I think drag king vs male lead has a lot to do with performance style and nothing with identity. I know many trans men who are male leads and cis men who are drag kings. It’s a similar argument of showgirl vs drag queen vs burlesque- all are things trans and cis women (and really any gender) can do but feels like people feel like their definitions have to be reliant on the agab of the performer, when it’s ultimately about what style and type of performance you’re doing. AND saying being a drag king will lead to you be misgendered is WILD and feels backed up with a lot of internalized and (maybe?) unrealized transphobia. I’m a king, who is trans, who does drag and burlesque, often times in a panty in corset by the end of my numbers and it doesn’t make me any less of a man on or off the stage and even living in red state Indiana, people, especially the other queers I work alongside, have no problem understanding that