#9 Nobody Can Drag Them Down

Drag queens have an extraordinary history and an interesting place in the LGBT community. One major stereotype surrounding drag queens is that all queens are transgender or face some kind of gender dysphoria. This isn't true, most drag queens identify as male when they aren't in drag. I would explain a drag queen as a man (usually gay) impersonating a woman, or several women, for the purpose of entertainment or performance. They can range from those who do it as a job to those who

RuPaul Charles, Age 56

do it as a form of artistic expression. The practice of men dressing as women dates all the way back to ancient Roman literature as well as Chinese theatre styles. Since women were generally banned from performing on stage men had to play their roles. The slang term "queen" came along around the beginning of the 20th century as a derogatory slur against extremely feminine, gay men. Drag queens as we think of them today weren't introduced in America until the 1950's and 60's. Drag queens during this time were criminalized as perverse characters. They didn't gain popularity until the late 80's and 90's when gay culture began to flourish.  Drag queens have grown in popularity since this time. There was a popular drag queen that went by the name Divine. Although Divine lived a short life, he died in 1988 at the age of 43, he had a huge impact on the drag scene. The popular character of Ursula in The Little Mermaid was actually modeled after the iconic look that Divine trademarked. The most popular drag queen by far is RuPaul Charles who is the creator of the show RuPaul's Drag Race. The show premiered in 2009. Since then, we have seen a rise in drag queen exposure in the media. Each season viewers root for their favorite drag queens based on look, entertainment, or general sassiness. This has boosted the popularity of drag queens to a national, and even international level of fame. The show is about to enter it's ninth season and has amassed a large, dedicated fan base, especially among the queer community. Although drag is usually seen as gay men dressing up as women, there is a smaller portion of the drag community which is comprised of women dressing up as men. These women are appropriately called drag kings. This division barely gets any visibility and many people have no idea that drag kings even exist. Most of these women will identify as lesbian or bisexual and will dress for entertainment purposes, or for artistic expression. Although usually drag kings and queens are queer, there is no rule against heterosexual

Divine was the inspiration for popular Disney villain Ursula

people dressing in drag.  Drag can be just a casual hobby, or it can be a  lifestyle. I personally know a male that likes to dress in drag as hobby because he generally enjoys it. He doesn't do any sort of performing, but he loves the process of dressing in drag. This hobby is incredibly time consuming. Drag requires a ton of makeup, a long time collecting clothing to wear, and a lot of practicing to learn feminine/masculine mannerisms. Although drag has a long, complicated history I feel like drag queens are slowly being accepted and loved by the media and America. There will always be people that are against free expression because it makes them uncomfortable, but we are making progress towards a society that accepts all people no matter who they are, what they look like, or who they love. Until we reach that goal of a open minded society, always remember #LoveWins.