# A friend is now the official PR person for a drag queen
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [June 2, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661 "2010-06-02T16:31:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Rex\_Goliath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Goliath)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/1 "2010-06-02T16:31:20Z")
Apparently a rather high up drag queen, too. Pandora Boxx from Ru Paul’s Drag Race, whom I’ve heard is the “number three or two drag queen in the world.” This is after a short poll of a number of my gay friends, all of whom just loooove Ru Paul’s drag race.
The things you never thought you’d learn, huh?
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/2 "2010-06-02T17:48:03Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to MPSIMS.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/3 "2010-06-02T18:10:03Z")
Drag Queens need PR people? There’s a number 2 or 3 Drag Person? (Do they fill in if the #1 drag queen can’t fulfill his/her duties?)
There are too many things I don’t know enough about.
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### Author:  [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/4 "2010-06-02T18:16:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> Drag Queens need PR people?
Certain drag queens do. Pandora Boxx is hugely popular right now, even outside the drag scene, because she was a well liked contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race. There’s a whole drag circuit to be worked, plus she’s written a play, going to be in another RuPaul-hosted tv show, and so on. It’s almost like being a stand up comedian, in terms of what one would need a PR person for.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/5 "2010-06-02T18:31:15Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#):
>
> Pandora Boxx is hugely popular right now, even outside the drag scene, because she was a well liked contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race. There’s a whole drag circuit to be worked, plus she’s written a play, going to be in another RuPaul-hosted tv show, and so on.
When did drag queens become ‘she’?
I mean, I understand about transsexuals, even those who haven’t gone under the knife yet: a MtF transsexual identifies as a woman, regardless of whether she still has male genitals.
But a transvestite/crossdresser/drag queen, to the best of my understanding, generally identifies as a male who really likes dressing up as a woman. Am I wrong?
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### Author:  [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/6 "2010-06-02T18:42:23Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#):
>
> When did drag queens become ‘she’?
>
> I mean, I understand about transsexuals, even those who haven’t gone under the knife yet: a MtF transsexual identifies as a woman, regardless of whether she still has male genitals.
>
> But a transvestite/crossdresser/drag queen, to the best of my understanding, generally identifies as a male who really likes dressing up as a woman. Am I wrong?
Drag queens are generally referred to as she when in their drag persona and he at other times. Though this does vary by individual preference. For example, Rupaul has stated that he doesn’t really care either way. Rupaul is his given name so that muddies the issue slightly.
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### Author:  [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/7 "2010-06-02T18:43:10Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#):
>
> When did drag queens become ‘she’?
>
> I mean, I understand about transsexuals, even those who haven’t gone under the knife yet: a MtF transsexual identifies as a woman, regardless of whether she still has male genitals.
>
> But a transvestite/crossdresser/drag queen, to the best of my understanding, generally identifies as a male who really likes dressing up as a woman. Am I wrong?
As, I understand it, drag queens are referred to as “she” when they are in character, and “he” when they are not. Also, as I understand it, the term “drag queen” is generally used for someone who performs in drag, not someone who dresses up purely for personal reasons.
**Rex Goliath** , congratulations to your friend. I became a Pandora Boxx fan after watching RuPaul’s Drag Race. She rocks.
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### Author:  [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/8 "2010-06-02T18:43:50Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#):
>
> When did drag queens become ‘she’?
>
> I mean, I understand about transsexuals, even those who haven’t gone under the knife yet: a MtF transsexual identifies as a woman, regardless of whether she still has male genitals.
>
> But a transvestite/crossdresser/drag queen, to the best of my understanding, generally identifies as a male who really likes dressing up as a woman. Am I wrong?
I can see where it would depend on the individual drag queen. I mean, surely some of them are transsexuals as well, right? But yeah, how do you generalize? I guess you don’t. I’m a little confused. 😕
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### Author:  [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/9 "2010-06-02T19:27:09Z")
I went with she because we were talking about her in character. If the OP had something like “my friend’s the new PR person for Michael Steck, who performs as Pandora Boxx,” I would have gone with he.
But just because that makes sense to me. I’m no expert in drag pronouns, I just have friends who are fans of certain drag queens.
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/10 "2010-06-02T20:56:22Z")
Drag queens play a character onstage, whether that’s an original character like Pandora or an homage to a celebrity, like numerous Madonna and Cher impersonators. If we’re talking about the character, we use “she” (assuming the character is female…there are some extreme drag performers whose character is barely human, let alone gender-specific). If we’re talking about the performer (i.e., Jon Ingle rather than Lady Bunny, or Steven Polito rather than Hedda Lettuce, or Jeffery Roberson rather than Varla Jean Merman), then we use “he”.
All of these are reversed if we’re talking about drag _kings_, but I don’t know if there are any celebrity examples of those.
Transsexuals are, for all polite intents and purposes, the sex they are mentally and emotionally, and the proper pronoun for that gender is appropriate in all situations.
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### Author:  [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/11 "2010-06-02T21:16:13Z")
> [@Antinor01](#):
>
> Drag queens are generally referred to as she when in their drag persona and he at other times. Though this does vary by individual preference. For example, Rupaul has stated that he doesn’t really care either way. Rupaul is his given name so that muddies the issue slightly.
AFAIK this is correct. If I was a drag queen named Iona Traylor, when in my make-up and costume (i.e. “in character”) the “she” would be the correct pronoun. When I just regular ol’ me in my sneakers and t-shirt, I’d be “he”.
> [@Ogre](#):
>
> I can see where it would depend on the individual drag queen. I mean, surely some of them are transsexuals as well, right?
If the drag queen is also transexual the same rule applies. There is the pronoun for the _character_ and then the pronoun for the _performer_. If the character is female and performer is MtF transexual, then you’d use “she” for both.
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### Author:  [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/12 "2010-06-02T21:40:00Z")
Your friend is so lucky! Pandora Boxx seemed like a really funny and fun sort of person, even though she wasn’t really what the show was looking for. Her Carol Channing impression was killer!
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### Author:  [@Rex\_Goliath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Goliath)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-is-now-the-official-pr-person-for-a-drag-queen/541661/13 "2010-06-03T18:18:25Z")
Maybe I’ll youtube her. Everyone seems to be pretty positive about her future, and I am proud of my friend for landing the job, which I know he’ll be awesome at.