Entertainment Spilling the T about Drag Evolution

By Sheena R. Sagales

Thanks to the Emmy Award-winning TV competition RuPaul’s Drag Race, the fabulous art of gender-bending fashion made its way into pop culture.

By spotlighting the extravagant effort that went into drag artistry and awespiring performances by the queens—from lip-syncing to celebrity impersonations—it has built a cult following to the performative art.

While the appreciation for the “eleganza extravaganza” art became more prominent in the 21st century, the practice of drag dates back to Antic Greece.

A theatrical origin.

Performing in costumes different from your gender was visible back in Greek Tragedy—a form of theatre in the 6th century BCE, up until the Shakespearean era in the late 16th to 17th centuries. It was a period when women were not allowed to perform on stage—resulting in men taking on female roles.

Drag was then believed to be a coined term as the costumes male performers wore to play female characters would “drag” along the floor.

Roaring into the 1920s, drag became more of an individual performance known as “vaudeville”—a theatrical genre born in France referring to unique one-man acts, paving the way for female impersonation to spice up with a touch of burlesque, comedy, and dancing.

Werking through the shade. Gender-bending performances were not linked to homosexuality until sexology—the study of sex and sexual practices present in cultures—developed the idea that a third sex exists. Unfortunately, the discovery of homosexuality caused the art and the gay community to be stigmatized and judged for cross-dressing, forcing drag artists—who were referred to then as “pansy performers”—to express themselves in underground gay bars. Due to the constant criminalization of homosexuality, police hunted down drag-safe spaces, which in turn led to the banning of gender impersonation in New York. With World War two also ongoing, the performative art continued to suffer through unjust laws and stigmas.

The 1969 Stonewall Riots—a series of protests from the queer community led by drag queens—was then organized as a call for equality and a response to the frequent police raid of gay bars.

Realness in the spotlight. The documentary Paris is Burning (1990), actor Tim Curry’s “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, the hit song “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” by Sylvester, and a whole lot more crafts that featured drag symbolized the acceptance

SPILLING THE T/P3