SATURDAY

There’s a lot more to being a drag king than binding your breasts. According to the organizers of the fifth annual Great Big International Drag King Show, drag kings “are the gender-bent rock ‘n’ roll fantasy, the arbiters of pop-sized political messages, and as American as Rodgers & Hammerstein musical comedy.” OK, I’ll give you Oklahoma!—that place is so American that it makes Texas look like Luxembourg. But what about The Sound of Music? Isn’t that little slice of von Crapp set in Austria? I think we need a new analogy. Here’s mine: Drag kings are as American as coming up with a drag name. A quick survey of drag-queen names will illuminate more about American history than any textbook: We’ve got geography (Myrtle Beeotch), pornography (Sofonda Cox), and the most American problem of them all (Rachel Tensions). Though drag-king names haven’t yet achieved this sort of all-American virtuosity, there will be some promising pseudonyms in attendance at the Great Big. Joining D.C.’s own Ken Las Vegas (pictured) will be Boise Studley and Anton Lestrange, New Jersey’s Buck Shot and Bebe Gunn, and Minnesota’s Dante Difranco. Amanda Hugginkiss, anyone? GenderPAC and Ken Las Vegas present the Great Big International Drag King Show 5 at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $20. (Josh Levin)