Mannen die zich voor
openbare
optredens op glamoureuze wijze als vrouwen kleden noemt men wel
dragqueens. Vrouwen die zich op deze wijze als mannen kleden heten drag
kings. Natuurlijke vrouwen die uitgbundig gekleed en opgemaakt zijn
worden faux queens genoemd
Dragqueens zijn meestal homoseksueel, zij spelen hun rol en
voelen zich in hun dagelijks leven geen vrouw.” Vaak zijn dragqueens
uitbundig
gekleed en gebruiken zij extravagante make-up, schoenen met zeer hoge
hakken), weelderige pruiken, kunstborsten of borstplaten en worden de
geslachtsdelen
met duck tape weggewerkt. Het beeld dat in de media vaak wordt
gepresenteerd van de travestiet is op deze uitbundige travestieten
gebaseerd.
Kleurrijke
nichtenoptochten,
schitterende dragqueens, Miss Travestie Holland-manifestaties en andere
beelden die men in de media over travestie krijgt voorgeschoteld,
hebben bijgedragen tot de associaties die men gewoonlijk bij travestie
heeft: extravagant, karikatuur en persiflage, glitter en glamour,
homoseksualiteit, toneel, exhibitionisme, vermaak. bron: Travestie, een
serieuze (nood)zaak / Paul Vennix, 2001, p. 5
De dragscene schijnt zich elk jaar
verder uit te breiden. Veel mannen (voornamelijk homo's), maar ook
vrouwen (veelal lesbisch) willen zich als Drag Queen of Drag King
manifesteren op de diverse podia. De feesten met dragqueens en
travestie-optredens zijn niet aan te slepen. De bingo's, game-nights,
show-avonden, Miss verkiezingen, etc. vliegen je om de oren.... Naast
Dragqueens zijn er ook Drag Kings (bijv. Franky Mooseknuckle) en Faux
Queens (Miss Tulip Fields) actief in het show circuit.
Tijjdens de optocht op Hartjesdag paraderen veel dragqueens en
dragkings over de Amsterdamse Zeedijk
Waar
komt de term
"dragqueen"vandaan? Het woord “drag” zou een
benaming
zijn voor de mannen die als vrouw vaak in lange over de grond slepende
jurken rondliepen (drag
betekent slepen) Sommigen vinden
dragqueens ordinair,
storend en confronterend, anderen dat drags vrouwen belachelijk maken.
Hiertegenover staat de mening dat drag juist de traditionele
genderrollen omver duwt en speelt met de verhouding tussen “mannen” en
“mannelijkheid”, en “vrouwen” en “vrouwelijkheid”. Drags maken een
krachtig statement: zowel mannen als vrouwen mogen mannelijk én
vrouwelijk zijn. Zie ook: Jennifer Hopelezz Is dat
seksistisch?.
In: Attitude, #007, januari 2018, p. 27
A drag queen is a
person, usually
male, who dresses in clothing of the opposite sex and often acts with
exaggerated femininity and in feminine gender roles for the purpose of
entertainment or fashion. Often, they will exaggerate certain
characteristics such as make-up and eyelashes for comic, dramatic, or
satirical effect. While drag is very much associated with gay men and
gay culture, there are drag artists of all sexualities. There are many
kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly in dedication, from
professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once,
or those who simply prefer clothing and makeup that is usually worn by
the opposite sex in their culture. Drag queens can vary widely by class
and culture. Other drag performers include drag kings, women who
perform in male roles and attire, faux
queens, who are women who dress in an exaggerated style to
emulate drag queens, and faux
kings,
who are men who dress to impersonate drag kings.
