Editing Drag king (section)

==History and terminology==
[[File:HettyKingDark.jpg|thumb|175px|A 1907 sheet music cover of "I'm Afraid to Come Home in the Dark" featuring singer and male impersonator [[Hetty King]].]]
[[File:Wild Side Story "America" 1977.jpg|thumb|Drag king character ''Macho'' (far right) in the "America" number of ''[[Wild Side Story]]'' in Los Angeles in 1977.]]

While the term ''[[:wikt:drag king|drag king]]'' was first cited in print in 1972,<ref>Oxford English Dictionary cites {{Citation | last = Rogers | first = Bruce | title = The Queen's Vernacular: A Gay Lexicon  | publisher = Straight Arrow Books | year = 1972 | isbn = 9780879320263 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aQtjAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> there is a longer history of female performers dressing in male attire. In China, the practice of "female men [characters]" (''kunsheng''; see also [[Sheng role|''sheng'' roles]]), in which women portrayed men in stage performances, was first documented during the middle [[Tang dynasty]] (617–908 CE). This continued through to the early [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] dynasty, when the [[Qianlong Emperor]] banned actresses from performing in 1722. It was revived in the late 19th and 20th centuries as the ban on actresses was loosened.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hui-ling |first=Chou |date=1997 |title=Striking Their Own Poses: The History of Cross-Dressing on the Chinese Stage |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1146629 |journal=[[TDR (journal)|TDR]] |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=130–152 |doi=10.2307/1146629 |jstor=1146629 |issn=1054-2043|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In theatre and opera, there was a tradition of [[breeches role]]s and [[en travesti]].<ref>{{Citation  | last = Senelick | first = Laurence | title = The changing room: sex, drag and theatre| publisher = Routledge | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-0-415-15986-9}}</ref> Actress and playwright [[Susanna Centlivre]] appeared in breeches roles around 1700.<ref>{{Citation  | last1 = Pix | first1 = Mary | last2 = Finberg  | first2 = Melinda | title = Eighteenth-century women dramatists  | publisher = Oxford University Press  | year = 2001 | page = xviii  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3GkyRMvh348C&pg=PR18  | isbn = 978-0-19-282729-6}}</ref> The first popular male impersonator in U.S. theatre was [[Annie Hindle]], who started performing in New York in 1867.<ref>{{Citation  | last = Ferris | first = Lesley  | title = Crossing the stage: controversies on cross-dressing  | publisher = Routledge | year = 1993  | page = 90 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lDBlGeCHjj0C  | isbn = 978-0-415-06269-5}}</ref> In 1886, she married her dresser, Annie Ryan.<ref>{{Citation  | last = Duggan | first = Lisa | title = Sapphic slashers: sex, violence, and American modernity  | publisher = Duke University Press | year = 2000  | page = 147 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ino_gj6djj8C&pg=PA147| isbn = 978-0-8223-2617-5}}</ref>

