's Day-by-Day Picks by Hiya Swanhuyser and Joyce Slaton". San Francisco Weekly. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  11. "A faux queen lets down her 'blond' hair by Laurel Wellman". SF Chronicle. 2004-06-02. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  12. "Like a natural woman". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  13. Barber, Lynn (2006-11-25). "The interview: Ana Matronic - Life's a drag". London: Guardian. Archived from the original on August 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  14. Diet Popstitute, aka Michael Joseph Collins; 1958 - 1995 Alvin Orloff
  15. "Faux Queen Pageant". San Francisco Bay Times. Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  16. "Eight Days A Week - Glam it up". SF Bay Guardian. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  17. "Monique Jenkinson | Fauxnique".
  18. Neves, Carla (September 16, 2007). ""Quando me perguntam se sou travesti, digo que sou homem, e dos mais dotados", brinca Elke Maravilha" (in Portuguese). UOL. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  19. "Connie and Carla". Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  20. "Exclusive Interview: HBO Max's Legendary judge the Wonder Woman of Vogue Leiomy Maldonado". The Queer Review. 2020-06-19. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  21. "Dragula Will Be The First U.S. Reality TV Competition To Feature A Drag King & AFAB Drag Artist". IN Magazine. 2019-08-08. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  22. Networks, Hornet (2018-03-03). "RuPaul Answers the Question of Whether He'd Allow a 'Bio Queen' to Compete on His Show". Hornet. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  23. "RuPaul speaks on the possibility of cis women competing on Drag Race". GCN. 2019-09-17. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  24. "No Girls Allowed: Examining the Validity of the Bio Queen and Their Role in Queer Environments". HISKIND Magazine. 2016-04-03. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  25. "Creme Fatale: Where's The Transformation, Sis? – Gloss Magazine". Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  26. "Bioqueens Face Misogyny Within The 'Safe Space' of Drag". www.intomore.com. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  27. "'Post-Binary but Polarizing' : Interview with Hollow Eve". WUSSY MAG. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  28. Cuby, Michael. "These Trans and Cis Female Drag Queens Have Some WORDS for RuPaul". them. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
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