By Lisa Gong
Every year, Terrace Food Club hosts its Drag Ball, which explores the dimensions of gendered aesthetic. I sought to understand what that means for different people by profiling various participants and documenting their experiences.
DRAG NAME: Judy and Barbara (left to right)
YEAR: 2017
FIRST TIME?: No *laughs*
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: J: Empowered / B: It’s incredibly empowering.
DRAG STYLE: J: Dirty and Sexy / B: “I Don’t Know” and “In Between.” Everything is in the intersection.
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DRAG NAME: Rouland Enpoussé
YEAR: 2017
FIRST TIME?: No
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: Sexy
DRAG STYLE: A French Lothario
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DRAG NAME: Marsha and Angela (left to right)
YEAR: 2016
FIRST TIME?: M: Nein / A: No
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: M: Weird but, like, great. / A: I love tutus.
DRAG STYLE: M: Five years old, but hot. / A: Functional Ballerina
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DRAG NAME: Lukas
YEAR: 2017
FIRST TIME?: Yes!!!! So pumped
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: It’s weird. I think my boyfriend felt weirder/had more epiphanies about what it was like to be a girl and have daily makeup routines, but I realized that I unconsciously felt more comfortable and confident and was standing differently.
DRAG STYLE: Hipster Wannabe Intellectual
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DRAG NAME: Watermelonslaya Jones
YEAR: 2016
FIRST TIME?: No
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: Interesting. I feel like myself but a different version of myself. I wish our society had different opportunities to express ourselves in whatever ways that feel most comfortable.
DRAG STYLE: Typical girl going out on the town.
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DRAG NAME: Arnoldo
YEAR: 2018
FIRST TIME?: Yes
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: It makes you feel like it shouldn’t matter how you dress.
DRAG STYLE: Hipster Stoner
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DRAG NAME: Cookie Anne
YEAR: 2018
FIRST TIME?: Yes
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: It’s a lot of fun.
DRAG STYLE: Whatever I could get ahold of.
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DRAG NAME: Phineas
YEAR: 2019
FIRST TIME?: I was Peter Pan for Halloween last year. Does that count?
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: Pretty normal. It’s kind of cool, but the thing is, I can’t really see myself. I don’t actively think about how I look because I can’t see myself.
DRAG STYLE: Classy but think I wanna be tough.
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DRAG NAME: Anastasia
YEAR: 2016
FIRST TIME?: Yes
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: It makes me realize how uncomfortable these pieces of women’s clothes are.
DRAG STYLE: 50s
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DRAG NAME: Dick Vanderdick
YEAR: 2016
FIRST TIME?: Yes
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: I feel empowered, which makes me sad because I feel like masculine energy gives me social power. Also, it’s interesting to channel sexual power into a masculine form because it feels so wrong but so right.
DRAG STYLE: 1954 Car Repairman
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DRAG NAME: Serena Serendipity
YEAR: 2016
FIRST TIME?: No
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: It makes me feel kinda liberated. I enjoy being masculine in everyday life, but being feminine is enjoyable too.
DRAG STYLE: Experimenting / Uncertain
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DRAG NAME: Daway
YEAR: 2016
FIRST TIME?: No
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: I feel cold and beautiful.
DRAG STYLE: I just wanted to look pretty.
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DRAG NAME: Peter Pantaloons
YEAR: 2017
FIRST TIME?: No
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: Hot AF
DRAG STYLE: Boi Miscellany
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DRAG NAME: Earth and Special K (left to right)
YEAR: E: 2018 / SK: 2017
FIRST TIME?: E: Absolutely / SK: Yes
HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: E: Pure / SK: Dressing in drag made me realize how there are small differences in how we perceive women should dress and men should dress.
DRAG STYLE: E: Free / SK: The White Liberal Hipster
PHOTO ESSAY BY LISA GONG