Drag King Contest returns to Oasis

by David-Elijah Nahmod

The 27th Annual San Francisco Drag King Contest comes to Oasis on August 6, and King extraordinaire Fudgie Frottage says that 27 is his lucky number. Frottage will co-host the contest with beloved Sister Roma. The evening promises to be filled with fun, excitement and laughs, though this year’s contest is also turning out to be somewhat of a political statement, given the anti-drag backlash going on in red states.

“Are we living in Weimar Germany?” Frottage asked in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

“Why will they pay money to see Tyler Perry as Madea or Grace Jones? They will let their offspring watch Disney’s ‘Mulan’ yet they think that a drag queen story hour is going to turn children gay. They are so clueless it’s pathetic. Thankfully we have intelligent communities in cities like ours. The bottom line is, you can’t stop art, or freedom of speech or free expression. You can try to be Hitler incarnate, but it won’t play in the long run.”

Frottage describes the drag king contest as being similar to a pageant, except that they elimi- nate the extraneous and go directly to the talent segment. The show usually opens with a big production number, followed by some all-star performers like Matt Dogg 20/20 or Meatflap, This is followed by the stepping down number from last year’s winner Helixer Jyder Byntwell.

Then the judges are introduced. Judging this year’s contest are Marga Gomez, Joan Jett Blakk, Vera, Fontaine Blue and Klingon Vanna White. Then contestants are brought out, first with the Lip-sync for Your Life segment to select one more king from a group of newbies who will move on to the main competition.

“These kings bring their skill set to the stage and the competition gets fierce,” said Frottage.

“Following that segment, the judges go off to deliberate and once they have made their decisions, everyone is brought back on stage and the winning King is crowned along with the first and second runners-up. Then we all stick around to dance and schmooze a little before calling it a night.”

Roma and ‘roni

Frottage can’t say enough good things about his co-host Sister Roma, whom he refers to as a goddess.

“Where Roma gets the energy to be out everyday and night, sometimes at more than one event in any 24-hour period, is some kind of incredible superpower,” said Frottage. “She travels all over the world representing the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as well as our community. I am proud to be her friend.” great if we could have Bruce on this song?”

There will be one more guest judge in the contest, a performer who goes by the name Tenderoni.

At first, it was just Bruce, and then Patti jumped in, bless her heart. Anyway, Jesse Malin was the one who piped up and said, “I think I can get I can get a hold of Bruce for you. He’d probably be into it.” Jesse went back home to New York where he lives. He’s tied in with all the East Coast rockers and musicians and all. So, he was able to track Bruce down. Bruce said yes. We sent him the tracks. We weren’t in the studio with him at the same time.

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Hailing from Chicago, Tenderoni has a schtick that harkens back to the 1980s. He won Alaska Thunderfuck’s Drag Queen of the Year Pageant in 2021.

“Guaranteed to get the whole audience dancing,” Frottage promised. “Tenderoni is the definition of showmanship.”

“Tenderoni is my alter-ego, the persona that gives me the confidence to be myself and perform in front of strangers,” Tenderoni said.

As a teenager he was obsessed with ’80s and ’90s music and would impersonate Michael Jackson. His favorite movies growing up were “The Birdcage” and “To Wong Foo,” so drag was a part of his life from an early age.

“When I moved to Chicago as an adult I was opened up to so many different types of drag, including drag kings,” he said. “I was so inspired that I decided to take a chance and try a competition. I’ve been performing ever since, almost seven years.”

Bring out the best

Tenderoni is excited to be working with Frottage and Roma and considers them legends. He added that San Francisco is one of his favorite places to perform because the drag community is so welcoming and creative. He has strong opinions as to why the Drag King Contest has become so popular.

“I think that big competitions bring out the best in performers,” he said. “When the stakes are higher, people are more creative, bringing production and really bringing amazing performances to the stage. Drag kings are a rising niche category in drag right now, so I think people are

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