Paul Hidacan’s drag persona is Zymba Ding. “She is an extension, a revelation of what Paul can do without religious restrictions,” he said. Jes Aznar for The New York Times

Drag is going mainstream in the Philippines, which is both one of the biggest majority-Christian countries and one of the most gay-friendly Asian nations. But there are still few legal protections for gay Filipinos, and same-sex unions are not allowed, so for many artists drag is deeper than sequins and spectacle.

“Drag is not just entertainment,” one performer said. “The mere fact that a man dresses as a woman in public is already a form of defiance.”