TikTok’s reigning queen of math – Macleans.ca

Kyne Santos’ introduction to mathematics was very practical. His late father, a Filipino immigrant who worked as an engineer for Toyota in Cambridge, Ontario, told his young son that excelling in the subject would help him get a good job. In high school, mathematics was Santos’ best grade and she competed in competitions, in her case, exams provided by the University of Waterloo. “I didn’t win often, but they exposed me to the creative side of mathematics,” Santos says. “Like trigonometry tests, where there were no right or wrong ways to do them.”

Around the same time, Santos began experimenting with makeup, wearing red lipstick and eyelashes to school, a “superhero cape,” while exploring her gender expression. In 2016, when Santos was in his first year of mathematics at Waterloo, he saw a live performance by Kitchener’s queen, Miss Drew, who inspired him to take the stage. During the day, Santos completed his studies; At night, using Kyne as a drag name, he performed in DIY costumes at pubs and campus nightclubs throughout southern Ontario. By 2020, Kyne had become something of a national drag icon, placing 11th in the first season of Canada’s Endurance Race.

Once filming wrapped, Santos found himself in a creative rut. YouTube wig styling tutorials were a good outlet, but then she remembered her first love. “I started posting math puzzles on TikTok, dressed as a woman,” Santos says. “I thought nothing would come of it.” Thousands of views and comments quickly arrived. (“If only you had been my math teacher, I’m sure my life, my grades, and my attendance would be extremely different,” said one.) In a viral clip, Kyne dons a purple organza dress. her top and dazzling gemstone earrings, batting her thick eyelashes as he explains the ins and outs of Möbius strips. It has about 15 million visits.

One and a half million math converts flocked to Santos’ @onlinekyne account seeking country explanations of quadratic equations and square roots, and soon Santos adapted the advice into a book. This spring, Johns Hopkins University Press published Math in Drag, in which Santos explains key mathematical concepts, like the law of averages, along with queer history tidbits about drag ball and Marsha P. Johnson. It even explores the statistical probability of winning. endurance race.

For Santos, now 26, Kyne’s career has been instructive in some ways. “When he was young he thought: If I’m really extravagant, how am I going to get a job as a mathematician or scientist?”Says Santos. “It’s important to me to break down the stereotype that a ‘math person’ can’t wear makeup or be feminine, that you have to fit into a certain category.” With the book dusted off, Santos’ next goal is to establish a scholarship program and possibly a tutoring service, online or in the classroom. The uniforms will probably be fabulous.

Favorite equation: “I really like it eiπ + 1 = 0. It incorporates numbers, such as eei, which forced mathematicians to expand their frameworks. The ‘celebrity numbers,’ as I call them.”
Go to lip sync song: “The Boss” by Diana Ross
Drag Idol: RuPaul. “She opened the doors to mainstream queens, doing daytime drag shows, television and writing books!”
Favorite author: “Apart from me, I really like Eugenia Cheng. Your book How to bake Pi “It makes mathematics accessible to the general public and incorporates their love of baking.”
Downtime: Looking real housewives at home in bed. “Salt Lake City It’s full of camp icons.”