Drag queen: Difference between revisions
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The term ''drag queen'' originates in [[Polari]], the language of gay men in England in the early part of the last century. ''Drag'' meant "clothes", and was also theatre slang for a woman's costume worn by a male actor. A ''queen'' is an effeminate gay man. |
The term ''drag queen'' originates in [[Polari]], the language of gay men in England in the early part of the last century. ''Drag'' meant "clothes", and was also theatre slang for a woman's costume worn by a male actor. A ''queen'' is an effeminate gay man. |
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Another term for drag queen, female impersonator, is common in some areas, but considered dated in others. Drag queens are generally not literally "female impersonators" in that they do not attempt to [[ |
Another term for drag queen, female impersonator, is common in some areas, but considered dated in others. Drag queens are generally not literally "female impersonators" in that they do not attempt to [[Passing|pass]] as women. ''Female impersonation'', under that name, used to be illegal in many places, which inspired the famous drag queen [[José Sarria]] to hand out labels to his friends reading "I am a boy," so they could not be accused of female impersonation. [http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/sarria_j.html] American drag queen [[RuPaul]] famously said "I do not impersonate females! How many women do you know who wear seven-inch heels, four-foot wigs, and skintight dresses?" |
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Most drag queens prefer to be referred to as "[[gender-specific pronoun|she]]" while in drag. Many performers protect their character quite vigorously and will be offended if they are referred to as "he" or by their legal name while they are in drag. |
Most drag queens prefer to be referred to as "[[gender-specific pronoun|she]]" while in drag. Many performers protect their character quite vigorously and will be offended if they are referred to as "he" or by their legal name while they are in drag. |
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Revision as of 04:44, 30 January 2006
Drag queens are performers - usually gay men, sometimes transgendered women - who dress in "drag," clothing associated with the female gender, usually highly exaggerated versions thereof. Drag queens often do drag to perform, singing or lip-syncing and dancing, participating in events such as gay pride parades, cabarets, discotheques, and other celebrations and venues.
Female-bodied people who perform in usually exaggerated men's clothes and personae are called drag kings, though this term has a wider meaning than drag queen. More rarely and only recently, female-bodied people have also started to perform as queens.
Drag is a part of Western gay culture - drag queens fought at the Stonewall riots in June 1969, and drag shows are traditional at pride parades. Prominent drag queens in the LGBT community of a city often serve as official or unofficial spokespersons, fund-raisers, chroniclers, or community leaders.
Non-western cultures have traditions similar to drag, often existing among their LGBT communities; the western notion of drag is also becoming more common in non-western LGBT communities.
Genres
- High camp drag queens employ a drag aesthetic based on clown-like values like exaggeration, satire, dirty jokes, "putting on airs," and so forth. Divine and Jolene Sugarbaker are examples of camp queens.
- Some drag queens exaggerate in the dimension of elegance and fashion, employing jewelry and beautiful gowns. The Lady Chablis, who can be seen in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is an example of this type of performer. Another example is drag pageant title holder Christine Mancini. Many such drag queens impersonate specific actresses and other pop divas, such as Cher, Madonna, Céline Dion, and others.
- Some drag queens either do not perform or perform only rarely. Their forte is participating in pageants, hence the term pageant queen. Pageant queens gear their act toward winning titles and prizes in various contests and pageantry systems. Some of these have grand prizes that rival those of pageants such as Miss America.
- Bio-queens are non-transgendered women who perform the exaggerated feminine personae of drag queens (or else impersonate a male drag queen). Many bio-queens look to drag queens as role models. Bio-Queens should be distinguished from fag hags. Biological females who take on the exaggerated personae of drag queens are also commonly known as "faux queens".
Drag Shows and Venues
A drag show consists of a variety of performances by a group of drag queens meant to entertain an audience. They range from amateur performances at small bars to elaborately staged theatrical presentations at venues created for the very purpose of said show. In many countries, these shows are known as travesty shows, and the performers not as drag queens, but "travesty" or "transvestite" artists. Though there are variants to a drag show, the following are almost always definite:
- In most shows, the performing artists will lip synch to a song (or several songs) while performing a pre-planned pantomime. If the song is a ballad, a dramatic interpretation will accompany it; if it is up-tempo, the performer will dance. In shows where the performers actually sing, the accompanying show is usually less pronounced.
