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Drag Terminology

The etymology of the term "drag" is disputed. It was used in reference to transvestites at least as early as the 18th century, owing to the tendency of their skirts to drag on the ground. A folk etymology whose acronym basis reveals the late 20th-century bias, would make "drag" an abbreviation for "dressed resembling a girl" in description of male transvestism.

Another term for a drag queen, female impersonator, is still used—though it is often regarded as inaccurate, because many contemporary drag performers are not attempting to pass as women.

American drag queen RuPaul once said "I do not impersonate females! How many women do you know who wear seven-inch heels, four-foot wigs, and skintight dresses?" He also said, "I don't dress like a woman; I dress like a drag queen!"

Celebrity drag couple "The Darling Bears" go so far as to sport full beards for their performances. Going in drag while retaining clearly masculine features is referred to as skag drag. Some performers draw the distinction that a female impersonator seeks to emulate a specific female celebrity, while a drag queen only seeks to create a distinctive feminine persona of his or her own.

There are also performers who prefer to be called "gender illusionists" who do blur the line between transgender and drag queen. Generally transgender performers do not consider themselves to be drag queens and drag queens don't consider themselves to be illusionists, but, as with everything, there are exceptions. Often these distinctions are more generational as laws and acceptance of individuality change and grow.

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Feather Pride

The first Drag Pride flag was created, in 1999, by artist Sean Campbell and was called the Feather Pride Flag. The phoenix was used as a symbol of rebirth and fires of passion.

The newer Drag Pride flag features a crown. These flags represent drag entertainers, drag queens, drag kings, and crossdressers. It came to be as a result of the efforts of the Austin International Drag Festival (AIDF) 2016. The drag fest is an annual event that encompasses all forms of drag across many platforms from around the world. AIDF created a contest to create the official flag of drag. This was a way to engage the drag performers and drag lovers from every walk of life to share their passion for the art form.

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RuPaul: Drag Queen Icon

RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, actor, model, singer, songwriter, and television personality. Since 2009, he has produced and hosted the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race, for which he has received three Primetime Emmy Awards, in 2016, 2017, and 2018. RuPaul is considered to be the most commercially successful drag queen in the United States. In 2017, he was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.

RuPaul was born and raised in San Diego and later moved to Atlanta to study performing arts. He settled in New York City where he became a popular fixture on the nightclub scene. RuPaul achieved international fame as a drag queen with the release of his debut single, "Supermodel (You Better Work)", which was included on his debut studio album Supermodel of the World (1993). In 1994, he became a spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics, raising money for the Mac AIDS Fund and becoming the first drag queen to land a major cosmetics campaign. That year, he received his own talk show on VH1, The RuPaul Show, which he hosted for over 100 episodes, while co-hosting the morning radio show on WKTU with Michelle Visage. He has had continued success as a recording artist, releasing 14 studio albums to date (as of 2017), including Foxy Lady (1996), Champion (2009), Glamazon (2011), Born Naked (2014), and American (2017).

RuPaul is noted for his indifference toward the gender-specific pronouns used to address him, as stated in his autobiography: "You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee. I don't care! Just as long as you call me." RuPaul has also played men in a number of roles, and makes public appearances both in and out of drag.

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What is a Drag Queen?

“We’re all born naked and the rest is drag.”

-Ru Paul

"If I wasn't a woman, I would have been a drag queen."

-Dolly Parton

Drag is an art-form that’s sweeping the world! And if there’s an art-form that’s more misunderstood than most others, it’s probably drag. Drag is an art-form that’s sometimes compared to clowning by performance analysts, but is so much more. Like clowns, drag queens dress in exaggerated costumes and makeup to perform a show. Makeup is often drawn to accentuate features that will make an act funnier or make the performer more beautiful. Drag is where glamour meets comedy

However unlike with clowning, drag isn’t being dragged down by horror films and changing audience tastes. While incredible shows like Cirque du Soleil are helping clowning stay alive, the global heartbeat of that ancient art is barely beating compared to its historical popularity. A different heartbeat is taking its place, and this heart is fierce and fabulous.

No Rules

A big misconception of drag is that it’s only performed by men, a misconception that goes against the golden rule... There are no rules in drag. Drag often attracts those that feel marginalized and misunderstood by family and society. Hyper-creative people, these artists feel that they can’t create or perform within the realm of what’s appreciated in the towns and cities where they’ve grown up. But we now live in a world where technology allows people to be seen wherever they are. Now more than ever, people are adorning drag and taking to social media to show the world what they can do. From costume making and makeup talent, to performing arts skills; drag performers have a lot to show. Both men and women can perform however they like. The only barrier to fame is talent and memorability.

