Behind the Makeup

History of Drag

Men performing dressed as women has roots in Shakespearean plays, when only men were allowed to perform on stage. In order to fullfill both genders in performances, men wore wigs, makeup, and dresses to appear to be female. While this is somewhat the some idea, it wasn't identified as "drag," or associated with the gay demographic until much later.

Drag in the form we are familiar with today began appearing during the late 19th and early 20th century. Julian Eltinge was one of the first modern day drag performers. He began performing dressed as a female on Broadway at age 10. Eventually, he went on a national tour and produced his own magazine. 

Beginning of Drag Sub-Culture

Drag secured itself as a "subgroup" of society after both World Wars and the communist paranoia that clinched much of the nation after the Cold War. Anything "out of the ordinary" was deemed risky, including homosexuals. Wearing the opposite gender's clothing was banned, and gay and lesbian men and women were often beaten, fired, jailed, or institutionalized. 

Fighting Back

In 1969, after years of being abused and marginalized, the gay rights moment "began." A New York gay bar, Stonewall Inn, was raided. The police were looking for bar goers not wearing "enough" of their own gender's clothing. At this raid, however, the clubbers fought back, many of which were drag queens. The riots lasted for three nights.

Modern Day Drag Culture

Modern day drag culture is perhaps best indentified by 1990s "poster drag queen" RuPaul, an African-American drag queen who got her start in underground gay pornography. A few years after she broke into the mainstream media scene in 1993, drag culture spread across the United States and into foreign countries.

While no longer the underground, illegal movement it used to be, drag is often not recognized by the general public as an mainstream activity. Drag performances are typically reserved for gay clubs. While there is no formal record, Gayellow Pages, which caters to the gay community, lists 1,405 gay clubs in the United States. The number that cater specifically to the drag culture is unknown.

Most recently, hundreds participated in a "Drag Out Hate" march Nov. 2 in Omaha, Neb. in response to the assault of Ryan Langenegger, a Marine corporal who was attacked by three men last Saturday night when he came to the aid of two gay friends, Josh Foo and Jacob Gellinger, who were harassed while eating at a PepperJax restaurant in Omaha. At the march, many dressed in drag and carried signs in support of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.

Types of Drag

There are many different types of drag depending on geographic location, personal preferences, and styles. Each style has its own variations and title.

Fish-  queens who dress to resemble a biological woman as closely as possible in all aspects. They often wear padding to transform their body to a more feminine shape. They also use clothing, makeup, and clothing to appear as "realistic" or "authentic" as possible. 

High drag- the purpose of high drag is to over exagerate all the stereotypes of feminity and the drag queen culture. They are "larger than life" with big hair, curvy bodies, and big makeup. They enjoy being the center of attention.

Skag/Bear Drag- this type of drag is very different from the firs two kinds. In this style, men dress as women, but don't work to diguise the fact that they are physically men. They may not pad to obtain a feminine shape, and may keep facial hair. It is often a comical style of performance.

Androgynous- this style of drag combines the female and male elements of drag; people are bending the lines between male and female gender identity. This could include wearing a wig or skirt, but not shaving facial hair, or not wearing a shirt and exposing their recognizably male chest.

Impersonation- drag queens that participate in impersonation drag value their performance very highly. They desire to look and perform like a particular celebrity. Popular celebrities for impersonations include Dolly Parton, Liza Minnelli, Barbara Streisand, Madona, and Cher.

Camp- drag queens who consider themselves as this style focus on getting laughs. They could be zany, or simply original, but their end goal is to get the audience to laugh through any means.