Drag King.

Ah, yes, the macho brother of the drag queen. Though some transmen might consider the art of drag a more feminine game (after all, we want to BE men, not play dressup as though we were one) I encourage you to keep an open mind about it. After all, learning how to costume oneself as male-looking is a great way to test the wings, get a more genuine idea of the expectations and responsibilities placed on a male in society. I find myself even more conscious of opening doors for ladies when out in drag, and my interactions with waiters and clerks tend to take a somewhat different tone as well. Anyway, it's a great way to try on the mask before making the full commitment that hormones and surgery entail. Keep in mind that some individuals may discover throughout the course of their therapy that they are in fact not trans at all, but something entirely different. And some transpersons may decide that physical augmentation is either unnecessary , or just not right for their lives. Taking things slowly, and trying one step at a time will prevent many regrets in the future.

And so without further ado, here's me, all dragged up:
For me, one of the key elements of getting "sirred" on a regular basis, was the addition of facial hair. Before that, I'd perhaps get calls "sir" once in a while, quickly followed up by an apologetic and embarrassed "ma'am!" Once I began incorporating facial hair into my cosmetics, I was being addressed as a male with confidence.

The most important element of dressing in drag is doing so safely. I strongly advise against presenting in drag in public alone for your first few times. You may still be perfecting the makeup, or your voice, or have tells that label you as not "quite right". In case you should somehow be outed, the last thing you want to be is alone. Take friends, preferably male friends for an ftm (female friends for an mtf) . The main reason I advise this is the bathroom situation. Were I to go out in drag with a group of females, there's liable to be far off while I'm getting my ass kicked in the bathroom should situations out me. That is, I hope, a long shot, but it's a base you certainly want covered should it arise. More on the bathroom sitch later.

For now, how to get the facial hair- what I have found works delightfully well can be found at most theatrical stores, perhaps even less professional costume facility. The three things you'll need are crepe hair, which is typically sold in footlong braids, spirit gum, a colorless, thin but very strong adhesive, and spirit gum remover, because after your fun, no amount of scrubbing will get that gunk off your face. I find stubble to be more believable to accomplish than full out beardage, and it would likely prove alot cheaper. For starters, I take some eyeshadow and a powder brush and create a light outline of shading wherever I want my beard to be. This gives me an outline for my work, and keeps me from overdoing it once I get going. Also, experimenting with the shading for different looks is alot easier than with the actual stubble. Using a small pair of scissors, I nip the tips repeatedly, gathering the tiny clippings onto a white piece of paper (makes visibility easier). Once I have enough for whatever area I'm covering, I'll brush on the spirit gum in small swatches at a time to prevent it from drying out before I'm ready. Then I swipe my finger across the paper, gathering stubble on my finger before dabbing it into the gummy glue on my face. Try to keep the stubble from getting clumped up on the paper, as that'll make for some freaky looking facial hair. Once I have it all set, I like to get a second opinion, because a fresh set of eyes can be very useful in detecting holes or clumps I might have missed. Once you're satisfied that it's uniform, and natural looking, you're ready to go. Practice makes perfect, and I find that I get a little better with it every time. These pics are only my second time using it, so I hope to have better results to show on down the road.

So, you're all dressed up, now where to go? Gay clubs and bars obviously present the safest venues, since they tend to be more open to deviations in gender and sexuality. Be careful even there though, as some gays who are downright intolerant of "trannies". For my first outing, I went with my spouse (who shocked me by being remarkably open with it) to a German restaurant in town. I chose the location for two main reasons: it's a dark ambiance, which made me feel more comfortable in my ability to blend in, and the bathrooms were single toilet facilities. No stalls, and not more than one person in the bathroom at a time. That avoids alot of the apprehension of the bathroom scene, and enabled me to relax and enjoy passing without the stress of being outed. The meal went well, though I think the waiter perceived my spouse and I to be gay.

For the next outing, we went to Olive Garden during the day time. Though my facial hair was better set up, I'm not entirely sure that I passed as well, simply because I felt like several people were staring at me. There was no real event to speak of though, so I'll peg it a reasonable success, since it was definitely a learning experience. I used a stalled bathroom there without hitch, though I think the bathroom situation is easier for FTM's than MTF's. Guy's really don't pay attention to one another in the restroom, just do their business and leave. So as I casually walked in, entered the stall, even sat down to pee, all I had to do was casually exit the stall, wash my hands and walk right back out. The men's room isn't the social gathering place that the women's room is, and I was thankful for that. In the off chance of some wise crack, a simple gruff, "Motorcycle/hunting/machinery etc, accident." should suffice, or if you're feeling really ballsy, and don't mind taking a gamble on getting your face pounded, one might raise the questions as to why he's so preoccupied with your dick anyway. While I might say that, I wouldn't advise it to those wiser than I.

So what if you get outed? Say something startles you and you scream or for whatever reason someone flings the door open on your closet, what to do? My advice, which may or may not be the best way to do, is to jump out of the closet before you can be dragged out. "Hiding in plain sight," is how my mentor says, as she claims I do it all the time. If someone were to call me out, I'd stop trying to sound male, laugh it off and explain, "I'm trying out for the part of Hamlet. Tell me, how believable was I to you as a male?" That makes you an eccentric theater person, rather than someone who's bending the rod of gender standardization to a point that the populace at large is unprepared to deal with. Not to mention, it might land me some good criticism on how to more believably pass in the future. It's yet to happen to me, but I think it's always wise to have a backup plan, something that can put people's minds at ease. Most people don't like having their "facts" threatened, and yes, to most people, gender is a matter of physical fact.

The one tell I haven't been able to fully compensate for yet is my voice. My spouse says I sound like I have a cold. Since I work in a call center, I can sometimes practice my range of voice at work, since the individuals on the line neither see me, nor will ever really come into contact with me again. I've never gotten called "sir" over the phone, which tells me that my voice doesn't ever really pass for anything other than androgynous, but I do tend to get "ma'am'ed" less when deepening my tone. I have hopes that a voice coach can help me further this, but have yet to find one out. For now though, with proper company for backup, the drag thing it working out decently. If you plan to try it, please, just more than anything, be safe.