When it comes to unlikely combinations, mathematics and drag queens probably aren’t the first thing most people think of. However, Kyne Santos, better known by her stage name, Kyne, is bridging these two worlds together in a special way. She spoke at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, engaging with students at MIT and Harvard about the unique intersectionality of her mathematic drag queen persona.
Born in the Philippines and raised in Canada, Kyne was always interested in activities which were stereotypically ‘girly’, leading to an unfortunate share of homophobic comments during her school days long before she had even found her sexual orientation. This initial hardship during her adolescence became a chance for Kyne to find part of her true identity and a source of strength later on in life.
Her fascination with mathematics led to her achieving one of the highest scores in an international math competition during junior high school and subsequently attending the University of Waterloo on a scholarship, eventually obtaining a Bachelor of Mathematics with a major in Mathematical Finance in 2021. Meanwhile, she found another facet of her identity through her passion for drag, which started off as a creative outlet on her YouTube channel and eventually became a full-blown part of her persona after discovering RuPaul’s Drag Race.
A remarkable turning point came during the pandemic when she started to draw parallels between her two passions and share it with the world through TikTok where she talked about math in drag. This led to an unprecedented popularity surge, and Kyne found herself nurturing an expansive online community of fans from around the globe.
In her work, Kyne aims to push limits and encourage debates, comparing the logic leap in embracing mathematical concepts, such as considering zero as a number or recognizing complex numbers as numbers, to that of accepting different ways of expressing gender or identity. She advocates for change – in the same way that mathematicians change or adjust frameworks to understand more, it’s important for society to adjust and redefine to create greater understanding and acceptance.
In addition to this, Kyne is known for her unique ability to explain complex mathematical concepts through precise metaphors and delightful examples. Her book Math in Drag, introduces and addresses how deep-rooted notions and philosophies of math and of drag intersect, while also including her own experiences with these two distinct fields to make them more relatable and to show that they are not as unrelated as they seem on the surface.
A notable part of her persona is the ability to weave her story seamlessly into her teachings. With a translated term from her culture, she explains her struggles, her courage to step out of the closet and express her identity loudly. In the end, she defines math and drag as means of expressing creativity and love for the abstract which is a beautiful description reflecting her deep engrossing interest in both fields.
Interestingly, in addition to touching upon her journey of self-expression, she also engages the audience with intriguing anecdotes about her experiences in the evolving journey of content creation, breaking barriers in STEM fields, her favorite mathematical theories and figures, and her vision for the future.
Throughout her conversation, Kyne explained her passion for creating a community inspired by her experiences. All these components play an essential role in her charm, which is making waves in the virtual and physical world alike. She sees the joy in morphing paradigms and evolving definitions. As she rightly said, “we will continue to transcend the rules because every great discovery is born just over the boundary of what we think is possible.
