Pride 2022 - Drag Culture & Figures

DRAG - CULTURE & FIGURES

Shakespeare’s plays were first performed at the Globe Theatre in London, only men were allowed to take part in the productions, as they were in religious rites. So when plays included female parts, the male actors would dress as women to fill the void. It’s in the theatre that the term “drag” is believed to have originated. When men played female parts, they would supposedly discuss how their costume dresses would “drag” across the floor. Drag began to take on more of an individual form of entertainment

HISTORY OF DRAG With its mainstream success, some may be surprised to learn that the history of drag as a form of entertainment dates back to Shakespearean times and for more utilitarian purposes. Indeed, the history of drag seems to be one inextricably tied to the theater, and before the theater of Shakespeare’s time, the stage was used for religious purposes. Drag, then, has a bit of history in the religious world.

But in the 17th century when

(as opposed to being utilized as a part of an ensemble performance) when female impersonation was introduced into American culture via the genre known as “vaudeville.” Vaudeville performance gained traction in the early 20th century in the United States, and it combines comedy, music, dance, and burlesque to create an offbeat type of live entertainment.

queen exist, named Julian Eltinge. His popularity moved beyond vaudeville and his success earned him the title of being the highest paid actor in the world — surpassing even Charlie Chaplain at the time. came to

Female impersonation and the history of drag is said to have entwined with gay culture around the 1930s. When the United States entered the Prohibition era, which abolished alcohol production and consumption from 1920 until 1933, gay men used the underground clubs and speakeasies as

Female impersonation quickly became a facet of the vaudevillian entertainment experience. It was through vaudeville that the first official well-known drag

an opportunity to express and enjoy themselves. Out of sight of the law, gay men felt free to be themselves in the underground Prohibition scene and felt free to dress as drag queens as well.

cracked down on those gay bars. In response, the drag scene moved in a sense underground. The gay community continued to flourish despite the fact that it was illegal for them to be served alcohol in bars, or even to dance together. The State Liquor Authority and the New York Police Department regularly raided bars that catered to gay patrons.

The increasing popularity of speakeasies where drag was welcomed during Prohibition became known as “the Pansy Craze.” But even long after Prohibition ended, the gay bars that featured drag during this time continued to operate well into the 1950s and 60s. Meanwhile, broader culture continued to criminalize gay culture and police

Oddly enough, it would be the New York mafia, and the Genovese family in particular, who would covertly give the drag queens and gay community an outlet. In 1966, a member of the Genovese crime family purchased the Stonewall

in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village which would then become a hub of gay culture and the epicenter of a series of riots in 1969 which resulted in galvanizing the gay community against their oppressors. At the forefront of this movement, drag queen Flawless Sabrina organized multiple pageants across the United States which showcased drag queens much like a traditional beauty pageant. She was arrested many a time and appeared in drag in

public, including while being a guest on talk shows, which was unheard of at the time.

“Drag is armor, darling. No matter how you look at it. Once I become Bambi, nobody can hurt me. Not my family, not the drunk assholes at the bar, nobody. A good lace-front wig and the right contouring are as strong a bulletproof vest as I’ve ever needed.” ― Jeffery Self, Drag Teen

BALL

CULTURE

and were attended by an interracial, elite crowd. Drag balls were happening elsewhere in the city, too, like Webster Hall downtown. The Harlem events, which were organized by white gay men, often excluded or undervalued Black performers. So, by the 1960s, Black ball participants had branched out and formed their own circuit, which is what we see in Pose.

Harlem’s

ball

culture

began 1920s, during a period called the Harlem Renaissance (though generally, drag competitions have existed since the mid-1800s). in the Early Harlem balls were different in format to the structured competitions seen in Pose. The extravagant pageants were held on Halloween and New Year’s Eve in places like Rockland Palace on 155th Street or the Elks Lodge on 138th,

We often associate ball culture with “houses,” but those didn’t take shape until the 1970s and ‘80s. Back then, houses like the House of Labeija, the House of Corey, and the House of Xtravaganza dominated the scene. The houses walk (or participate) in balls

The 1980s saw even greater experimentation with drag and gender-bending in music and film through artists such as Boy George and Pete Burns. MODERN DAY DRAG

together. Each house had a certain speciality; people who weren’t in houses were called 007s because they were free agents, waiting to be find their group.

