Drag Queens have danced their way to the forefront of pop culture, but Drag Kings are still fighting for their time in the spotlight.
Kelownasa国际传媒檚 drag scene is growing and diversifying, but the drag kings have always been around according to Laura McKenzie, also known as sa国际传媒楥raven Mooreheadsa国际传媒� who she describes as,sa国际传媒漛oth a rock and roll legend and a total perv.sa国际传媒�
McKenzie first met her masculine alter ego five years ago during her second amateur drag competition and then Craven Moorehead was asked to do more shows by infamous Kelowna Drag Queen Ella Lamoureux.
sa国际传媒淲hen I started doing more shows the question came up, what kind of man do I want to be? At first he was a dirty rock and roller, evolving with the themes of the show I was doing. Then he was a disco drag king, turns out he was very dirty, funny and liked to hump things. This is poking fun at gender, and what I think a man does,sa国际传媒� McKenzie said. sa国际传媒淚 just kept getting more creative.sa国际传媒�
Drag found her when she moved to Kelowna 11 years ago with her now fianc茅, drifting towards the LGBTQ+ community in the valley instead of the hetero-normative one.
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The androgynous special effects makeup artist began wondering what she would look like as a man and playing with gender. Working at Calowna Costume for eight years, McKenzie had racks of clothing to choose from to begin sculpting Craven Moorehead.
sa国际传媒淚 started playing around with, facial hair and it all took off from there,sa国际传媒� now McKenzie prefers grease paint and a stipple brush to create the illusion of facial hair for performances. sa国际传媒淓ven if my face is convincing, I am still a petite girl, and I am still 5-foot-5.sa国际传媒�
The sexual remarks and gestures Craven Moorehead makes on stage are taken lightly because the crowd still sees her as a woman performing her craft. She gets grabbed more when performing by the audience than in her day to day life; where the crowd comes to celebrating and poke fun at traditional gender roles and the social economic climate where men sexually harass women.
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sa国际传媒淭hey feel because I am a girl doing it and I am not getting any sexual gratification out of it, itsa国际传媒檚 more fun. They find it hilarious and we get to poke fun at this culture. The queens put their tips in their bra, I put mine in my pants. Itsa国际传媒檚 funnier because those boobs arensa国际传媒檛 real and I have a sock in my pants.sa国际传媒�
Drag Kings are not allowed to compete in the cult classic RuPaulsa国际传媒檚 Drag Race and neither are transwomen. However the kings have been climbing their way to the spotlight. A Drag King was the second runner-up in last yearsa国际传媒檚 Kelownasa国际传媒檚 Next Drag Superstar event. Kings originated in the 19th Century but were never able to make it to the main stream due to expressions of exaggerated femininity being more accepted and celebrated than expressions of exaggerated masculinity.
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This year McKenzie will not perform during Kelownasa国际传媒檚 Pride weekend, she will be emulating Craven Moorehead at the Radiant Wrap-Up Dance Party at Level Nightclub on Aug. 19 at 10 p.m.
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