Today we’d like to introduce you to Jo King.
Hi Jo, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! I’m Jo King and I’m a cis female drag queen! Some people don’t care and don’t want me to specify, and some people don’t think I should be doing drag at all. I never knew I could do drag, so I like to share it! I got started during the pandemic. I’ve always been a musician and theatre nerd. I also happen to love Halloween and appreciate the art of cosplay. Eventually that became me making my own costumes and wigs for Halloween, and eventually I became pretty good at that! That, paired with being queer, a desire to express myself in unexplored ways, and a growing love for drag… you do the math!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been easy. Sure, there are lots of open minded people that accept me as an “AFAB” drag queen, but it’s taken a long time to find that community. You would be surprised how misogynistic the gay community can be – something I didn’t know until I started drag and spent more time in nightlife spaces. Both women and drag queens are used to people giving their unsolicited opinions about your life, but imagine being both!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I love making people happy, and making people laugh. In today’s climate, god knows we all need it! I love to be “stupid” in my drag performances – and by that I mean the obvious, the low brow, the high brow, the arched brow, the silly, the Dada, the wordplay, the crass, the analytical – all of it. My best performances, in my eyes, are the ones where people can’t help but smile because the slow burn of humor finally got them.
I’m most proud of inspiring other queer women to do what they love. I’ve met people who have told me, “I didn’t know I could do drag!” before they saw me. Some have even gone on to start drag themselves!
So many people nowadays do drag, or their hobby, or art in general, to climb a social ladder and to make money. Even if you don’t start out with that intention, we live in such a capitalist society, it’s almost inevitable. I don’t think we should take things so seriously, hence the name Jo King. I take myself and my craft seriously of course, but a lot of the social ladders people yearn to climb simply don’t exist when we take off our wigs! That’s so silly! We can make statements and inspire people without having to tear each other down. I love to remind other drag queens and audience members alike that we should be having fun where we can. After all, there is no other way to resist the “unprecedented times” and hundreds of “historical events” we have to live through. We can’t change the world by being rude and cutthroat to our brothers and sisters. It’s what the queer community had to do during the AIDS Epidemic, and it’s what we have to do now. I know what it’s like to have terrible anxiety just observing the world around you, and I take pride in being able to provide people with an escape from that, even if it’s for 8 minutes of an Austin Powers and Fergie mix.
How do you think about luck?
Most of the time I feel like I have bad luck, but in a way, I’m grateful. It’s always the type of situation that makes you go “seriously?” or “this WOULD happen to me!” It’s the real-life equivalent of sewing half your costume wrong and having to seam rip it. That being said, it’s forced me to be creative, resourceful, and self sufficient. In drag, that looks like being able to make my own costumes, wigs, and performance mixes. In my personal life, that looks like going through every type of bad friendship to where I now know what a good friend means to me, and helps me hold my loved ones closer. The more shit you go through, the better your chosen family becomes! I’m so grateful for that!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: theejoking
Image Credits
Anna Stanford Photography (black and white photoshoot), Eric Magnussen (white tights photo), Galatea Timbs (turquoise dress, blowing kiss to audience)
Other images mine