By the 1990s, the world was ready to make the drag queen more mainstream than ever before. Indeed, the drag queen at the helm of this acceptance was none other than RuPaul Charles who would change the history of drag in the modern age. RuPaul made a name for himself in the late 80s and early 90s in the New York City club scene. He became a local celebrity who laid the foundation for him to achieve nationwide success. That successcameintheformofhis

The houses were governed by house parents, who provided guidance and housing to their “children.” Angie Xtravaganza, the mother of the House of Xtravaganza, explained in the documentary how her purpose is dual: As a house mother, she helps her children get ready for the balls and teaches them “how to survive in the gay world – it’s kind of hard.”

RuPaul made a name for himself in the late 80s and early 90s in the New York City club scene. He became a local celebrity who laid the foundation for him to achieve nationwide success. That successcameintheformofhis hit 1993 single “Supermodel (You Better Work).” The song catapulted RuPaul, who soon after became the first drag queen to ever become a spokesperson for a major cosmetics company with MAC Cosmetics, got his own talk show on VH1, and a morning radio show on WKTU.

In 2009, RuPaul premiered his reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race. The show has since become a popular phenomenon, with 14 seasons and 10 spinoffs in over 8 countries.

In the modern era, where the internet can bring marginalized communities into the spotlight, drag has found a fan base that’s become larger than life. Over 50,000 people attended RuPaul’s DragCon in LA this Spring, with 150 drag queens around the world in attendance.

“DRAG IS ARMOR, DARLING. NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT. ONCE I BECOME BAMBI, NOBODY CAN HURT ME. NOT MY FAMILY, NOT THE DRUNK ASSHOLES AT THE BAR, NOBODY. A GOOD LACE-FRONT WIG AND THE RIGHT CONTOURING ARE AS STRONG A BULLETPROOF VEST AS I’VE EVER NEEDED.” - Jeffery Self (Drag Teen)

Douglas Byng Before the term drag queen could be coined, out British actor Douglas Byng honed the female impersonation craft back in the World War I era. He first donned ladies’ clothes to perform comic monologues as queens and other historical figures in the Shakespearean tradition but eventually moved into cabaret-style acts in London’s West End. PROMINENT DRAG FIGURES

Coccinelle

In post-World War II France, Coccinelle made her debut as a drag performer at Chez Madame Arthur, then performed alongside other female impersonators at Le Carrousel de Paris. But in 1958 she became a media sensation, according to historian Joanne Meyerowitz, after undergoing gender- confirmation surgery and returning to the stage. Suddenly Coccinelle appeared in films and headlined shows at the Paris Olympia. Her success paved the way for other trans performers who underwent “the operation” and continued to perform. Later in life, she became involved in trans activism and founded Devenir Femme.

Sylvia Rivera An orphan who started streetwalking in New York at age 11, Sylvia Rivera found a home among the city’s drag community, then found herself at the center of activism after playing a key role in the Stonewall riots. Along with close friend Marsha P. Johnson, she became an early activist with the Gay Liberation Front within weeks. A self-described radical and revolutionary, she later founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaires with Johnson, and she pushed for the mainstreaming of trans people.

Marsha P. Johnson

The uprising at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 launched the modern LGBT movement in America, and drag performer Marsha P. Johnson at age 23 played a critical role, according to an obituary in The New York Times printed years after her death. After Stonewall, Johnson — who identified as gay and a “transvestite” during her lifetime but is considered a mother of the trans rights movement — helped found the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries to advocate for trans people years before other organizations did. She passed away in 1992.

Lady Bunny

Pepper LeBeija The subject of Jennie Livingston’s documentary Paris Is Burning, Pepper LeBeija was remembered in The New York Times as the last queen of the Harlem drag balls. A married heterosexual (but who preferred “she” pronouns), LeBeija founded the first of the four famous Harlem drag houses and outlived the founders of the others. Doing so, she provided a home for many who were rejected by their families and wanted to be a part of New York’s thriving gay scene.

Part of the Atlanta club scene around the same time as RuPaul, Lady Bunny would become a fixture in New York nightlife during the Club Kids era. In the mid-1980s, she founded Wigstock, a street festival celebrating drag culture. The festival that started in the East Village eventually drew thousands annually even as city leaders pushed the event around the metropolis.

This Brutal House by Niven Govinden nonfiction book about the 1980s/90s Vogueing ball communities in New York Paris is Burning documentary on NYC ball scene Pose show based on NYC ball scene RuPaul’s Drag Race Drag competition reality series Legendary voguing reality competition series exploring the world of ball culture SHOW/READING RECOMMENDATIONS