Drag Queens

A drag queen is an actor (traditionally, although not always, a cis gay man) who performs theatrically as a woman in order to entertain and/or to parody, (re)produce, or critique binary gender norms. Aesthetically, most drag queens cultivate a hyperfeminine appearance by painting on heavily contoured makeup, tucking external genitalia, and donning wigs, high heels, and elaborately bedazzling costumes over bust and hip pads that create the illusion of an hourglass figure. In a typical act, a queen will dance and interact with audience members for tips while lip synching to a popular song. Queening emerged as a primarily Euro-American phenomenon in the late 19th century, and the practice spread across the globe in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, spurred by increasing access ...