Drag queen

A drag queen is typically a male performer who uses clothing and makeup to mimic and amplify female gender markers and roles for entertainment. Historically, most drag queens have been gay men and part of gay culture. People engage in drag for motives ranging from personal expression to professional performance. Drag shows often feature lip-syncing, live singing, and dancing, and are commonly held at LGBTQ pride events, drag pageants, cabarets, carnivals, and nightclubs. The practice varies widely: some are professionals who star in films and maintain their drag personas extensively, while others perform only occasionally. In most cases, women who dress as men for similar entertainment are called drag kings. Occasional drag performers may come from backgrounds outside the LGBTQ community. There is a long tradition of folkloric and theatrical cross-dressing involving people of all orientations, and not everyone who does drag at some point identifies as a drag queen or drag king.

The term "drag" may date back to Elizabethan England, though the first recorded use in this context is from 1870, with several other possible origins. Traditionally, drag involves cross-dressing and transforming one's sex via makeup and costume, but newer conceptions allow that performing an exaggerated version of one's own gender could also be considered drag.

"Female impersonation" refers to a theatrical performance where a man dresses in women's clothing solely to entertain. While sometimes used interchangeably with "drag queen," they are not identical. In 1972, Esther Newton described a female impersonator as a "professional drag queen," a term then understood by heterosexual audiences. However, scholar Sarah French distinguished them: drag is an art form tied to queer identity, while female impersonation spans various gender identity paradigms, including heteronormativity. Many drag artists see drag as a lived form of self-expression beyond the stage, whereas female impersonation is limited to performance and may lack an LGBTQI perspective.

Female impersonation dates back at least to ancient Greece, where male actors played female roles due to women's lower social status. This tradition continued for centuries but declined with the rise of motion pictures. During vaudeville, women appearing on stage was considered immodest, leading some men to become famous female impersonators, notably Julian Eltinge, one of the highest-paid actors of his time, and Andrew Tribble, who gained fame on Broadway and in Black Vaudeville. In the 20th century, some gender impersonators in the U.S. became successful in non-LGBTQ venues, often distancing themselves from queer identity to avoid criminal charges, as homosexuality was illegal in many cities. Some were cisgender heterosexuals, while others were closeted LGBTQ individuals. This dissociation persisted into the 1970s. Female impersonation has been illegal in some places, prompting drag queen José Sarria to give friends labels reading "I am a boy" to avoid accusations. RuPaul stated, "I do not impersonate females! ... I don't dress like a woman; I dress like a drag queen!"

The term "drag queen" first emerged in New York City in the 1950s with two meanings. One referred to amateur performers who did not earn a living in drag but participated in events like drag balls or pageants, distinguishing them from professional female impersonators. The other applied to men who wore women's clothing on the streets, then illegal in New York. This latter group included "square drag queens" (boys who looked like girls but were known to be boys) and "street queens" (queer male sex workers, often homeless, who dressed as women). This second usage carried transphobic undertones and again served to differentiate from professional female impersonators.