British music hall performer [[Vesta Tilley]], who cites American male impersonator [[Ella Wesner]] as an inspiration,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fuller |first=Sophie |title=Queer episodes in music and modern identity |last2=Whitesell |first2=Lloyd |date=2002 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-02740-6 |location=Urbana, [Illinois] |pages=127}}</ref> was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a male impersonator.<ref>{{Citation  | last = Maitland  | first = Sarah  | title = Vesta Tilley  | publisher = Virago  | year = 1986  | isbn = 0-86068-795-3}}</ref> Other male impersonators on the British stage were [[Ella Shields]] and [[Hetty King]].<ref>{{Citation  | last = Slide  | first = Anthony  | title = Great pretenders: a history of female and male impersonation in the performing arts  | publisher = Wallace-Homestead Book Co.  | year = 1986  | isbn = 978-0-87069-474-5}}</ref>  Vaudeville entertainer [[Florence Hines]] was popular for her act in the 1890s.<ref name="Abbott">{{cite book |last1=Abbott |first1=Lynn |title=Out of Sight: The Rise of African American Popular Music 1889-1895 |date=2009 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-4968-0004-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwSiDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Florence+Hines%22}}</ref><ref name="Ryan">{{cite book |last1=Ryan |first1=Hugh |title=When Brooklyn Was Queer |date=2019 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |page=57 |isbn=978-1-250-16992-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZ9aDwAAQBAJ&q=Florence+Hines |access-date=January 13, 2024}}</ref> Blues singer [[Gladys Bentley]] performed in male attire in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco from the 1920s through 1940s.<ref>{{Citation  | title = Gladys Bentley articles  | date = June 2004  | publisher = Queer Music Heritage  | url = http://www.queermusicheritage.us/jun2004gb2.html  | access-date = 2009-11-27}}</ref> 
[[Stormé DeLarverie]] performed in male drag as the [[MC]], and sole female performer, of the drag troupe the [[Jewel Box Revue]] in the 1950s and 1960s. She is featured in the documentary ''Storme: The Lady of the Jewel Box''.<ref>{{Citation  | last1 = Klotman | first1 = Phyllis Rauch | last2 = Cutler  | first2 = Janet K. | title = Struggles for representation: African American documentary film and video  | publisher = Indiana University Press  | year = 1999 | page = 168  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9egX1te2g7cC&pg=PA168  | isbn = 978-0-253-21347-1}}</ref> While the [[Stonewall riots]] of June 1969 were a series of spontaneous uprisings by many people, DeLarverie—who was the first to fight back against the police brutality—is believed to have provided the spark that ignited the riot.<ref name=StormeAdvocate>{{Cite news|url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/people/2014/05/27/stonewall-veteran-drag-king-icon-storm%C3%A9-delarverie-dies-93|title=Stonewall Veteran, Drag King Icon Stormé DeLarverie Dies at 93|date=May 27, 2014|access-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref><ref name=NYTobit>Yardley, William (May 29, 2014) "[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/nyregion/storme-delarverie-early-leader-in-the-gay-rights-movement-dies-at-93.html?_r=0 Storme DeLarverie, Early Leader in the Gay Rights Movement, Dies at 93]" in ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref><ref>{{Citation  | last = Rick | first = Bragg | title = From a Night of Rage, the Seeds of Liberation  | newspaper = New York Times | date = 1994-06-23  | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/23/nyregion/from-a-night-of-rage-the-seeds-of-liberation.html  | access-date = 2009-09-12 }}</ref>

Drag king culture in Australia flourished in [[lesbian bar]]s from the 1990s and 2000s, but began to fade in the 2010s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Drysdale|first=Kerryn|title=Strapped, packed and taking the stage: Australia's new drag kings|url=http://theconversation.com/strapped-packed-and-taking-the-stage-australias-new-drag-kings-79747|access-date=2020-09-26|website=The Conversation|date=17 July 2017 |language=en}}</ref> In the UK, Drag Couple [[Adam All]] and Apple Derrieres set up Drag King Cabaret night 'BOiBOX' in 2013 in Soho’s Candy Bar, a queer women’s venue that closed in 2014. While they were worried about finding enough performers to make their talent night work ‘Because there were barely any stages for us to perform [on], very few drag kings were actively pursuing gigs,’ BOIBOX inspired a new wave of budding kings<ref>{{Cite web|last=Levine|first=Nick|title=Meet the founders of Boi Box, London's vital drag king talent showcase|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/news/meet-the-founders-of-boi-box-londons-vital-drag-king-talent-showcase-091818|access-date=2024-04-27|website=TimeOut|date=18 September 2018 |language=en}}</ref> and celebrated ten years in 2023 with a show at The Phoenix Arts Club in London's Westend, with a surprise appearance from [[Landon Cider]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=BOiBOX Drag King Cabaret - 10th Anniversary Show|url=https://broadwaybaby.com/shows/boibox-drag-king-cabaret-10th-anniversary-show-/800691|access-date=2024-04-27|website=Broadway Baby|language=en}}</ref>

