What is Drag?

History of drag and how it came to be, all the way through prohibition and alongside feminism to a worldwide stage of popular culture.

TLDR

Are you feeling your oats? Throwing shade? Serving face? Okuuuuur! 😅

Here is a quick HERstory of drag and why it not only persevered to the

present day, but it's here to stay and slay!

Alyssa Edwards (born Justin Johnson), American performer, businessman & drag queen

So, what is drag? Drag is a gender-bending art form in which a person dresses in clothing and makeup to emphasize a particular gender identity, a mix of identities, or a creative, fictional persona.

It's also a multidisciplinary art form since it involves the costume, the makeup, the hair, often the dancing and singing components, lots of acting, and of course – tons of fun. Another peculiarity is that it's all, almost always, done by a single person, resembling the efforts of those multi-faceted renaissance artists, who knew their way around several different arts at any time. This art form has been around for a few centuries and has recently seen a huge resurgence, going for mainstream popularity.

History of Drag

To start, we have a shocking fact - women were not allowed to perform in the first theatres! So, men played all roles - including female roles - yes, indeed, my dear.

This means that drag performers existed as far back as ancient Greece, which continued into Shakespearean times. As soon as the stage was invented, Drag appeared - literally!

It is therefore believed that the term "drag" originated in the theatre. When men played female roles back in those old days, they supposedly often discussed how their costume dresses would drag across the floor. 💃 And so the name just started living on its own.

1600s - 1800s

Teatrical playfulness

It may have been born out of necessity, but that doesn't mean it wasn't fun for those involved. 😉 When Shakespearean theatre was new in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the stage wasn't just a place for entertainment. It was also closely associated with the church, so there was a rule that only men could stand on the stage. If the play had some female roles, chosen men or boys in the cast had to dress up as the opposite sex so the story wouldn't suffer. Isn't it just lovely that the church found men in dresses more godly than women on stage? 🤭

In many western countries, this gave the icons of the day much-needed space to flourish. For example, Princess Seraphina was considered the first UK drag queen, although she was part of John's everyday life rather than an acting role. This calls for an entirely new story, about cross-dressing and why it's different than drag, but that's for some other time. Keep reading on!

Detail from a parodic cartoon depicting male and female cross-dressing, c.1780, by John Collet

1910s - 1960s

Vaudeville and Panzy Craze

The next milestone in the drag evolution was shows, shows that introduced female impersonation into American culture through the theatre genre called "vaudeville." The first officially known drag queen was Julian Eltinge. His popularity went beyond vaudeville, and his success earned him the title of the highest-paid actor in the world - surpassing even Charlie Chaplain at the time.

By the end of the twentieth century, Drag had become associated with the LGBTQ+ community. It was no longer a part of popular mainstream entertainment as the gay community became marginalized in the United States (god bless America, eh). Performers moved from the theatrical spotlight under the strobe lights of urban nightlife, particularly in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. As the United States entered the era of Prohibition, which banned the production and consumption of alcohol from 1920 to 1933, gay men used underground clubs and speakeasies to express themselves and have fun. Outside the gaze of the law, gay men in the Prohibition underground scene felt free to be themselves, and they also felt free to dress up as drag queens.

Unsurprisingly, the bars that illegally sold alcoholic beverages (speakeasies) became increasingly popular. 🥂 Along with spirits, Drag was welcome and became known as "Pansy Craze" during Prohibition. But long after the end of Prohibition, gay bars continued to feature Drag, well into the 1950s and '60s.

Gene Malin, one of the first openly gay performers during the "pansy craze" in the 1930s.

After World War II, homosexuality was still frowned upon. However, there were still drag actors breaking through the negative sentiment and making successful careers. The LGBTQ community continued to flourish, even though it was illegal for them to be served alcohol in bars or even dance with each other. The New York Police Department and the state Liquor Authority regularly raided bars where gay patrons frequented.

Oddly enough - incoming shocker - it would be the New York mafia, particularly the Genovese family, who secretly provided an outlet for drag queens and the gay community. In 1966, a member of the Genovese family bought the "Stonewall Inn" bar in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, which became a center of gay culture and, in 1969, the epicenter of a series of riots that pitted the queer community against its oppressors.

1970s - 2000s

Pride movement and new media

After the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City and into the 1990s, queer culture and the pride movement gained mainstream support, and along with it came popular drag culture. Films such as the documentary "Paris Is Burning" documented African-American ball culture in New York City's Harlem neighborhood in the late 1980s. The "Birdcage," a comedy about a gay couple who run a drag cabaret in Miami's South Beach neighborhood, helped bring Drag into mainstream American culture as well.

Outside Stonewall Inn, celebrating after the riots.

The fight for LGBTQ acceptance and equality grew over the 1970s and 1980s, with Harvey Milk becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in San Francisco in 1977. American TV series "Pose" is showcasing the New York ballroom culture in the 70s. Drag balls involved owning the runway, in the finest drag you could find in order to wow the judges and go home with a clutch of trophies. This was where the concept of the "drag mother" was established. Seasoned queens would take up-and-coming drag artists under their wing, to show them how to work a stage as well as their look. Drag mothers would often provide housing and financial safety for their children as well.

