To come out on top at the annual San Francisco Drag King Contest after three previous attempts, this year’s winner built their performance by asking, “How can I make it extra gay?”
So said Papi Churro, who blew the roof off SoMa’s Oasis club Sunday night with a bawdy rock ’n’ roll cowboy act. The crowd went wild as Churro riffed on a cardboard guitar shaped like spread-eagle legs, as ZZ Top’s “La Grange” pumped out of the speakers.
The antics continued as Churro mimed some tongue action on the cardboard crotch. The cheers nearly drowned out the rock medley as Papi slid around and spun a fiber-optic light whip.
“It’s about fucking time,” Churro said upon securing the gold crown, making them the king of the city’s drag scene.
Drag kings — mostly but not exclusively female-identified artists who perform heightened versions of masculinity — have become a bigger nightlife draw in recent years. Long rendered all but invisible by the enormous popularity of drag queens, they blur the boundaries of gender in creative ways, like using makeup to draw exaggerated versions of facial hair.
The Drag King Contest, in its 28th year, has become a San Francisco tradition. It takes creativity to win, because, at this point, the judges have seen it all before.
“I feel like sometimes there’s an expectation for kings to present a certain way and, as someone who plays with gender, I want to see you play with it,” said Helixir Jynder Bentwell, who won in 2022 and served as a judge this year. They were looking for a winner who would “do some gender fuckery.”
Another leading contender, Pony Bambino, shaved a thick tendril of locks from their head and repurposed it as a mane of chest hair. They started their act with a well-received rendition of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” as they unveiled a jockstrap decorated with a transgender Pride flag and dildo.
The night started with a drag revue, including the troupe Rebel Kings of Oakland, followed by a lip-syncing competition.
This year saw the introduction of a people’s choice category. Martin Vore took that prize for their politics-heavy number, which ended with them stripping into a bedazzled binder paired with pants that bore a patch reading “unsettlingly androgynous creature.”
All proceeds from the show benefitted Pets Are Wonderful Support and Rocket Dog Rescue.
