This pageant is one gender-bender.
The second annual Mr. Transman competition returns to the Knitting Factory in Williamsburg on Aug. 28 for a celebration of female-to-male beauty.
“What these performers and contestants come up with and how they express gender blows me away — and I’ve seen a lot in my time,” said host Murray Hill, who knows what he’s talking about, having hosted the city’s Miss Lez Pageant for a decade. “Last year’s event was such a blow-out that we had to do it again.”
Drag contests, gay pageants and transwoman competitions have been happening for years, but transmen had been without a pageant of their own until Hill created it last year.
Five contestants will compete in Platform, Swimsuit, Interview, Talent and Evening Wear as they vie for a cash prize and photo spread in the seminal transman magazine, “Original Plumbing.”
The night will also feature some appropriate entertainment, including Schmekel, an all-Jewish and trans punk band; Princess Tiny and the Meats, a political performance art electronica band; and Kit Yan, a spoken word poet and last year’s Mr. Transman, who’ll be returning to also reclaim his title. It’s his-tory in the making.
Mr. Transman 2011 at the Knitting Factory [361 Metropolitan Ave. at Havemeyer Avenue in Williamsburg, (347) 529-6696], Aug. 28 at 8 pm. Tickets $18, $15 in advance. For info, visit www.mrshowbiz.com.
