Drag kings are female-bodied or female-identified persons who either
- temporarily attempt to pass as men, usually off-stage, or
- perform male characters in often ostentatious mens' clothes on stage, often with hilariously exaggerated macho attitudes, or
- show and/or perform a mixture of male and female characteristics, both on and off stage. This is also called gender-bending or genderqueer or
- attempt to present themselves in a male gender role without identifying as a man.
Drag Kings should not just be seen as female equivalents of drag queens, because the term covers a much wider field of gender performance . Gender identity among Drag Kings is far more varied, too. The difference between some Drag Kings and transmen or even female-to-male transsexuals can be one of self-identification only.
Drag Kings are largely a phenomenon of lesbian culture, although increasingly more Drag Kings become part of the Drag King subculture without being part of the lesbian subculture. They have only recently begun to gain the fame or focus that Drag Queens have known for years.
See also: List of transgender-related topics
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