Drag Kings Set To Break World Record At Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade
starobserver.com.auThe Drag Kings are set to break a world record when they march in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) Parade on February 25.In a conversation with Star Observer, drag king Big Rod, one of the float organisers, explained, “The float is called Drag Kings Unite, and it’s really about that push for representation for drag kings and showing how diverse and huge our community is.”The Drag Kings Unite float will feature a crown made of strip lighting and a DJ on an elevated platform.
The parade participants will be dressed in royal colours, symbolising the drag king community’s strength and desire for more representation in the LGBTQIA+ community.Talking about the misconceptions drag kings face, Big Rod said, “I think a lot of people think drag kings don’t exist or that we aren’t as good as [drag queens]. “I would say that it’s time to stop comparing us to drag queens and respect us as our own genre, our own art form, that is just as wonderful and diverse as drag queens, and it’s time for us to share that space a bit more.”Drag king Sexy Galexy believes that drag kings do not get the same recognition as drag queens because “we live in a man’s world.”“We’ve had our mouths taped shut and pushed back to the back rooms, small rooms, offstage.
So we haven’t been able to have that opportunity to have that history visible even though we have had that history.”Sexy Galexy said, “if you’re looking to book someone for an event, like look outside the box into the queer community at what other sort of entertainers there are. “We’re just as fun, just as colourful and camp…what we need is people behind us.”The SGLMG Parade is on February 25 and starts at 5:30pm.
