Why Lasizwe doesn’t owe anyone a tuck

Social media comedy sensation and reality star Lasizwe (real name Thulasizwe Dambuza) has been all anyone can talk about since he appeared on the E! Africa red carpet in a leotard that put the outline of his gentleman biys on full display.

The conversation has been divided among people who are astonished about it and those who are disgusted that he’s so comfortable showing it, those who don’t care and those who believe he should just have tucked it away.

What is tucking? 

According to Buzzfeed, tucking is a practice, well known in both trans and drag circles, of putting one’s penis between and behind one’s legs, so that it’s not visible from the front of the body. Some people push their testicles back as well, while others move them upward and rest them on the lower part of their abdomen before securing them in place.

Speaking strictly as someone who has no idea what it feels like to own male genitalia, that sounds painful.

With that said, the practice of tucking is most often employed by trans women and men in drag for the sole purpose of achieving a flat pelvic area. A look most often associated with women.

Though it is preferred, tucking is not always necessary when getting into drag. Trans women also tuck at their own discretion and their choice depends on their relationship with their penis. In some cases, some trans women prefer to tuck until they can get the necessary surgery to have their genitalia match their true gender.

Even though he uses things such as make-up, wigs and female clothing in his comedy, Lasizwe is an openly gay, cis-homosexual (cisqueer) man.

*cis-homosexual: refers to a homosexual person whose gender aligns with what they were assigned at birth. The more gender-neutral term of which would be cis-gender. 

As a cisqueer man, Lasizwe is neither a trans woman nor was his intent on the night to dress in drag and that (among many other reasons) is why he does not owe anyone a tuck.

Surely we’re all old enough to not be this moved by some male genitalia?

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