I met Sym in 2010 at one of his Tranarchy parties. Or was it Bearracuda? I certainly saw him make his debut as drag terrorist Merci Killingspree at Tranarchy; I think it was the first onstage abortion I’d ever witnessed. He’s subversive, astute, and unafraid. Even his merchandising and window display shenanigans at his day/not-always-day job, Tapelenders/Package Menswear, show a gleeful, delirious creativity that doesn’t shy away from rattling people’s chains. The delightfully raunchy drag shows he co-produces with the Poo Poo Platter crew have taken heat for being transphobic, misogynistic, racist, and even classist, as their art unabashedly pokes every institution under the sun with a 12-inch dildo. He could be a straight-passing, white-passing, neg-passing miserable sunuvabitch, but he chooses not to. It’s punk rock in extremis, it takes brass ones, and it matters.
This article appears in September 5 • 2014.