It was then that drag culture seemed to slowly fold into mainstream society, with such drag and gender-bending performances by actor Tim Curry in 1975's "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and the aesthetic stylings of musician David Bowie. The 1980s saw even greater experimentation with drag and gender-bending in music and film through artists such as Boy George and Pete Burns.

That positive representation gradually bled through into the mainstream. The famed Divine, who died in 1988, appeared in many movies by the director John Waters, which had crossover success (Divine played Edna Turnblad in the original version of "Hairspray"). And by the early 1990s, RuPaul was finally on the cusp of global fame, combining his drag persona with a recording career that included a duet with Elton John.

Divine (center) as Dawn Davenport in the 1974 film "Female Trouble."

In the twenty-first century, drag culture is finally a pop-culture phenomenon. Drag is especially popular because of the reality competition TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race. In case you've been hiding under a rock, in short - on the show, contestants lip-sync, walk runways, do celebrity impersonations, design and create custom outfits, and more - all to compete to be crowned as the best drag show performer. The show ought to serve as a platform to highlight issues in the drag community, but it also provoked a lot of criticism from members of the community (almost regularly) over the years. But, that's a story for another day. 😉

In the modern era, where the internet can bring marginalized communities into the spotlight, drag has found a fan base that's become larger than life. The Drag Queen has entered the mainstream once again — and this time, it seems like she's here to stay. 👑

Drag Kings

It's not only about wearing pants...

Drag Kings wear men's clothing and makeup to assume male roles, presentation, and masculine expression, and the art form itself is less well-known in the pop culture world.

In the past, drag kings were female performance artists who wore male clothing and embodied male gender stereotypes. But as the understanding of gender has become more fluid in recent years, that definition has changed as well; now, there are trans men Kings, non-binary Kings, and even cisgender men performing as Drag Kings - just as there are cisgender women performing as Queens.

Landon Cider (born Kristine Bellaluna), drag king

Even as the world of Drag Kings grows, it remains more or less absent from pop culture. The answer to why that is, may be complex, but a good place to start is the underrepresentation of women in front of and behind the camera. 🙄 And another thing: women who take on masculine characteristics deny traditional patriarchal roles. ☝ And let's face it, for certain parts of our society, that's super threatening. 👀

Nonetheless, drag kings continue to exist. "Drag is therapy," says one King from California who often impersonates Bruno Mars. "When I started, every drag king wore a suit or jeans and a T-shirt. Your facial hair was a goatee or a chin strap. It was very bland. Your job as a drag king was to exude as much masculinity as possible."

Many drag performers don't fit into either the queen or king category. It's not always about pretending to be the opposite sex; that's not the ultimate goal.

"You can have a hard day and get in front of an audience, and the energy they give you can bring you out of whatever you're going through." - donning a David Bowie costume and performing his song "Time" profoundly changed Gene Jeanie's life. "Drag set me on the path to discovering my queerness. I don't know if I'd have discovered that side of me otherwise." That may as well be his greatest achievement - the awareness of freedom.

Some ladies found themselves in ties and mustaches, while others drew attention to gender inequality. Rain Dove is a woman who sometimes acts like a man. On Instagram, where she already has over 400,000 followers, she calls herself a "gender capitalist," meaning she chooses to be a woman or a man depending on what brings her the most in a given situation. She says, "Sometimes you get the exact same thing when you're perceived as a man or a woman. But in most cases, there's a pretty clear line. What it means to look like a woman or a man varies from region to region-from clothing, to posture, makeup to voice – so I just observe and mimic. It's definitely a performance."

Drag and Feminism

Not copying women, just revealing an aspect of womanhood.

Yet another drama thread was sparked by an angry tweet. This time someone shared that they're bored with all the drag shows that are nothing but a parody of what a real woman is. The sentiment followed the definition of a real woman - juggling kids, making a healthy dinner, doing laundry and cleaning, working a job, and doing all that with period pains... yes, all the traditional gender stereotypes kicked in. Well, honestly - sometimes the defense sounds so bad that the supposed attackers look so sweet. 😍

A woman isn't a woman if she doesn't have kids? Cooking? Cleaning? Work? Oh dear, so many restrictions and very few choices. And if a woman chooses to spend her life making a home for her beloved family and dealing with all the problems because it gives her joy and a purpose - is that automatically a hard life? Let's just take it all in and reflect... No.

Again, some say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. (Dragička agrees!) But some feminists accuse drag queens of adopting and exaggerating feminine characteristics for entertainment. Also, there's an argument that drag queens can shed their feminine persona at will, while women must constantly confront the reality of their gender. Really?

