"Wow. I had no idea you had it in you!" is one of the most common responses.
"I really am impressed... Now I want to go to a show!" is another one.
That there are so many people who don't have any idea that drag kings even exist is still sort of baffling to me. Every time I explain to someone what I do, I get the furrowed brow, head cocked, pursed lips as they try to wrap their head around it.
"Like a drag queen, but the opposite." or "Same same but different." is the easiest ways for me to explain it. Sometimes they get it, sometimes they don't. According to my girlfriend, when she tells people what I do the first question they usually ask is, "So does she want to be a man?" Straight people are so strange sometimes. They hardly ever assume that a queen wants to live as a woman, but I'm a butch lesbian so I *must* want to be a man. (I think there's even a difference, in their minds, between being trans and just 'wanting to be a man.') So then she has to explain that no, I don't want to be a man, no, I don't live as a man. Yes, I shop solely in the men's department, but that because it's comfortable and I like it, dammit. A gentleman (I use the term loosely) she went to a show with once, afterwords looked at her said, "She's a fucking dude!" He didn't mean it as a compliment, and after a threat to have a kick in the shin, he eventually shut up.
Why are drag kings such an anomaly? Especially since there are so many of us around now. Hell, Phoenix seems to have more drag kings per square mile than any other major city, and we're multiplying like shmoos. We've been around almost as long as drag queens, but it's only been in recent years that we've decided that we can be just as fabulous and stepped out of the realm of jeans and button-downs.
I love the random straight women who end up at drag shows, only to leave totally sexually confused because of the kings. They make the best fans, though. They've never seen kings, had no idea what to expect, and then here we are putting on a show that is at least as good as the queens. I was told after a performance once, "My girlfriend is totally a lesbian now, thanks to you." At first I was hesitant because I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or not, but the chick saw the look on my face and made sure I knew it was most definitely was a compliment. So I thank you, random fan!
Slowly but surely, we're making our presence known on the drag scene. The more people I can get to come to a show that have never been to one before, the more minds I get to expand. I'm hoping that some day we won't get the questioning looks, the cocked head, the furrowed brow or pursed lips.
So any time you know you'll be at a show where there will be at least one drag king, bring someone new! The best publicity is word of mouth, and the more the word gets out the more people will get to see how incredibly fabulous kings really are!