- In many areas, the audience is encouraged (or even expected) to tip each performer by approaching the stage perimeter and handing her a dollar bill (or more); this money rarely means a profit for the performer, who uses these tips to pay for costumes, wigs, make-up and more.
- The performers will be in elaborate costumes that are either comical, glamorous or specifically catered to resemble the ensemble of a specific performer whose song they are performing.
Terminology
The term drag queen originates in Polari, the language of gay men in England in the early part of the last century. Drag meant "clothes", and was also theatre slang for a woman's costume worn by a male actor. A queen is an effeminate gay man.
Another term for drag queen, female impersonator, is common in some areas, but considered dated in others. Drag queens are generally not literally "female impersonators" in that they do not attempt to pass as women. Female impersonation, under that name, used to be illegal in many places, which inspired the famous drag queen José Sarria to hand out labels to his friends reading "I am a boy," so they could not be accused of female impersonation. [1] American drag queen RuPaul famously said "I do not impersonate females! How many women do you know who wear seven-inch heels, four-foot wigs, and skintight dresses?"
Most drag queens prefer to be referred to as "she" while in drag. Many performers protect their character quite vigorously and will be offended if they are referred to as "he" or by their legal name while they are in drag.
Some people interpret "Drag" as being an acronym for DRessed As a Girl, and use Drab, DRessed As a Boy, for "female body, male garb" variety.
In the UK, alongside traditional drag work such as shows and performances, many drag queens engage in 'mix-and-mingle' work at night clubs or at parties/events. This involves simply being at an event, mingling with guests, possibly behaving in a moderately outrageous manner, hosting on the door/looking after a guest list or dancing. These clubs/events/parties are quite often nothing to do with the gay scene, although some London gay clubs do employ queens to host or mix-and-mingle. The queens involved are usually expected to be of a very high visual standard, to be seen close up, within whatever genre their characters are.
Drag and transgender
Most drag queens perform for fulfillment as a hobby, a profession, or an art form; as a way to be in the spotlight; or as a road to local or wider fame.
Drag queens are sometimes called transvestites, however, transvestism is a word with many different meanings, most of which do not apply to or include drag queens. Drag queens do not do drag for reasons of sexual pleasure, and are also not transvestic fetishists, people who have a sexual fetish for the clothing of another gender role. Furthermore, most people who are called or self-identify as transvestites are heterosexual men, whereas most drag queens are gay or transgendered.
Also, there is a (small) community of female-bodied drag queens, who may have one of several gender identities, with queer being rather common.
Drag itself is often thought of as part of transgenderism because it subverts gender roles. However, most drag queens are cisgendered gay men (that is, they identify, appear, and are embodied as men) in the remainder of their lives when not in drag.
Nevertheless, a number of people identifying as transgendered or transsexual women perform as drag queens, and a number of drag queens who do not identify as transgendered regard drag as being an important part of their understanding of their gender identity.
Opinions
Drag queens are often rejected by parts of the transgender community - especially, but not exclusively, by many transsexual women - because those people are afraid that they might also be stereotyped as drag queens, which they are not. (Canadian transgender activist Star Maris wrote a song entitled "I'm Not A Fucking Drag Queen" to express her feelings on the subject.)
Some feminists believe that drag promotes harmful stereotypes of women. Most drag artists would respond that drag is a very specific aesthetic and is not meant to satirize women in general. Many gender theorists see drag as a subversion of gender roles.
However, many drag queen character creations are obviously satirical of femininity and make no apology in sending up femininity. Many drag queens also dress to challenge their society's rather regimental attitudes on what should constitute the outward appearance of male and female. European society seems particularly regimental in this respect. Some drag queens who are fairly 'convincing' delight in momentarily confusing members of the public who are not expecting to see them in a normal situation. There is actually quite a lot of cross-over within the world of drag/cross dressing. Many drag queens can move quite easily between a larger than life costume artist-type look and a more standard, feminine image. Although many drag queens invent 'show-biz' type characters and perform, many too have also transvestite leanings and will swap about with characters as the mood chooses. Many transvestites are heterosexual, but not all are. A quick trawl through any t-girl contact site will confirm this, and the huge range of degrees of dressing and sexualities.
Some members of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) community also disdain drag queens. Some are distressed by the participation of drag queens in pride parades, believing that this projects a harmful image of the LGB community and impedes acceptance. However, others see this point of view as intolerant of the diversity in the community, and still others simply regard drag as traditional fun that need not be politically analyzed.