It’s been a decade since I applied facial hair to my sensitive skin.  It includes applying sticky glue called “spirit gum” and hair clippings on your face: the result, sideburns, and if desired a moustache and/or goatee. The transformation was transformative for me. A part of me that had I kept hidden came alive, and Flare was born.

Since then I have deeply involved myself in the Toronto community and the International Drag KingCommunity Extravaganza (IDKE). I have learned that no one really knows what a Drag King is.  In the basic terms a Drag King is a female born person who physically presents a male persona. 

However, the Drag King scene is not basic. It involves an array of genders, politics, classes, races, ages, and abilities. We share spaces because there are limited spaces available to our queer collective. We, therefore, have to operate with one another, work/respect our differences, and share in the wonderful stories that burst out of the talented people who call themselves a Drag King.