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Rusty Hips
Genderqueer King
Rusty Hips is not only the hardest working king in San Francisco, he’s also one of the biggest title holders. From San Francisco Drag King of 2002 to Mr. Trannyshack,
Rusty has been performing almost non-stop for the past five years and
winning all kinds of contests! Rusty took a few moments from his busy
schedule to tell us about growing up Mormon, varying one’s performance
personas and what it takes to win.
ErosZine: How did the Rusty Hips character come about? Any history, inspirations, etc.
Rusty Hips: Well, Rusty actually has a few different characters, each
inspired by the music I lip-synch to. I tend to be mostly drawn to
music—R & B, soul, funk and rock from the 70's—so that will bring
out the polyester, platform shoe, big sideburns-wearing dude. Most
people know Rusty as that persona. I’ve also done a Billy Idol
impersonation, which seems to be a crowd favorite. I studied him
intently before ever performing to his music. Honestly, it would take
an entire article to go through each character I've done: Dirty Uncle,
San Bernardino Joe, B-Boy Rusty, etc.
As for how doing drag came about, I went to a San Francisco Drag King
contest back in, gosh, 1999 I think. Throughout the show, I thought,
"Shit! I could fucking do this, and do it better." However, Electro
(the pop ‘n' lock king) who won that year was flawless and quite the
inspiration. Working with the queens at Trannyshack has probably been
my biggest inspiration, though. That is the fiercest tranny talent on
earth!
EZ: How did you get to be known as “the hardest working king in San Francisco”?
RH: Well, I probably got that title because for over three years
straight I was averaging three to four gigs a month. I don't know any
other kings around here that have worked that hard. Between Trannyshack
(my drag home and family), Pride events, Women's Weekend and the random
gig at the local dyke bars and clubs, not to mention some really weird
benefits with a bunch of rich straight white people—they LOVED
Rusty!—that shit adds up! Back in the day I never said no to an invite.
Times have changed, though.
EZ: You‚re a major title holder. How did you win all those contests? Bribery? Sheer talent genius?
RH: Honestly, I think I won because I was doing something that people
had never seen before. Too many times I’ve seen or talked to people who
have seen drag kings, and all you get is a dyke wearing a mustache
lip-synching a song—and some pretty bad lip-synching at that. They
usually pull out their dick and jack it off or have someone come suck
them off...boring. I’m really into character development and
authenticity, and my heart is behind it all, too. I like to tell a
story and give the audience a mini-rock-opera, so to speak. I have no
fear when I'm on stage, so I do things a lot of people might not feel
comfortable doing.
RH: It's funny, after five years I still don't really feel like I fit
in as a "Drag King." I feel more like my style of performance art falls
into that category. It sometimes frustrates me when queer performance
art shows have a variety of acts, but never drag kings, like what I do
isn't taken seriously as "art.".
EZ: Tell us about your award-winning acts.
RH: Dang! I've gotta get in the memory bank for this one! Well, the
first time I entered SFDK in 2001, I won first runner-up for my Billy
Idol impersonation, which I’d done when I performed for the first time
ever winning the Mr. FAB Drag King contest for Women's Weekend a month
prior. The next year I was determined to do something that would blow
everything out of the water. So I did my epic "Sir Psycho Sexy" by the
Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was high drama, over 8 minutes long, and we
rehearsed for months. So in 2002, I was crowned SFDK.
When I won Mr. Trannyshack I did a strip tease to Rod Stewart's "Do Ya
Think I'm Sexy?" I’ve done that number numerous times; it's a riot! I'm
really comfortable in my body, so things like adhering hair all over my
chest, wearing fake nipples made of FIMO, and the only clothing I'm
wearing is a tiger-print Speedo come pretty naturally to me. This is an
advantage.
EZ: What other kinds of performing do you do?
RH: I’ve performed with the drag king burlesque troupe "Boilesque" and
have done some stage work with Peaches Christ for Midnight Mass. I'm at
a place in my life where I'm trying to figure out what exactly is my
next outlet for my creative energy. I've gotten a bit burnt out on
kinging.
EZ: What was it like for you growing up?
RH: I was raised Mormon—yes, Mormon. This religion has VERY specific
gender roles and my mother was determined to have me boxed in. Like
most conservative Christian families, life was dictated for you. There
was no original thought or idea or plan. Someone else did that for you.
EZ: Wow! Well, now that you’re in San Francisco, there’s a huge
genderqueer community. Where do you see yourself in that community?
RH: I feel like I have a huge advantage because I’m tapped into so many
different networks of the drag/queer/alt community. After living here
for 10 years, you get to know everyone. As for where I see myself, I'm
kind of overwhelmed at this point. Like I can't go anywhere without
bumping into an acquaintance; this can be good and bad. This last year
I have really stepped back in the "community" and have needed to
nurture other aspects of my life. When gigging three or four times a
month for four years, plus maintaining a full-time job, other aspects
of life tend to slip through the cracks, ya know?
EZ: So you’ve lived in San Francisco for a decade. Do you think living there influenced your drag persona?
RH: I don't think living here influenced my drag persona. I do believe,
however, that living here definitely influenced my trans persona. I
moved up here from Los Angeles when I was 21. For anyone who is
familiar with LA dykes—or, really, lesbians—where's the butches?
Trannies? The "butch" women still wear makeup and clothes from the
women's section. The day I moved to Oakland—I've actually never lived
in San Francisco. East Bay all the way!—I looked in the mirror and I
told myself that I never had to wear makeup again or try to fit in to
being "female." Just being up here allowed me to evolve in a way that
living in LA didn't.
EZ: Do you have any history or backstory on crossdressing growing up?
RH: Well, I can remember being a little kid and posing in front of my
full-length mirror in just my panties, packing a sock or tennis ball or
something, thinking I looked so good and cool. One time my mom walked
in on me and didn't think it was too cute. Out of drag, I identify as a
trans-genderqueer-dyke—or something like that.
EZ: Did fucking with your gender identification lead you to being a drag king performer?
RH: I think it was pretty natural and easy to channel my "inner-dude."
In all honesty, for me to perform in "drag" would be as a queen. That
would be more challenging and difficult to pull off. In everyday life,
people always see me as male. In fact, when I went to Ireland to
perform with the Dublin kings, the Shamcocks, they even asked if I was
a biological female. This is just who and what I am, drag king or not.
EZ: Do you have any other tales of “passing” that are particularly interesting/entertaining/enlightening?
RH: I think the funniest is when I'm all decked out in my traditional
Rusty gear and I have to do something like get gas or pick up a pack of
gum or something. Guys LOVE it! Like they think I'm this bad-ass little
guy (I'm 5' 2") all dressed up and confident and looking cool or
something.
EZ: Do you have any experiences with gender that you’d care to comment on?
RH: I always find it interesting performing to different demographics
of audiences. The most active, fun and loving are, for the most part,
gay men. This is one of the many reasons why I love performing at
Trannyshack. I find it disheartening to not get this kind of warmth
from a mostly dyke/lesbo/queer women crowd. I mean, isn't THAT my
"community"? I can't help but think that societal influences instill
insecurities for people who are raised female are still so strong. It's
so obvious to me as a performer and, really, quite sad. It's so old
paradigm.
EZ: Well, perhaps that will change—eventually! Thank you, Rusty!
[Written March 2006]
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