The term ''drag king'' is sometimes used in a broader sense, to include female-bodied people who dress in traditionally [[Masculinity|masculine]] clothing for other reasons. This usage includes women temporarily attempting to [[Passing (gender)|pass]] as men and women who wish to present themselves in a masculine [[gender role]] without identifying as a man. [[Diane Torr]] began leading Drag King Workshops in 1989 that offer women a lesson in passing as men.<ref>{{Citation | last = Halberstam | first = Judith | title = The Subcultures Reader | chapter = Drag Kings: Masculinity and Performance (1998) | publisher = Routledge | year = 2005 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=USl1G-903EwC&pg=PA410 | isbn = 978-0-415-34416-6}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last1 = Rapi | first1 = Nina | last2 = Chowdhry | first2 = Maya | title = Acts of passion: sexuality, gender, and performance | publisher = Routledge | page = 237 | year = 1998 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZD0yi6a7od0C&pg=PA237 | isbn = 978-0-7890-0370-6}}</ref> Torr was featured in the 2002 film on drag kings ''[[Venus boyz|Venus Boyz]]''.<ref>{{Citation | last = Kramer | first = Gary | title = Independent queer cinema: reviews and interviews | publisher = Routledge | page = 165 | year = 2006 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tiw7ET-wCWwC&pg=PA165 | isbn = 978-1-56023-343-5}}</ref>

Drag kings have historically been more marginalized by [[pop culture]] than [[drag queen]]s, who began playing a larger role in mainstream pop culture from the late 20th century onwards.<ref name=Vogue /> Drag kings have also historically been marginalized in academic [[LGBT studies]].<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Identity construction and community building in Austin's drag king culture|url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/47276|date=May 2006|degree=Thesis|first=Melissa Suzanne|last=Koonce}}</ref> Recently,{{when|date=July 2023}} drag kings have started to play a slightly more visible role in the [[LGBT community]]. ''Sleek Magazine'' described this renaissance of drag king culture in a 2019 article titled "What's behind the drag king revolution?"<ref>{{Cite web|title=What's behind the drag king revolution?|url=https://www.sleek-mag.com/article/the-drag-king-revolution/|access-date=2020-09-26|website=www.sleek-mag.com|language=en}}</ref>

The British drag king collective 'Pecs', a troupe made up entirely of women and [[Non-binary gender|non-binary]] people, was founded in 2013 and went on to perform at [[Soho Theatre]] and The Glory.<ref>{{Cite web|title=These Drag Kings Are the Only Royalty We Acknowledge|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/drag-kings-pecs-photos/|access-date=2020-09-26|website=Vice.com|date=14 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In 2016, director Nicole Miyahara produced ''The Making of a King'', a documentary film chronicling the lives of contemporary drag kings in [[Los Angeles]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nichols|first=James Michael|date=2016-09-28|title=You May Know About Drag Queens.. But Do You Know Your Drag King History?|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-making-of-a-king-indiegogo_n_57ec01a6e4b024a52d2c3607|access-date=2020-09-26|website=HuffPost|language=en}}</ref> The first drag king to appear in a television show was New Zealand artist and comedian [[Hugo Grrrl]] who won the inaugural season of the New Zealand [[reality competition]] [[House of Drag]] in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|last=george.fenwick@nzherald.co.nz|first=George Fenwick George Fenwick is an entertainment writer for The New Zealand Herald|date=2018-12-20|title=House of Drag winner Hugo Grrrl on his 'life-changing' win|language=en-NZ|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=12179574|access-date=2020-03-11|issn=1170-0777}}</ref> In 2019, American artist [[Landon Cider]] was the first drag king and cisgender woman to appear on a televised US drag competition when he won the third season of ''[[The Boulet Brothers' Dragula]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2019-10-29|title='Dragula' Season 3 Winner: Landon Cider Takes The Crown|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/pride/8541256/dragula-season-3-winner-landon-cider|access-date=2020-07-15|magazine=Billboard}}</ref> In June 2022, three drag kings made a guest appearance in series one of ''[[Drag Race France]]'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Queen Pour Cent |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21115238/ |website=IMDb |publisher=IMDb.com Inc |access-date=2 June 2023}}</ref> the first time the [[Drag Race (franchise)|''Drag Race'' franchise]] included drag kings.