Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

Chi Chi Kago's fake eyelashes are refusing to cooperate. A few blinks render them undone, but another line of glue risks ruining them. It’s a delicate balance and she’s getting annoyed.

Kago is preparing to perform with the Rice Rockettes, an all-Asian drag queen troupe in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As I watch the troupe prepare for a gala event, I wonder: Why the big production — the big hair, the three-inch heels, the adoring crowd? Are these glitzy men, in fact, trying to be women?       

“No, I love being a boy,” says Saigon Dione, preparing to apply red glitter to her lips.

Estée Longah, founding member of the Rice Rockettes, says, “Believe me, we are not trying to pass [as women].” She explains that mislabeling drag queens as cross-dressers or transsexuals disserves those in the LGBT community who do identify as such.

Rather, dressing up in girls’ clothing came as an afterthought to the performance aspect, at least for some. 

This was a preview of The Inside/Out Issue. To read the full story, subscribe to Hyphen or pick up a copy at a newsstand near you.