Drag

Drag is a type of entertainment where people dress up and perform, often in highly stylized ways. The word ‘drag’ is believed to have theatrical origins. The dresses men wore to play female characters would drag along the floor.

History and terminology

Drag began out of necessity. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the theatre had strong links to the church and with that came rules that only men could tread the boards. If a play featured a few female roles, then it was up to a couple of the men in the cast to dress as members of the opposite sex.

Drag uses clothes and other aspects of performance to create heightened versions of masculinity, femininity and other forms of gender expression. It is rooted in acceptance and resilience and is an artform that represents freedom of expression and resistance to unjust forces.

Today, many prominent drag artists are still people who identify as men and present themselves in exaggeratedly feminine ways as part of their performance, and are known as drag queens. While some drag queens live their lives as men outside of their drag personae, people of any gender can be drag queens. Drag kings, who wear men’s clothing and perform stylized forms of masculinity, are less common, but do exist. Many drag kings are women, but people of any gender can be drag kings as well.

As part of their performance, many drag queens and kings have a separate drag persona in addition to the self they live as every day. This persona will of course look different, but may also have a different name and ask to be referred to by different gender pronouns.