What does it mean to be a man?

The question echoed in my mind following the drag king performance by Jozi Kings and Things at the Bioscope in September.

I think it’s fair to say that drag kings don’t get the spotlight often and aren’t talked about nearly as much as they should be. RuPaul’s Drag Race, the most popular television show about drag, has never featured drag kings in its sixteen seasons. Though RuPaul has never commented directly on drag king exclusion, she did say this in an interview in 2018— “Drag loses its sense of danger and its sense of irony once it’s not men doing it, because at its core it’s a social statement and a big f-you to male-dominated culture.

So for men to do it, it’s really punk rock, because it’s a real rejection of masculinity.”

The comment was made concerning allowing trans queens on the show along with cis female drag queens. RuPaul backpedalled not long after, issuing an apology to upset fans in a now-deleted tweet and has since cast trans queens on the show. However, there still have been no drag kings, even though a CIS straight male contestant was cast in season 14. It seems RuPaul does, at her core, believe that drag is only cool if men do it.

I take a big issue with that, especially after attending Jozi Kings and Things’ second show.

As somebody who grew up identifying as a straight woman, the journey of realising I’m queer has been a difficult one. Aside from unlearning the compulsory heterosexuality society drills into your brain and figuring out my sexuality, I’ve felt more than confused about my gender. There are moments I enjoy being seen as a girl, and sometimes I loathe it. There are moments when I prefer dressing masculine because I feel more like myself, and there are times when wearing a dress brings me great joy. It’s confusing, frustrating, and isolating not being able to put these feelings into words. But after I watched Jozi Kings and Things, I had more clarity than I ever have, despite never being a part of the drag community or its culture. Gender is whatever I want it to be.

I’ve watched clips of RuPaul’s Drag Race as many of my friends enjoy it, and while there’s no doubt the queens are stunning and talented, never before have I connected with them like I did when I watched the drag kings. I’ve been struggling to write a review of the show for weeks because I can’t quite encapsulate the feelings the show engendered. There were eleven performers in the second show and each one brought something refreshing, funny, and unique to their performance.

RuPaul’s statement that drag loses its ethos when men aren’t the ones doing it falls flat when it comes to Jozi Kings and Things. This was the group’s second show ever and despite technical difficulties, the show persisted in redefining gender and made me feel a lot more comfortable in my skin.

Big opened the show with his performance of Good Lookin’ and had us hollering as he sang about his bussy, Richard Cock blessed everybody with a strip tease performance of Versace On the Floor, and a lot of the other performers sang live.

Brucifer belted a cover of When You’re Good to Mama and added his sexy twist. Neytha Bhoyi’s husky voice bewitched the audience with a beloved Miguel song, and Dank Sinatra romanced us with his golden voice on Feeling Good. Angelo’s performance, however, reminded us that as fun and beautiful as queerness is, queer existence is always political. His performance of an original song he wrote about being tired of living in fear resonated with the audience, whose claps were only muted due to the song’s powerful nature.

The cheers continued at full force for Frikkie Dell, whose talent is more than evident given his ability to make Pretoria sound fun and interesting, as well as Ntate Lapse, who brought Lesotho’s vibe to the bioscope with his deejaying set. Salty Crax, one of the MCs alongside Neytha Bhoyi, entertained us not just with his MC skills but also his magic tricks. And well, things got more than heated when Quinn Qing arrived. Let’s just say bras were unclipped.

I think the performance that was most surprising in the best way possible was Ethan Thulani Smokes who makes up the Things category in Jozi Kings and Things. Smokes invited the audience to participate in his business venture, a crypto scheme disguised as a self-help memoir titled, The Afterverses. The act was performed similarly to Steve Jobs launching the iPhone, minus the black turtleneck and honestly way more interesting. I have little to add except that it was so brilliantly presented I would have bought the book myself. 

In between all the fun, the Kings and Things stood on stage in solidarity with Palestine, Sudan and Congo. The moment was especially powerful because the Kings and Things recited poetry from the nations they stood with in solidarity.

It emphasised the inherent connection between queerness and political activism and how there is never an excuse to ‘keep it light’. It solidified feelings I already held, filling me with pride, especially in light of the recent pinkwashing surrounding Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The entire experience was punk rock, actually, and you should follow Jozi Kings and Things so you don’t miss out on their next performance.