Details
Topical Term
Drag queens
Use for
Queens, Drag
Broader Term
Note
Female impersonators. Cross-dressers.
Related resource
Work cat: The drag queen anthology: the absolutely fabulous but flawless customary world of female impersonators, c2004.
Moore, F. Drag!: male and female impersonators on stage, screen, and television, c1994.
Trans Student Educational Resources, WWW site, Apr. 2, 2017: (Drag performers are cross-dressing performers who take on stylized, exaggerated gender presentations (although not all drag performers identify as cross-dressers). Cross-dressing and drag are forms of gender expression and are not necessarily tied to erotic activity, nor are they indicative of one's sexual orientation or gender identity. Do NOT use these terms to describe someone who has transitioned or intends to do so in the future.) http://www.transstudent.org/definitions
Merriam-Webster online, viewed 8 December 2020: drag queen (a usually gay man who dresses as a woman and performs as an entertainer especially to caricature stereotypically vampish women) female impersonator (a male entertainer who plays the role of a woman (as in vaudeville))
Oxford English dictionary online, viewed 8 December 2020: drag queen (Originally: a male entertainer who performs dressed as a woman; a female impersonator. Now usually: a performer (most typically a man) who adopts a flamboyant, exaggerated, or parodic feminine persona, with glamorous or outrageous costumes and make-up. Also sometimes applied (outside the context of performance and entertainment) to a man who cross-dresses, or to a transgender woman, but these uses are now usually regarded as offensive.) female (female impersonator, a male entertainer who dresses as a woman for his act, and typically performs songs)
Montclair State University. LGBTQ Center web site, viewed 8 December 2020: terminology (Drag Queen: A male-bodied individual who wears female-designated or feminine clothing. Drag Queens usually cross-dress on a part-time basis and often perform in nightclubs by singing, dancing, or lip-synching.)
Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender, 2007: Drag Queens (Drag queens is a slang term that is used to describe one variation of male-to-female cross-dressing; drag queens are men who dress as women. They are typified by exaggeration and excess, often resulting in a clownish or cartoonlike presentation. Wigs, makeup, and fashion often are overdone or out of proportion, creating an exaggerated femininity that is instantly recognizable as false or appropriated. That recognition is central to the drag queen aesthetic; drag queens attempt to make the constructed nature of their gender obvious, intentionally borrowing both masculine and feminine qualities simultaneously to create a gender position outside of either. The term is believed to have developed in the homosexual community of Great Britain in the nineteenth century and derives from the slang words drag (clothing) and queen (an effeminate man).)
County of San Mateo LGBTQ Commission. LGBTQ Glossary, WWW site, Dec. 8, 2020 (Drag Queen: A person who consciously performs "femininity," usually in a show or theatre setting, presenting an exaggerated form of feminine expression, often times done by a man; often confused with "transsexual" or "transvestite." Drag may be performed as a political comment on gender, as parody, or simply as entertainment. Drag performance does not indicate sexuality, gender identity, or sex identity.) |u https://lgbtq.smcgov.org/lgbtq-glossary
Zervigon, A.M. Drag Shows: Drag Queens and Female Impersonators; in glbtq Archive, viewed online Feb. 16, 2021 (Drag queen: a man performing with over-the-top female clothing and exaggerated mannerisms)
Moore, F. Drag!: male and female impersonators on stage, screen, and television, c1994.
Trans Student Educational Resources, WWW site, Apr. 2, 2017: (Drag performers are cross-dressing performers who take on stylized, exaggerated gender presentations (although not all drag performers identify as cross-dressers). Cross-dressing and drag are forms of gender expression and are not necessarily tied to erotic activity, nor are they indicative of one's sexual orientation or gender identity. Do NOT use these terms to describe someone who has transitioned or intends to do so in the future.) http://www.transstudent.org/definitions
Merriam-Webster online, viewed 8 December 2020: drag queen (a usually gay man who dresses as a woman and performs as an entertainer especially to caricature stereotypically vampish women) female impersonator (a male entertainer who plays the role of a woman (as in vaudeville))
Oxford English dictionary online, viewed 8 December 2020: drag queen (Originally: a male entertainer who performs dressed as a woman; a female impersonator. Now usually: a performer (most typically a man) who adopts a flamboyant, exaggerated, or parodic feminine persona, with glamorous or outrageous costumes and make-up. Also sometimes applied (outside the context of performance and entertainment) to a man who cross-dresses, or to a transgender woman, but these uses are now usually regarded as offensive.) female (female impersonator, a male entertainer who dresses as a woman for his act, and typically performs songs)
Montclair State University. LGBTQ Center web site, viewed 8 December 2020: terminology (Drag Queen: A male-bodied individual who wears female-designated or feminine clothing. Drag Queens usually cross-dress on a part-time basis and often perform in nightclubs by singing, dancing, or lip-synching.)
Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender, 2007: Drag Queens (Drag queens is a slang term that is used to describe one variation of male-to-female cross-dressing; drag queens are men who dress as women. They are typified by exaggeration and excess, often resulting in a clownish or cartoonlike presentation. Wigs, makeup, and fashion often are overdone or out of proportion, creating an exaggerated femininity that is instantly recognizable as false or appropriated. That recognition is central to the drag queen aesthetic; drag queens attempt to make the constructed nature of their gender obvious, intentionally borrowing both masculine and feminine qualities simultaneously to create a gender position outside of either. The term is believed to have developed in the homosexual community of Great Britain in the nineteenth century and derives from the slang words drag (clothing) and queen (an effeminate man).)
County of San Mateo LGBTQ Commission. LGBTQ Glossary, WWW site, Dec. 8, 2020 (Drag Queen: A person who consciously performs "femininity," usually in a show or theatre setting, presenting an exaggerated form of feminine expression, often times done by a man; often confused with "transsexual" or "transvestite." Drag may be performed as a political comment on gender, as parody, or simply as entertainment. Drag performance does not indicate sexuality, gender identity, or sex identity.) |u https://lgbtq.smcgov.org/lgbtq-glossary
Zervigon, A.M. Drag Shows: Drag Queens and Female Impersonators; in glbtq Archive, viewed online Feb. 16, 2021 (Drag queen: a man performing with over-the-top female clothing and exaggerated mannerisms)
Note
Here are entered works on entertainers, especially men, who perform with over-the-top female clothing and exaggerated mannerisms. Works on men who dress as women for the purpose of playing a theatrical role, as a disguise, or as a humorous or political statement are entered under Works on persons who assume a dress and manner not generally associated with their gender for psychological gratification are entered under
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