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Drag Queens

Drag Queens tend to be performers who dress and perform in an exaggeratedly female persona. While appearing female, most of these performers don’t want to actually be female; they don’t even try to fool you into thinking they’re biologically female. As a drag queen they’re able to perform their act, show their skills and be their true self. Arguably the most famous drag queen in history, RuPaul has said, "I do not impersonate females! How many women do you know who wear seven-inch heels, four-foot wigs, and skintight dresses? I don’t dress like a woman; I dress like a drag queen."

While a lot of drag performers aren’t hoping to be mistaken for the gender they’re performing as, some are. This is often the case for Australian superstar drag queen Courtney Act who has used this mistaken identity to her advantage during her career.

Drag Kings

Drag King is the term used to define a drag performer who dresses in an exaggeratedly male persona. Often the costume and personality of the performer will be a lot larger than the look and feel of an everyday man. While performing as a drag king is as legitimate as a drag queen, it hasn’t enjoyed the fame and accolade provided to drag queens through RuPauls drag race.

RuPaul's Drag Race

Starting on the small cable network ‘Logo’ in 2009, RuPaul's Drag Race has grown into a cultural phenomenon today. 11 seasons down, Drag Race has not begun to slow in popularity. It now shows on VH1 and has gained millions of fans all over the world. Unlike with other reality shows, fans are not fatiguing.

Competing shows are not coming close to distracting viewers from the show. (Can you name even one of the competing shows?) TV shows usually have to plan for viewers leaving and must strategize ways to attract new fans. Instead, Drag Race retains its fans and draws new ones in droves. Fans aren’t just coming from the queer demographic either. Straight, gay, man or woman; people love drag race. Because of this global popularity, there’s an upcoming British version of the show which will begin shooting later this year. This version will also be hosted by RuPaul.

Why do we love it? It tackles issues. Right from season one there was a contestant that was openly HIV positive. This is an issue that has affected the lives of so many people, and was talked about honestly and in the open. Unlike with other shows, the competitors truly come in every size, shape and form. From large to small, from beautiful to individual. One size does not fit all on the RuPaul stage. The last element is RuPaul himself. Someone that achieved worldwide fame as a drag queen supermodel and superstar. He has been breaking barriers for years. He doesn’t obsess over small things and truly loves his competitors. He has shown the world that you truly can be yourself.

One thing I love about RuPaul is his relaxed stance on gender pronouns. He has said and Tweeted, “You can call me her, you can call me him. I don’t care! As long as you call me.” He’s made acceptance mainstream and relaxed, and that’s why we love him. It’s through him that we can understand and appreciate drag better.

So next time your local club features a drag host or performer, try to have a more open mind. This isn’t a man wishing he was a woman, dancing around like a silly girl. This is a professional artist. What this person is demonstrating is a difficult, labor intensive skill. I sure as hell couldn’t do it. So clap like you mean it. And buy that brave person a drink.

[Source: Jordan Fraser, Aug 2019]

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Drag Activism

Activist, actor and comedian, Bob The Drag Queen, shared his thoughts on the importance of voting and staying politically aware. He is the winner of Season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race. "Drag queens are the mascots and spokespeople for the queer community. Ever since the Stonewall Riots we've been at the literal forefront. This is our armor. And the people with the most armor are the ones who are going to get out in front and sacrifice themselves the most. We are the visibility. Whenever people want to raise money for their charity, whenever people want their message to get out, they contact the drag queen. And the drag queen is the one who really helps propel the message forward."

[Source: Bob the Drag Queen]

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Cross Dressing

Cross-dressing is the act of wearing items of clothing and other accoutrements commonly associated with the opposite sex within a particular society. Cross-dressing has been used for purposes of disguise, comfort, and self-discovery in modern times and throughout history.

Almost every human society throughout history has had expected norms for each gender relating to style, color, or type of clothing they are expected to wear, and likewise most societies have had a set of guidelines, views or even laws defining what type of clothing is appropriate for each gender.

The term cross-dressing denotes an action or a behavior without attributing or implying any specific causes for that behavior. It is often assumed that the connotation is directly correlated with behaviors of transgender identity or sexual, fetishist, and homosexual behavior, but the term itself does not imply any motives and is not synonymous to one's gender identity.

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