Hoosier Daddy will give drag kings an outlet

The Wilkie Auditorium will likely be empty when Christina Sell walks in four hours before curtain today, but she doesn’t mind. She said she takes the extra space and time to “go from being a somewhat shy woman to an overly confident ‘dude.’”

The boisterous individual to whom Sell refers is Duke McAllister, her onstage alter ego. McAllister is the reigning king of the Hoosier Daddy drag king pageant, which will be held at 7 p.m. today in the Wilkie Auditorium.

The pageant is hosted annually by OUT, the IU GLBT Student Union. The contest, in its third year, was begun by then-Miss Gay IU, Vanessa Vale.

Miss Gay IU is a long-running drag queen tradition at IU, with winners dating back to 1989, and features female impersonators. Only recently have male impersonators been given this annual venue to strut their stuff.

OUT president Josh Sutton said competitors will have to answer an onstage question regarding how they will use the title of Hoosier Daddy for the advancement of the GLBT Student Union and the GLBT community. The second part of the competition is the talent portion.

The competition is judged by a panel of four, including OUT’s faculty adviser and several veteran drag kings and queens.

Sutton himself is not a judge, but said judges will be focusing more on attitude than appearance.

“It’s really not about who can physically change the most or look more like a man,” Sutton said. “It’s about a transformation.”

Sell said that transformation is not an easy one.

“I won’t get too detailed,” she said, “but I take steps to de-feminize myself. I bind. I apply facial hair. I thicken my eye brows. I change my clothes to try to hide my hips and butt. As I do this, I change my attitude.”

Sutton stressed the importance of such a unique pageant.

“There’s a lot of drag queens on campus and stuff like that,” Sutton said, “so the drag king community kind of gets lost in the mix.”

Sell added she is sad to lose the crown, but trusts the new winner will do well.

Registration for the pageant is possible up to the beginning of the show today. Admission is free, and any donations given at admission will benefit the Middle Way House of Bloomington.

Sell said she is grateful for the opportunity the show has given her.

“Holding the title of Hoosier Daddy has been an incredible experience for me,” she said. “I’ve had several opportunities to represent the local GLBT community, and I’m proud to have been a part of getting a king tradition started on campus.”