Meet Women The Of Drag - Fierce, Feisty And ... Female?

Once the domain of gay men, women are staking their claim in the drag world – and are refusing to sashay away, reports Lollie Barr.

- Lollie Barr

Under the spotlight of Melbourne’s Honcho Disko stage, Jen Der’s towering, fire-engine red wig and pale blue eyes scan the crowd of 150 people grooving along to Peaches “Vaginoplasty” – a thumping track she lip-syncs flawlessly. Owning every inch of the stage as she dances on precariously high, thigh-skimming latex boots, Jen Der body rolls, twerks, contorts her face and snarls like the fiercest of drag queens. It’s only when she aggressively gesticulates towards her crotch, thrusting fiercely in a skintight sequined and feathered black leotard, that it becomes clear that either this queen has one immaculate tuck game, or she’s biologically female.

It’s the latter. Drag culture has always been the domain of gay men, from its birth in the ’50s to when it flourished in the ’80s, but these days you might find that the performer with the hyper-feminine alter ego is, well, a woman. Just as drag queens have used their art form to make gender and political statements, more women are becoming “bio queens” (short for biologically challenged) – and are questioning how we frame femininity.