client • KING CODI
project • 2010 PRIDE EVENT POSTER
objective • Just in time for Pride week! Not only did I art direct & design this poster I also posed for it. I wanted something that I could put up in venues and online to promote all of my performances during Pride week. I avoided the bright rainbow colors in an effort to stand out from the sea of super-saturated Pride related materials that would be flooding the gaybourhood. Besides, I know Codi’s not that kind of gay man.
Did I forget to mention that in my spare time I am a Drag King? Yes, I said Drag King, which (for those of you who were wondering) is the male equivalent of a Drag Queen, but without the tiaras. In other words, several times a month I defy the gender binary by transforming myself into a guy & getting up on stage to entertain the masses. I really do love it. I always joke that Codi doesn’t leave a show without breaking the hearts of at least 3 gay men. I get a real kick out of that. I feel that if I can convince those guys that I’m a “real” guy then I’ve got to be doing something right. On any given night Codi will have gay men and lesbians fighting for his attention and questioning their own sexuality. I have been performing as Codi for more than 10 years now and I still find it all so fascinating.
I get a thrill out of pushing the boundaries of what society deems to be gender appropriate. Recently I have teamed up with the amazing comedic gender-bending burlesque troupe the Cinnamon Hearts, I am their token “boy”. Working with them has allowed me to explore gender fuckery in all directions. I feel that gender and sexuality are fluid substances that take the shape of the specific container they occupy. We are all unique containers and as such our gender and sexuality are equally as unique. I will not stand idly by and let society decide who I should love, how I should dress or behave just because I was born with a woman’s tool box. Challenging public perception of gender and sexuality is all part of the game. At the end of the day I have no desire to be a “man”, I just like to play one on TV.