One might assume that two groups would be allies in the fight for civil rights, but not all. What's confusingly sticking out here is... why would a feminist restrict a woman to a particular set of characteristics? 🤔

From the community's perspective, Drag is a solution, not a problem. When drag queens put on makeup, they're not making fun of women. They don't put the wigs on to hide but to show themselves. It's a space of freedom where gender bias is challenged. Drag is about, among other things, rejecting stereotypes about clothing and the way men and women are supposed to look. The way Panti Bliss says it, our culture insists that men should look gray and dull and that frocks and makeup should be reserved for women, and let us tell you - that's all bullsh*t.

"If I want to cover myself in glitter or have big hair and make myself taller," Panti says, "why shouldn't I do that?" We say go for it - glitter, hair, whatever you want, the sky is the limit!

If emphasizing feminine attributes is a problem, it's more of a misogyny problem than a drag problem. RuPaul, one of the most famous drag queens, explained it like this: "The fact that someone might be offended by drag isn't enough to limit the performer's right to do it." More important is why the performer is doing it in the first place. Panti Bliss has explained that he's not pretending to be a woman. He's using means traditionally considered feminine to express himself. His point is that we still hold on to stereotypes about what women wear.

Drag has been marginalized for decades, even centuries, and people still question every peek it makes into the mainstream.

Madonna's "Vogue" music video made the art of voguing famous, a dance style that originated in the drag ball scene of the 1970-80s. The mainstream success helped the dance style reach a much wider audience, and Madonna established herself as an icon for many drag queens.

Critics have accused her of showcasing racial and sexual minorities for her own gain and of being disingenuous. As a white woman, she seized upon and capitalized on an aspect of a niche subculture that draws inspiration from female appearance and behavior.

Drag is inherently provocative, reflecting aspects of mainstream society and exaggerating them in ways that blur the line between deference and parody. Whether or not it's a form of appropriation raises larger questions about society. Is there a feminine culture? Does it demean women when a man performs as a woman? Does it mock our idea of what it means to be a woman, and is that negative? Larger questions, as we said.

Drag influence in pop culture

Slang, fashion, beauty, and movies.

In recent years, the growing appreciation for Drag has changed how we talk and look and dress. The ever-increasing support for Drag and queer communities can be attributed to social movements and the media. The majority of younger generations have welcomed drag queens and kings with open arms, but, as we just explained above - the struggle for recognition has been anything but easy.

The Gay Pride Parade began to push boundaries in 1970, leaving gaps for drag icons to shine through. One of the brightest, or as "People Magazine" called her - Drag Queen of the Century - Divine, inspired the design of Ursula in Disney's "The Little Mermaid." There are signs of drag acceptance in films - Tim Curry's "Rocky Horror Picture Show," and music - like David Bowie's dramatic style.

The twenty-first century ended flirting with drag and made way for a full give-and-receive drag relationship. The show ran its 14th season this year, and expanded through many franchises around the world, providing a platform for other performers to feel included. The creator, Ru Paul Charles, was well aware that drag queens simply rule the stage.

Drag makes perfect sense all around - from a single performance to an entire universe of entertainment. A drag performer must first create their character and then put it into action. This is where the makeup artistry of perfect illusion comes into play because the stage lights show everything except mercy - everything must be flawless.

That is how drag queens became masters of baking, cut crease, and contouring - Kim K's makeup artist's holy grail. And right next to her is her younger sister, who made billions out of overlining lips. Just to name a few examples. 😎

The following step is the costume, and we all know how fashion and entertainment go hand in hand. Drag emphasizes and twists both, in its own way. In this limitless space, creativity is all that matters, and the influence of drag can be seen almost everywhere, from famous brands' runways to Lady Gaga's music videos. We choose to see it as creative inspiration rather than appropriation or copying, as long as everyone is having fun and playing nice. ✌

The drag effect was felt not only on the outside but also on the inside. A few phrases from the Drag culture entered everyday talk in a big way. Are you throwing shade on someone? Do you get goosebumps when a friend calls you over to spill the tee? Of course, you do. Oh, and that Yas Queen! comes from the '80 ballroom scene, too. 😉

In the end... do we now know what is drag?

It's entertainment and it should be fun for everyone.

We have to wonder, how can something made of wig, glitter, lipstick, lace, jokes, singing, and false eyelashes, be so threatening and scary to anyone? 😅

Drag might be born out of necessity and because of the weird church rules and social gender constructs of the old times, but it also gave certain people an opportunity to discover other venues for expressing themselves and entertaining others. And that's what any art is all about - the artist's expression and the experience of the audience, right?

Well, there you have it, everything from theatre, to a carnival, to singing and dancing, to a makeup artist show, to stand-up comedy, to social activism - all in one solo act. 👑 Pretty royal, don't you agree?

And it's meant to be done by all - for all. Men, women, and non-binary people, of all sexual orientations, can all do drag and, through art, assume any expression or persona they like. They can perform online or on stage, anywhere from theatres, to underground nightclubs, to community fairs, to kindergartens and schools - because, just like with any art, there is the right type of drag for everyone!

Are there different types of drag, you ask? Well, yes, of course, but that's yet another story for another time. 😉

Keep shining bright,

D.