Mommy Kratos, meet Hot Piranha Plant.
I was a gamer before I knew I was gay.
I started gaming in 1989, at six years old, when my parents brought home an Amiga 500.
But, to me, it was a portal to other worlds.
Gaming was not queer.
Bayonetta hardly needs queering, because she’s queer af already she has guns on her high heels!
But it’s also more than that.
Bayonetta can be her true self.
It has no gender and no sexuality, it is simply a hazard to be avoided.
It is hardly a character at all.
“In the world of Mario there are countless inspirations,” she told me.
What would make it drag?
“Amping it up.
Giving it a twist.”
It wasn’t a drag look, in Mary’s mind, until it was abiglook.
We spent too long hiding in closets, so let’s explode out of it!
If I can do that and twist it with video games, even better!"
The resulting look does just that.
Yes Mummy Kratos!
Kratos from the God of War series is, in many ways, a stereotypical action hero.
This both is and is not the Kratos we know.
The choice of backing track is the cherry on the cake.
With her Kratos, she succeeds.
Who braids Vega’s hair?
These approaches overlap, of course, because some video game characters have contradictory traits.
Yet his tight costumes, flamboyant style, and obsession with physical beauty read to many players as gay.
This complexity is ripe for subversion.
EnterLoose Willis, a drag king whose Vega ispure genius.
He’s not going to fight unless he is perfect."
the crowd goeswildwith appreciation.
These are not dilettantes, playing off the popularity of video games to score quick internet points.
After all, to queer a character, you have to know that character well.
As Mary O’Kart puts it, “Knowing games well is the most important thing.
or not know the references.”
And these queens and kingsknowthe references.
Miss Terri Box’sperformance as GLaDOSfrom Portal uses actual lines from the game mixed into the backing track.
The image of holding a sign reading “Trans Women Are Women!”
After all, why should a demon look likeanyhuman gender?
These sorts of scenes are only becoming more common.
All the kings and queens I spoke with were nervous about this attack on their beloved art form.
Their work, though, gives me hope.
But the audience knew, and loved it.
I’ve found my people!"
Amid Mommy Kratos and hot Piranha Plant, I think I’ve found mine too.
