Drag: Difference between revisions

The origin of the term is uncertain;<ref name="Gerstner-2012">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture |editor-last1=Gerstner |editor-first1=David A. |title=Drag |last1=Baroni |first1=Monica |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=851qoMjA3icC&pg=PA191 |date=2012 |orig-year=1st pub. 2006 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |edition= |series= |volume= |isbn=978-1-136-76181-2 |oclc=815980386 |pages=191 |access-date=27 April 2018 |quote= }}</ref> the first recorded use of ''drag'' in reference to actors dressed in women's clothing is from 1870.<ref name="González-2008">{{cite book |editor1=María de los Ángeles Gómez González |editor2=J. Lachlan Mackenzie |editor3=Elsa M. González Álvarez |author1=Felix Rodriguez Gonzales |title=Languages and Cultures in Contrast and Comparison |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Sk6AAAAQBAJ |series=Pragmatics & beyond new series v 175 |date=26 June 2008 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |location=Philadelphia |page=231 |chapter=The feminine stereotype in gay characterization: A look at English and Spanish |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Sk6AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA221 |isbn=978-90-272-9052-6 |oclc=860469091  |accessdate=29 April 2017 }}</ref> The use of "drag" in this sense appeared in print as early as 1870<ref name="ReferenceA">Oxford English Dictionary 2012 (Online version of 1989 2nd. Edition) Accessed 11 April</ref><ref>'I know what "in drag" means; it is the slang for going about in women's clothes.': ''The Times'' (London), 30 May 1870, p.13, "The Men in Women's Clothes'</ref> but its origin is uncertain.  One suggested etymological root is 19th-century theatre slang, from the sensation of long skirts trailing on the floor.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=drag] Online Etymology Dictionary: Drag</ref> Drag queens are typically gay men, but there are drag queens of all different sexual orientations and genders,<ref name="PsyToday">{{cite web |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/all-things-lgbtq/201801/the-psychology-drag |title=The Psychology of Drag |last=O'Brien |first=Jennifer |publisher=Psychology Today |date=January 30, 2018 |access-date=August 7, 2018}}</ref> including trans women who perform as drag queens<ref name="Guardian-MBH">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/mar/08/rupaul-drag-race-transgender-performers-diversity |title=Who can be a drag queen? RuPaul's trans comments fuel calls for inclusion |last=Levin |first=Sam |publisher=The Guardian |date=March 8, 2018 |access-date=August 7, 2018}}</ref><ref name="WaPo-MBH">{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/09/im-a-trans-woman-and-a-drag-queen-despite-what-rupaul-says-you-can-be-both/ |title=I’m a trans woman and a drag queen. Despite what RuPaul says, you can be both. |last=Beverly Hillz |first=Monica |publisher=The Washington Post| date=March 9, 2018 | access-date=August 7, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Esquire-AMP">{{cite web |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a19184923/peppermint-trans-drag-inclusion/ |title=Peppermint Is Taking on a New Fight for the Trans Community |last=Kirkland |first=Justin |publisher=Esquire |date=March 22, 2018 |access-date=August 7, 2018}}</ref> (sometimes termed ''trans queens''),<ref name="Vox-TQ">{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/6/17085244/rupaul-trans-women-drag-queens-interview-controversy |title=How RuPaul’s comments on trans women led to a Drag Race revolt — and a rare apology |last=Framke |first=Caroline |publisher=Vox |date=March 7, 2018 |access-date=August 7, 2018}}</ref> such as Monica Beverly Hillz<ref name="Guardian-MBH"/><ref name="WaPo-MBH"/> and Agnes Moore, known by her stage name Peppermint,<ref name="Esquire-AMP"/> and cisgender women<ref>{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Coull |first=Jamie Lee |date=2015 |title=Faux Queens: an exploration of gender, sexuality and queerness in cis-female drag queen performance |publisher=Curtin University}}</ref> who do, sometimes termed ''faux queens''.<ref name="Guardian-FQ">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jul/10/workin-it-how-female-drag-queens-are-causing-a-scene |title=Workin’ it! How female drag queens are causing a scene |last=Nicholson |first=Rebecca |publisher=The Guardian |date=July 10, 2017 |access-date=August 7, 2018}}</ref> Drag queens' counterparts are ''drag kings'', women who dress in exaggeratedly masculine clothing; men who dress like drag kings are sometimes termed ''faux kings''.

Some drag queens may prefer to be referred to as "she" while in drag and desire to stay completely in character.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-drag |title=Understanding Drag |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2017-04-28 |website=transequality.org |publisher=National Center for Transgender Equality |access-date=2018-03-13}}</ref> Other drag performers say they are indifferent to which pronoun is used to refer to them. In drag queen RuPaul's words, "You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee; I don't care! Just so long as you call me."<ref>{{citation|author=Rupaul|title=Lettin' It All Hang Out: An Autobiography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mq-HAAAAIAAJ|publisher=Hyperion Books|date=June 1995|page=139}}</ref>