He Said / She Said: Faces of the Terrace Drag Ball

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.

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Judy    Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Barbara

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.

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Rouland Enpousse

DRAG NAME: Rouland Enpoussé

YEAR: 2017

FIRST TIME?: No

HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: Sexy

DRAG STYLE: A French Lothario

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Marsha and Angela

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Angela

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

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Lukas

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

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Watermelonslaya Jones

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.

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Arnoldo 1

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Arnoldo 2

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

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Cookie Anne

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.

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Phineas

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.

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Anastasia 2    Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Anastasia 1

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Anastasia 3

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

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Dick Vanderdick

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

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Serena Serendipity

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

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Daway 1

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Daway 2

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.

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Peter Pantaloons

DRAG NAME: Peter Pantaloons

YEAR: 2017

FIRST TIME?: No

HOW DOES DRESSING IN DRAG MAKE YOU FEEL?: Hot AF

DRAG STYLE: Boi Miscellany

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Earth and Special K

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Earth 1

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Earth 3

Lisa Gong - Terrace Drag Ball - Earth 2

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