i.Kandi
Gender bending performance chameleon i.Kandi wears many hats - most of them are men's. Annette Ekin chats with this Drag King Pin
How did you start performing as a drag king? I'm a bit of an extrovert and Sexy Galexy, who basically founded drag kings in Sydney, asked me to perform with her for Pride NYE 2002.
Were you a tomboy as a kid? Always, I played soccer and hung out at my dad's workshop. I'm one of four girls and the son they never had or wanted. Growing up as a tomboy and identifying as queer, I have days when I feel feminine and days when I feel masculine.
As a performer, what shows do you do? Burlesque, I do a bit of strip but I haven't done girl shows in a while. With drag strip you get to a point where you're a girl, stripping off as a man, so it's queer and a bit twisted. I wish body parts were detachable. I usually pop my piercings away because they are more me than the character's and I use makeup for bearding and to thicken my eyebrows. I generally wear a man chest or a strap and I pack something or use a cock-piece.
What the attraction to performing as a drag king? It's a creative outlet for me, and a way to channel the energy that I have. I enjoy finding something and then processing from there. If you pull it off you have a moment when you feel so connected with the audience and it's a really great feeling.
Is it hard to negotiate the presence of i.Kandi in your day-to-day life? I am a rock god for three hours on a Wednesday night and it's hard going to uni the next day and not be a rock god. Sometimes, I walk into workshops doing the air-guitar; I'm the weird kid at uni.
Where do you get your outfits? I made this one [points to her spandex silvery jumpsuit] and the mirror-ball cock-piece that goes with it. I have a habit of rifling through stuff on the side of the road and I op-shop. Often things need altering, so that's why the Tuesday mothers' group comes in handy. One of the mothers actually helped me make this outfit. We eat cakes, sew and bitch about their husbands. It's a burst of normality, like having a cup of tea with your mates - you can just exhale.