There are many reasons people do drag including self-expression,
comfort, transvestic fetishism, and spiritual reasons, as well as the
higher-profile performing and entertaining. Drag can be a creative
outlet, a means of self-exploration, and a way to make cultural
statements. While the general public may be most familiar with the
"high drag" of professional performance artists, drag is also part of
regular life and street culture for many gender-nonconforming or
gender-variant people, who may or may not consider what they do, "drag." Drag queen activities
among stage and
street performers may include lip-synching performances, live singing,
dancing, participating in events such as gay pride parades, drag
pageants, or at venues such as cabarets and discotheques. Some drag
artists also engage in mix-and-mingle or hosting work in night clubs,
such as drag bingo, and at private parties and events.
The etymology of the
phrase “drag
queen” is debatable, but many scholars believe that the phrase was
coined in the 1800s as a reference to the hoop skirt. As seen in this
photo, hoop skirts would “drag” along the ground.
The term “queen”
was used as
a derogatory slur towards homosexuals. The term drag queen
occurred in
Polari, a subset of English slang that was popular in some gay
communities in the early part of the 20th century. The first recorded
use of "drag" to refer to actors dressed in women's clothing is from
1870.
A folk etymology is that drag is an acronym of "Dressed Resembling A
Girl" in description of male theatrical transvestism. The film Connie
and Carla also made a reference to this, though the acronym was
slightly altered to men "Dressed as Girls." Queen may refer to the
trait of
affected royalty found in the personalities of many who do drag
(whether this is their normal personality or a character created for
the stage). It is also related to the Old English word quean or cwene,
which originally simply meant "woman", then was later used as a label
both for promiscuous women and gay men. The Old English word appears
derived from Middle Dutch quene ("old woman"), ultimately from
Proto-Germanic *kwenǭ ("woman"), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn
("woman"). Another term for a drag
queen is
female impersonator. Although this is still used, it is sometimes
regarded as inaccurate, because not all contemporary drag performers
are attempting to pass as women. Female impersonation has been and
continues to be illegal in some places, which inspired the drag queen
José Sarria to hand out labels to his friends reading, "I am a boy," so
he could not be accused of female impersonation. American drag queen
RuPaul once said, "I do not impersonate females! How many women do you
know who wear seven-inch heels, four-foot wigs, and skintight dresses?"
He also said, "I don't dress like a woman; I dress like a drag queen!". Some performers draw the
distinction
that a female impersonator seeks to emulate a specific female star or
celebrity, while a drag queen only seeks to create a distinctive
feminine persona of his or her own.
Drag queens are sometimes called transvestites, although that term also
has many other connotations than the term "drag queen" and is not much
favored by many drag queens themselves. This is because of the
distinctions between drag queens and transvestic fetishists. "Drag
queen" usually connotes cross-dressing for the purposes of
entertainment and self-expression. It is not an accurate way to
describe people who cross-dress for the fulfillment of transvestic
fetishes alone, i.e., people whose cross-dressing is primarily part of
a private sexual activity or identity. Those whose motivation for
transvestism is not primarily sexual, and who may go about their daily
lives cross-dressed, often do not adopt the over-the-top drag queen
look, at least not for daily wear; these individuals may or may not
self-identify as drag queens. There are also
performers who prefer
to be called "gender illusionists" who do blur the line between
transgender and drag queen. Generally transgender performers do not
consider themselves to be drag queens and drag queens don't consider
themselves to be illusionists, but, as with everything, there are
exceptions. Often these distinctions are more generational, as laws and
acceptance of individuality change and grow. Many drag queen prefer
to be referred
to as "she" while in drag and desire to stay completely in character.
Some performers object to being referred to as "he" or by their legal
name while in character.
Drag performer RuPaul
is an exception, as he
seems to be completely indifferent to which pronoun is used to refer to
him. In his words, "You can call me he. You can call me she. You can
call me Regis and Kathie Lee; I don't care!" The term tranny has been
adopted by
some drag performers, notably RuPaul, and the gay male community in the
United States, but it is considered offensive to most transgender and
transsexual people. In the transgender community, it is taken as a
degrading term along the lines of the highly offensive words "fag" and
"faggot" in gay communities. This has caused the usage of the term to
diminish.