King of the Hill is an odd show. There are certainly episodes with problematic ideas, but they manage to have one of the best representations of genderqueer people in a show from its era. While this slot is filled by drag queens, they are written in such a way that they could definitely be read as trans in a modern lens.

In the episode, Peggy, a cis woman with size 16 feet, “masculine” skills, and not traditionally feminine clothing, befriends a drag queen when she unknowingly goes to a store for drag queens to buy her shoes. The episode follows Peggy’s experience with gender dysphoria. Her cis friends cannot understand her feelings of not being a real woman because they are traditionally feminine and good at following societal rules. They also contribute to her gender dysphoria because she’s the odd one out in the group. Nobody wants her clothes at the swap, she opens the pickle jars. It isn’t until Peggy befriends a drag queen who is able to appreciate Peggy’s bold brand of femininity that Peggy is able to be more confident. Carolyn sees Peggy eat an entire sandwich and mentions it. At first Peggy thinks this is a slight on her femininity until Carolyn asks how she did it without smearing any of her lipstick. Carolyn is a huge supporter of Peggy’s femininity and confidence. Peggy becomes so confident that she agrees to do a drag show without knowing it’s a drag show. Carolyn only realizes that she was completely off base after Peggy talks in detail about birthing her child.

Eventually, Peggy is told that she can’t do the show because it’s a drag show. She is heartbroken by this because she thinks that the drag queens perceive her as a man, and this makes her feel extremely dysphoric and unsure of her own gender identity. All the cis people in her life try to make her feel better, but none of them understand because they fit into traditional gender norms. It isn’t until Carolyn gets Peggy to do a clothes swap with the drag queens that Peggy is able to regain her confidence because she realizes that she’s being appreciated for her femininity. She sees the gender euphoria of the other people in the clothing trade and it makes her understand that she is a strong woman and that it’s good. One of the girls at the swap says that whispy women are a dime a dozen and that they like to model themselves after strong women that only need to be known by one name, like Cher. Peggy is simply Peggy, and that’s all she needs to be to be a real woman.