By Izzy Ahee

 

 

Drag Kings come in all shapes and sizes! Each one of us has our style of presentation and even performance type. I had no idea how diverse the drag community could be in style although I did witness many personalities through most of my fascination as a fan. Later, when I entered the world of drag I never thought about it much. Quickly though I found myself in a family that would certainly be seen as professionals. They are not likely to tell you that because their success speaks for itself. I certaintly have never been a big fan of huge egos. I was suprised to find out that I had become part of such a professional group of amazing Drag Personalities and variety of professional styles. My drag family is featured in Scott Church’s film, Drag. I am just so proud of the DeAire Family and hope we can always stay united through our love and passion for the art of drag!

Of course I am biased about my family but I appreciate their support and love over the years. Regardless they are always my drag family. There are also many drag friends that are not in my family that are also professionals. I love them as well, friends are made of gold. Also,there are many drag people that are not necessarily seen as professionals, but they often do a lot of fundraisers and so on. They are equally important to the world of drag. Drag has always had a ton of heart and the honoring of the part – time drag person that runs fundraisers is an inspiration for all of us.

I have tried many styles of drag including funny stuff, serious dramatic numbers, sexy stuff, dance numbers and even scary stuff! I can do most of them pretty well but my style is that I am a STAG King. This means that when I am in full face I am easily taken as a male bodied person. I pass. Queens that pass in this way are called “Fishy” and I was challenged a few years ago to find a name that works for kings in that way. Frankly, after a couple years of travel and getting to know drag in many corners of the USA – I am inspired by “Stag King” – A pun on words much like my name “Izzy Ahee?” I think its perfect and Drag has a long history of having its own language.

Another well known “Stag King” would be Le’Kross DeAire yet another member of my amazing drag family. He was immediately adopted by my Drag Grandmother as a son, soon after I moved out of PA. Over the last couple years we have realized just how much we have in common, not just as stag kings, but as third gender activists. His look is very latino stag and frankly his performances are well done and amazing! Great King with a great attitude!

As a Stag King I have experienced the world from the masculine side of the world. Masculine people have postures that communicate a lot, like confidence and competition, aggression, and even professional men carry themselves differently than blue collar workers. In my experience its mostly fascinating and you become very aware of it when you begin to present as a Stag King. I am puttting together a video on how to do a realistic beard for those interested.

I also want to include some other styles. Just because someone is not Stag do not underestimate his talent as a Drag King. One is the amazing Maxwell Treats with great talent for telling a story without saying a word. His costumes and performances are very Broadway style. He is truly fabulous based on his authentic unique style. Also, Mykel Bono, my Drag Brother,  has great make-up! His style is incredibly creative and talented in his costumes and over the top style, truly a Drag King that can stand beside a Queen and give her some competition. My newest Drag King friend Adam Clambert is impressive in his ability to entertain the crowd and his style is more like a flaming twink, which is cute in its own style. Adam is really going far in drag I am so proud to see him in competitions at Tracks, the largest gay club in Denver! The other king I recently met here in Colorado was MaveRick who was very Broadway, his entertainment value is fantastic. So proud to see him booked regularly in Fort Collins. I am impressed with his classic style and loved that he had backup dancers at the Guys N’ Dolls Show.

As for me as a Stag King, I know my newest look that I am about to introduce, will not qualify in that way. I still learned a lot by being a Stag King and I am working on a video instructional on how to do realistic make-up. Maybe I will do one for my newest look, too. I haven’t posted my latest….watch out more to come!! Izzy’s look has changed!!