In this episode of InQueery, our web series in which we delve into the his, er, themstory of our favorite queer words, Trixie Mattel, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars 3, examines the origins of the term “drag.”
Since the 19th century, the term “drag” has been embraced by those who play with and redefine the concept of gender. Mattel — who has a thing or two to teach us about the art of drag — breaks down how the word became popular in queer communities and mainstream culture. Check out the full video and script below to learn from the queen, herself.
From its start as theater slang to its pop culture prowess today, “drag” has become a celebrated term while keeping its transgressive power. And the word is still evolving today. So, how much do you really know about the history of the word “drag”? And where did it come from?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “drag” has existed since at least 1388, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that it was used in connection with performing in clothes or a persona different from your own gender.
In 1870, the Reynolds Newspaper in the United Kingdom printed the word in a gender-bending context in reference to a party invitation. “‘We shall come in drag,’ which means men wearing women’s costumes,” the paper read.
This definition probably originated in the theatre of the late 1800s, where male performers wore petticoats to perform as women. Their petticoats would drag on the floor, and so they referred to dressing up as women as “putting on their drags.”
By the 1920s, the term “drag” was being used by gay people. One theory is that it entered the community from Polari, a secret language born out of the criminalization of homosexuality in England that drew on theatre slang.
By 1927, “drag” was clearly linked with the LGBTQ+ community. A.J. Rosanoff’s 1927 Manual of Psychiatry defined drag as “an outfit of female dress worn by a homosexual” or as an actual event, “a social gathering of homosexuals at which some are in female dress.”
Playing with gender and performance wasn’t reserved to men alone, of course. At the turn of the century, women performed as male impersonators. A little later, the Harlem Renaissance had celebrated performers like Gladys Bentley, who wore a top hat and tails. (In fact, it’s possible that “drag king” emerged at this time.)
The danger and segregation of bars in the 1920s paved the way for drag balls. The first drag ball goes as far back as 1867, when both males and females at the Hamilton Lodge in Harlem dressed up and competed for awards for the best gown or feminine figure. The drag ball tradition goes back to the ‘20s — minus the voguing we see today. They were often house parties where Black queer people would congregate together.
By 1932, the term was headline-worthy. An article from The Afro-American newspaper titled “Queer Sex Busy Planning Drags” detailed a “drag” attended by 300 people — some with a “keenness for blond wigs” — and plans for upcoming drags. The participants were called “members of the third sex,” a term that described same-sex attracted masculine women or feminine men.
During this time period, there was a division among queer white men: You were either a masculine guy who blended in, or you were a fairy — feminine and dressed in drag.
In bars, half the crowd would wear drag to get around laws that forbade members of the same-sex from dancing together. (Of course, there were also laws that criminalized wearing clothing articles from the opposite sex.)
In the 1950s, drag queens began performing in bars and spaces that specifically catered to gay people, like the Black Cat in San Francisco.
And, as more gay bars began to pop up, drag solidified itself as a gay art form — not just straight men impersonating women for the sake of comedy.
The rise of masculinity in 1970s gay culture diminished the popularity of drag queens, but drag found its way into pop culture. In John Waters’ 1972 film Pink Flamingos, Divine scandalized audiences with her filthy character and became an icon along the way. Meanwhile, the disco singer Sylvester sung hits like “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” in drag to international acclaim.
Into the 1980s, “drag” meant trying to look as much like a woman as possible. It was a peak time for balls with categories, like “butch queen first time in drag at a ball” and “high fashion evening wear” that we see in Paris Is Burning. It poured out of balls and onto the streets of New York City, with the annual Wigstock festival kicking off in 1984. While drag had entered pop culture, the 1990 documentary shocked audiences — and made drag more visible.
Not long after, The Washington Post wrote about the honorific: “America's favorite drag queen.” In 1993, RuPaul went from New York’s gritty East Village scene to the stage of the March on Washington to perform his hit song “Supermodel.”
“People ask me all the time where I see myself in 10 years. I see myself in the White House, baby.”
The word only continued to get more popular from there.
There was the hit movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994 and the moment wasn’t just for the queens.
Drag kings achieved notoriety in the 1990s, with performers like Murray Hill, books devoted to performing masculinity, and even the first International Drag King Extravaganza in 1999.
As the visibility grew, the 90s made way for more distinctions between drag and other identities in the LGBTQ+ spectrum. In particular, a distinction between drag queens and the trans community emerged. The public started to become aware of the difference between being trans, gay, and doing drag.
The 2000s made way for the definition of “drag” to broaden from rigidly being about “realness” to a more expansive art form for gay men, trans folks, queer women, and more.
In 2009, the show RuPaul’s Drag Race premiered on Logo TV, a reality competition in pursuit of “America’s next drag superstar.” Over the course of 10 seasons — and spin off shows — the series introduced drag to a new generation and millions of viewers, and truly brought drag to the mainstream. The show even had The New York Times asking: “Is This The Golden Age of Drag?”
Building off the success of the show, the first RuPaul’s DragCon took place in Los Angeles in 2015. Now the largest drag convention in the world, it’s a place for queens and queers alike to celebrate all things art, culture, and drag.
Today, “drag” can involve dressing up, wearing crazy makeup, gender crossing or having a persona or fictional character. But it’ll always have its roots in queer culture.
It’s hard to believe that the word “drag” was ever anything less than larger-than-life, because let’s face it: Drag is fabulous.
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