Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Notta Genda. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Notta, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

Being misunderstood is, unfortunately, a consistent part of being a drag king. I feel like I have to explain myself wherever I go. From the drive thru cashier at 1 am, to the comment section, to venue owners, and even some drag queens. Ironically, even some anti-drag legislation that’s been drafted doesn’t apply to performers like me. Part of what makes performing so rewarding is feeling seen and understood finally. Something clicks for people when I’m dressed like Bob Ross painting happy little trees on my stomach.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Notta Genda (A pun sounding like “not a gender”). I’m a non-binary drag king, which for me is performing masculine-leaning drag with some gender fluidity. This will sometimes mean that I’m performing in a beard and corset, or switching between masculine and feminine-voiced songs. I really enjoy surprising audiences. One of my more recent favorite performances is my Darth Maul number where I lip-sync a male version of “Bad Guy” and open my robe to reveal that I’m wearing Grogu PJs underneath. Just silly, fun stuff.

I’m a pandemic drag baby! I actually started by taking distanced burlesque classes about a year into the pandemic. However, some of the hyper-feminine aspects of burlesque made me feel dysphoric. Then I found drag kings, which seemed closer to how I wanted to identify. Now I perform a lot of masculine “draglesque” in my numbers. When I’m dressed as Notta, I feel like I’m on top of the world.

I’m most proud of the community I’ve been able to find and help grow. When I started, there were only about 3 other active kings in Salt Lake City. Now there’s enough drag kings in here to have multiple king-only shows a month. I’ve met two of my partners (I’m polyamorous) through drag and another is about to perform for their first time. I’ve found a lot of love here.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I just want to put more positive trans visibility out there. Especially these days.

I remember being in the closet and I’d be inspired by people who were loudly queer. It represented a level of happiness and freedom that I needed and seeing it in real life gave me hope. Now I get to be that person for myself and other people and make up for the time I couldn’t be that.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I know we’ve all heard this a thousand times, but really, support local art! Go to local drag shows! It definitely takes more effort to find, since small artists don’t have the marketing resources that corporations do. Wherever you are, your community has local art that uniquely builds your environment and it’s so important to support it. Follow local artists, share their posts, grab a friend and go to shows. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more direct way to support your local LGBTQIA+ community than physically throwing dollar bills at them.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @notta_genda
• Other: TikTok: notta_genda