The performers of Sex Sex Men Men, a new drag king show in the capital.
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Drag queens – men dressing as exaggerated women – have been a fixture of London’s arts scene for decades. Now one group of women is trying to bring drag kings into the mainstream.
London’s Pecs Drag King Collective is enjoying a successful start to its new cabaret performance, Sex Sex Men Men. Having launched this week, the show has been extended due to high demand.
‘A sock down the pants’
Drag kings might use mascara to paint a beard on their faces or give themselves chest hair. A sock down the trousers is essential.
Sex Sex Men Men moves through a series of acts on male behaviour – many criticising the more toxic parts of traditional masculinity.
One act takes after the 2000 film American Psycho.
Others are celebratory, including a love scene between two muscular, hairy men. The whole show is laced with monologues performed by the kings but taken from actual confessions posted by men online.
Holding a mirror up to men
Victoria Aubrey, who performs as the character Victor Victorious in the show says drag kings hold a mirror to the more toxic aspects of male culture.
“There is an expectation that men as a group should not share their emotions with other men, should not feel too strongly, express too strongly and act in a way that is overly emotional,” says Aubrey.
“If they do, that makes them feminine and that makes them soft which in some way is a bad thing. That is something we really need to tackle.”
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HeadlineMeet the women changing London’s drag scene
Short HeadlineThe women changing London's drag scene
StandfirstDrag kings mess with gender in different ways from traditional drag queens.
Drag queens – men dressing as exaggerated women – have been a fixture of London’s arts scene for decades. Now one group of women is trying to bring drag kings into the mainstream.
London’s Pecs Drag King Collective is enjoying a successful start to its new cabaret performance, Sex Sex Men Men. Having launched this week, the show has been extended due to high demand.
‘A sock down the pants’
Drag kings might use mascara to paint a beard on their faces or give themselves chest hair. A sock down the trousers is essential.
Sex Sex Men Men moves through a series of acts on male behaviour – many criticising the more toxic parts of traditional masculinity.
One act takes after the 2000 film American Psycho.
Others are celebratory, including a love scene between two muscular, hairy men. The whole show is laced with monologues performed by the kings but taken from actual confessions posted by men online.
Holding a mirror up to men
Victoria Aubrey, who performs as the character Victor Victorious in the show says drag kings hold a mirror to the more toxic aspects of male culture.
“There is an expectation that men as a group should not share their emotions with other men, should not feel too strongly, express too strongly and act in a way that is overly emotional,” says Aubrey.
“If they do, that makes them feminine and that makes them soft which in some way is a bad thing. That is something we really need to tackle.”
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