The Future Is Dorian Electra

In an industry that favors those who play by the rules, this pop shape-shifter proves the power of defiant individuality

- Allie Volpe

“Basically, I’m Einstein,” Dorian Electra quips. “Like, hello, I’m a genius.”

The pop artist, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, is recounting the time they traced the mathematical steps in Albert Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence formula, E=mc2, in front of fellow students at a Chicago liberal arts college. How fulfilling it was at the time to understand, at least tangentially, the thought processes of the famed physicist. The particulars of the calculations are now a bit foggy. “I swear to God, I don’t have a good memory for details like that,” Electra says. “But I don’t think it was a waste of time. It gives me a boost. My ego is like, Yeah, one time I understood that.”

Electra often performs such mental gymnastics, attempting to dissect complexities in music, gender expression and personal history. The 27-year-old can analyze memes and philosophical theories, or gender stereotypes and choreography, while playing their own devil’s advocate. They possess a mental stamina that never seems to wane. Frankly, being Dorian Electra is exhausting.