Trans Drag Artist Chiyo Competing for Mr. Gay England Title
A 24-year-old trans drag artist from London has entered the "Mr. Gay England" competition, and he's in it to win it, the BBC reports.
"It's a beauty pageant that usually crowns a muscular, gay man - a stereotypical idea of what's hot in a bloke - as the most attractive in England," the BBC notes, reporting that Chiyo is a departure from the typical contestant and has "never taken testosterone."
The performer takes his drag act to bars around the country, the article says, but competing in "Mr. Gay England" is not just another performance.
"I am competing against an idea of beauty," Chiyo told the BBC, observing that the contest promotes "a type of beauty and sexy that has been accepted throughout the media - especially gay media."
Chiyo talked about his experiences as a trans drag artist, saying he gets "a lot of judgment" from people, and adding, "I still experience a lot of misogyny from being read as a woman or trans misogyny and brutal violence because they think I'm a different type of 'transness'."
The biracial artist admitted that he finds the "constant masculinity and predominant whiteness" of the competition to be "very intimidating." But he also took note of how being a drag artists has prepared him for the performative aspects of the competition - particularly the parts of the contest that call for showing a lot of skin, because "I do a lot of burlesque stuff."
Added Chio: "To be trans and just exist no matter the time and the context is radical."
But beyond that, Chiyo has a sense of his own elemental maleness, telling the BBC, "before I am a drag artist, I am a man."