History of drag and how it came to be, all the way through prohibition and alongside feminism to a worldwide stage of popular culture.
TLDR
Are you feeling your oats? Throwing shade? Serving face? Okuuuuur! 😅
Here is a quick HERstory of drag and why it not only persevered to the
present day, but it's here to stay and slay!
So, what is drag? Drag is a gender-bending art form in which a person dresses in clothing and makeup to emphasize a particular gender identity, a mix of identities, or a creative, fictional persona.
It's also a multidisciplinary art form since it involves the costume, the makeup, the hair, often the dancing and singing components, lots of acting, and of course – tons of fun. Another peculiarity is that it's all, almost always, done by a single person, resembling the efforts of those multi-faceted renaissance artists, who knew their way around several different arts at any time. This art form has been around for a few centuries and has recently seen a huge resurgence, going for mainstream popularity.
History of Drag
To start, we have a shocking fact - women were not allowed to perform in the first theatres! So, men played all roles - including female roles - yes, indeed, my dear.
This means that drag performers existed as far back as ancient Greece, which continued into Shakespearean times. As soon as the stage was invented, Drag appeared - literally!
It is therefore believed that the term "drag" originated in the theatre. When men played female roles back in those old days, they supposedly often discussed how their costume dresses would drag across the floor. 💃 And so the name just started living on its own.
1600s - 1800s
Teatrical playfulness
It may have been born out of necessity, but that doesn't mean it wasn't fun for those involved. 😉 When Shakespearean theatre was new in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the stage wasn't just a place for entertainment. It was also closely associated with the church, so there was a rule that only men could stand on the stage. If the play had some female roles, chosen men or boys in the cast had to dress up as the opposite sex so the story wouldn't suffer. Isn't it just lovely that the church found men in dresses more godly than women on stage? 🤭
In many western countries, this gave the icons of the day much-needed space to flourish. For example, Princess Seraphina was considered the first UK drag queen, although she was part of John's everyday life rather than an acting role. This calls for an entirely new story, about cross-dressing and why it's different than drag, but that's for some other time. Keep reading on!
