Where the Bois Are

If you think getting all dressed up is just for the queens, prepare to stand corrected. San Francisco actually has a glamorous history of swinging the other way. In the 1940s, dapper drag kings like Butch Minton and Gladys Bentley pulled on their cummerbunds and crooned into the hearts of adoring girls and bois. And in the ´80s and ´90s, Leigh Crow's Elvis Herselvis gave the original king a run for his money with her hip swivels and sensitive-rebel badinage. The 12th Annual San Francisco Drag King Contest continues its tradition of immaculately packaged red meat for the gender-bending masses, and it promises to be -- wait for it -- "bigger, better, and longer" this year, due to a smattering of drink-along pre-contest galas. This year, Fudgie Frottage emcees the show, as dozens of trannybois, burlesque hunks, and aspiring heartthrobs flex their muscles to see who's got the best style, sex appeal, talent, and facial hair. Contestants with names like Papi Cock and Sherwood Suck battle it out alongside past contest luminaries like Buck Naked, the winner of last year's solo king category, and dance troupe the Slickk Bois, who quicken libidos with their boy-band moves. Performance artist the Indra sums up the sexy hauteur of the show best: "If it doesn't look phallic enough, turn it sideways."