This story originally appeared on Them.
Drag Race España just released its season six cast list and the roster includes the Drag Race franchise’s first-ever full-time drag king: Marcus Massalami.
When the season begins airing on September 27, we can expect to see Marcus performing alongside other contestants such as Àlex Marteen, Alma DeSoul, and Buba Anorex. The announcement was shared on the official Drag Race España Instagram, along with a photo of Marcus wearing a bright red jumpsuit and leopard fur train.
“I hope he brings lots of packages to our house, pleeease,” the caption reads, in Spanish.
Per a 2022 profile in Spanish publication El Diario, Marcus’s civilian name out of drag is Melisa Meseguer, a lesbian actress, singer, violinist, and nurse.
The casting decision marks a significant milestone for the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise. Though it has long opened up the world of drag to a global audience, the vast majority of contestants have been drag queens with a specific aesthetic known colloquially as “Ru girls.” Canada’s Drag Race contestant Johnny Jones performed as a drag king part-time on season six, but also performed as Velma Jones.
Marcus Massalami will be the first to reign as a drag king, full-time. He is also only the second cisgender woman to compete in Drag Race España, following Clover Bish, and the sixth cis woman in the entire franchise.
Beyond Drag Race, however, Marcus’ casting is a major step forward for drag king representation broadly. Historically, there has been less cultural awareness in popular zeitgeist about drag kings as there has been for drag queens. Aside from errant appearances or acknowledgements in shows and movies like The L Word, By Hook or By Crook, and Girl King, there is a dearth of drag king representation on screen, despite having a long, rich history dating back to the first recorded drag pageants in the 1800s, such as drag king Florence Hines who made her first on-stage appearance in 1891.
In recent years, however, there have been significant additions to the miniscule canon of on-screen drag kings, including Revry television series King of Drag, which features a large swatch of drag king talent.
Marcus Massalami is a welcome entry to the small, but growing list of drag kings to perform on our televisions and wow audiences around the world. We’ll certainly be tuning in to catch his historic debut, come September 27.
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