"[D]rag once was and still is a dangerous thing, and by the same token, it is the only way for some people to survive in a dangerous world. Drag, as it’s practiced in these small Southern gay bars, enables a sense of transgression, a sense of rebellion, a sense of resistance. And it’s also a hell of a lot of fun."
- Matthew Lopez, L.A. Times Interview
- Matthew Lopez, L.A. Times Interview
Drag Resources
What is drag? Who does it and how does it work? On this page you have access to resources for viewing and reading about the history of drag performance. This page offers a few snapshots of information from popular sources; if you're interested in more extensive resources, visit the "Additional Resources" at the bottom of the page or contact Lusie for more information!
This video offers a snappy overview of the history of drag from the cast of a season of "RuPaul's Drag Race."
Prefer reading to watching? A similar history is chronicled in Justine Leonard's two page history of drag.
Prefer reading to watching? A similar history is chronicled in Justine Leonard's two page history of drag.
A note on terminology: Language is ever-evolving, and the language used to refer to gender and sexual identities is no exception. In discourse about early drag culture and early gay club culture more broadly, there is a great deal of slippage in terms between variations on drag (conscious putting on of a different gender) and identities that might contemporarily fall under trans otherwise gender diverse umbrellas.
Additional Resources:
Drag Herstory: a vlog series in which Jaymes Mansfield walks viewers through microhistory lessons about the world of drag, including a particularly McBride-relevant episode on well-known straight male drag performers.
Drag Herstory: a vlog series in which Jaymes Mansfield walks viewers through microhistory lessons about the world of drag, including a particularly McBride-relevant episode on well-known straight male drag performers.