King for an evening

Every other day of the year, junior sociology major Sarah Hammel lives and works as any other student at Towson University would.

But twice a year for the Queer Student Union’s Drag Show, Hammel ceases to exist, and takes her place is “The Hammer,” the overly exaggerated male personality she portrays as a drag king.

“When I’m up there I’m not Sarah, I’m ‘The Hammer,’” Hammel said. “That’s who I am, that’s the persona I take on. It’s extremely powerful to be a man for a second.”

Sarah, who has been a part of the QSU and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Student Development since her freshman year, participated in QSU’s bi-annual Drag Show Wednesday night in the Chesapeake Rooms for her fourth time.

Hammel and her friends perform as “The Backdoor Boys,” a group of drag kings, people that dress as males in an over-the-top representation of that gender expression, according to QSU vice president Brienne Hagen.

Hammel identifies herself as cisgendered, a lesbian who identifies both her sex and gender as female. But her transition to drag, especially in physical appearance, isn’t much of a stretch, according to Hammel.

“It’s really easy for me because I dress more masculine anyway. I just have to cover up my boobs a little bit,” Hammel said.

For the first time in the history of the QSU Drag Show, more student participants are performing as drag kings as opposed to drag queens, according to Hagen.

“I feel like when people think of drag, they think of drag queens,” Hammel said.  “And that’s awesome, I love all the queens that perform in the show.  But I’m glad there are some drag kings.”

Hammel began her participation in the Drag Show her sophomore year, when Hagen asked her, or rather, told her, according to Hammel, that she was going to participate in the show.

“When I first came here I was really shy, I was really introverted, and I did not want to get up on stage to do anything,” Hammel said. “But I’m really glad I did it. It was a really good experience.”

For Hammel, one of her main attractions to drag is the feeling of empowerment she gets from being a man.

“Having the privilege of being a man for a little while is really, really empowering,” Hammel said.

Deciding what song and choreography will be used to perform in a “Backdoor Boys” act is one of the best parts of performing in a Drag Show, according to Hammel, but her favorite part is the reactions the show elicits from the crowd.

“I think the crowd’s a big part of making the drag show successful. If you can get them hyped up with you it makes it a much better experience,” Hammel said. “I really like interaction from the audience. I really love it when my friends come up there and are dancing with me.”

The bond formed between kings and queens is also a very powerful pull to the performance, according to Hammel. In one of her earlier performances, a professional drag king helped the “Backdoor Boys” get dressed by showing them a different method of attaching their facial hair.

“I love being in the drag show with all the other kings and queens. When you first get into it, other people are showing you how to do stuff,” Hammel said. “You feel like you have a connection with those other people that are in it.”

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