Vocabulary: Drag Queen Fashion

The term "drag" has been thought to mean "dressed resembling a girl". 

RuPaul; famous drag queen and host of RuPaul's Drag Race

Drag is any clothing that has a strong association with one gender, usually worn by the opposite gender.

 Drag has been a very important mode of self expression for those in the LGBT community throughout history.

Drag queens are usually gay men - but people of all genders and sexualities can and have dressed in drag - dressing in exaggerated feminine clothing, makeup, and oftentimes wigs.
Drag can be performative or casual, from people who star in films, to people who wear drag as self-expression, to people who have tried it once. Many well known drag queens perform at gay bars, theaters, or on television for drag shows.

Kim Chi, a contestant on season eight of RuPaul's drag race

Drag has historically had close ties to the transgender community, the two women most credited with sparking the Stonewall Riots were Marsha P. Johsnon and Silvia Rivera, who were both drag queens as well as trans women.



Marsha P. Johnson

Silvia Rivera



Drag has many historical roots, men and transgender women have been dressing in feminine clothing since before the 1800's. Those who dressed in drag were often arrested for "buggery" (lying) or prostitution.

 

"Fanny and Stella" Frederick Park and Ernest Boulton, who shocked London and
 sparked a huge criminal investigation by walking the streets in feminine clothing.

 

Drag is thought to be inspired by Shakespearian English plays, wherein women were not allowed to perform onstage, so all the actors were male; some dressed in drag to play female characters.

Many films and television shows dress men in feminine clothes for comedic effect but this is considered transphobic, particularly transmisogynistic by today's standards.

The video below shows the evolution of drag queen fashion throughout history.

 

More photos of historical drag queens

 

 

Creep it real!