The notion of drag first came into existence in the 19th century, during Shakespearean performances. During this time, societal standards and expectations inhibited women from being able to perform alongside their male counterparts; because of this, men would dress as women and perform female roles. In 1906, American stage actor, Julian Eltinge, was coined the first officially recognized drag queen. However, there remains room for debate surrounding the first drag queen, since William Dorsey Swann, a freed black slave in the USA, challenges this history of who truly coined the role as the first drag queen. Drag rose to secretive prominence during Prohibition in the States, a time when alcohol was illegal. Due to these laws, people took to drinking in speakeasies, and drag shows were performed in these secret bars.
In 1969 the infamous Stonewall riots took place in New York City. These were spontaneous demonstrations in Greenwich by members of the LGBTQIA+ community and served as the catalyst for gay rights on a global scale. The seventies saw the rise of the Rocky horror picture show and is renowned for its cultural, historical and aesthetic significance. Rocky horror is considered to be a part of the queer cultural canon through its depictions and embraces of gender transgressions and sexual fluidity. We observed the modernization of drag in the 90s, due to RuPaul, the most famous drag queen in modern history. RuPaul has since successfully produced many seasons of the reality tv show, RuPauls Drag Race, in both the USA and as of 2019, the UK, and has won 32 awards. RuPaul has been credited as the main catalyst for creating higher levels of exposure for drag queens, specifically within the LGBTQIA+ community
In modern day London, SOHO leads as the official gay district, but other areas showcase high prevalence of pride, such as Shoreditch in East London. Some of the most notable drag venues are admiral duncan, crazy coqs and royal vauxhall tavern. The entertainment in London varies widely, from traditional drag shows and cabarets to drag themed bingo and drag boozy brunch. This is showing a shift in the stigma of this subculture as it moves towards becoming more and more widestream, and celebrated and appreciated as art and expression.
One of the more notable actions surrounding the acceptance of drag in mainstream media has been the way that fashion has begun featuring famous drag queens in fashion and ad campaigns.
For example, in the images above, you can see RuPaul’s drag race UK contestants Gigi Goode and Symone Pose featured on the Moschino FW 2021 campaign. to the right is a still from Prada’s short film featuring drag queen Violet Chachki. As some drag queens begin to reach global notoriety, the fashion industry has the incredible opportunity to capitalize upon this to create higher levels of inclusivity.
One cannot understand culture in a normative way unless you also understand culture in an anthropological way. After gaining a deep understanding of drag, its origin, and its cultural, political and artistic importance, we were able to apply the social critiques surrounding the judgment of taste to drag. While this piece was written in France in the 70s, this notion transcends any perceived barriers of borders and time. Before delving into the specifics, it’s worth noting that drag has a layer of complexity in this realm. Many subcultures, such as KPop, Grime, and techno are all interwoven into an individual’s lifestyle. But drag is an entirely different persona, style, name, fashion, life. It’s a purposeful and immersive subculture for those who choose to participate and express themselves in this.
Art and cultural consumptions are predisposed, consciously and deliberately or not, to fulfill a social function of legitimating social differences. Drag is appreciated most in an organized matter; this can be observed by the consumption rates of rupaul's drag race, or the drag themed activities we can find in london. What is perceived as objectively beautiful in society differs from the beauty found within this subculture. Ostentatious wigs, overly done makeup, and over the top clothing are staples of this look. To really understand this, one can compare the anticipated reactions a drag queen would get if they were in, say, the tube or a restaurant, compared to such organized events.
The analysis of economic capital is a multi-pronged aspect, which can really be broken down into the differentiation of professional drag queens and amateur drag queens. Within this subculture, there is an entire group of individuals pursuing notoriety and fame, and the opportunity to have their drag queen persona serve as income streams, leading to the understanding that these particular queens are more driven to gaining and accumulating higher levels of economic capital than their counterparts. Amateur drag queens tend to have their typical 9-5 jobs and then entertain on the side. In the same way that it is challenging to pull a specific common social strata of drag queens, the situation follows through into economic capital. They come from different levels of economic backgrounds, and their professional roles vary as well, from roles in fashion to customer service, to teaching university students, etc.
As discussed in economic capital, since everything is related, symbolic capital within drag focuses very much so on the perceived recognition and legitimization as they shift into mainstream acceptance. Again, a very prevalent aspect of this stems from ru paul’s drag race, which truly serves to create affirmation on the legitimacy of the queens in the public eye. This symbolic capital can also be observed within London, at ticketed shows sold. The more seats filled, the more anticipation, and the higher the level of notoriety all feeds into the perceived symbolic capital within this subculture.
Finally, we can look into cultural capital, campus, and habitus. Cultural capital really focuses on the collection of skills, tastes, clothing, mannerism, materials, and belongings. Campus and habitus really pulls a paradoxical aspect of understanding unconscious biases and understanding the purposeful intent to participate, and the blurred lines between the two. You can notice the commonality on how drag queens look and dress but you can see levels of background of the individual based on how they dress - we witness freedom of expression through the stylized approaches based on what story or history they pull from. For example, some queens’ personas stem from their upbringing, and it brings about the question of how much influence and impact occur on an unconscious level.
From this analysis, we were really able to understand the implications of this subculture, both in London, and on a global scale. Utilizing Bourdieu's judgment and analysis into the bourgeois created more complex notions surrounding societal perceptions in drag. His philosophical theories put you ever so slightly in a box, but this is not a defining power, it’s a structuring one; we are all conscious and cognizant beings who can exist and this can be especially observed in drag.