When Kelindah Schuster entered the Brooklyn drag scene, the idea of someone assigned female at birth performing high femme drag was controversial.
Mx. Schuster, who uses they/them pronouns, pushed back. “Women know a lot about the constraints of femininity,” they said. “Why shouldn’t we have the opportunity to play and experiment and subvert those things?”
It was through drag that Mx. Schuster, 30, realized they were trans. Drag shows became a place where they could subvert their femininity, metamorphose from “high femme princess” to “grotesque, feral animal that wants to eat you alive” — a “cat-caller’s worst nightmare.”
Since 2017, Mx. Schuster has been performing as the nonbinary Theydy Bedbug at famous L.G.B.T.Q. venues like the Stonewall Inn, 3 Dollar Bill and House of Yes.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
