It’s up to parents and guardians to decide that, just as they decide whether their children should be exposed to or participate in certain music, television, movies, beauty pageants, concerts or other forms of entertainment, parenting experts say. Such routines can consist of stand-up comedy that may be raunchy - or may pale in comparison with some mainstream comedians. Explicitly sexual and profane language is common in performances meant for adult audiences. The difference, performers note, is that opponents of drag see sexual deviance in the cross-dressing aspect.ĭrag does not typically involve nudity or stripping, which are more common in burlesque, a separate form of entertainment. Drag queens may use false breasts, wear sheer costumes, and use makeup or other means to show cleavage and appear exaggeratedly feminine. Their costumes tend toward extravagant, sometimes floor-length gowns. Every performer makes different choices, but drag queens often wear more, not less, clothing than you’d see on a typical American woman of the 21st century, at a public beach or on network TV. Many drag opponents cite nudity in their objections. RuPaul took things a step further with his reality-competition show “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which became an award-winning hit and allowed drag to explode in popularity - and into the mainstream. Another casts it as an acronym - an unproven notion that notes in scripts would use “DRAG” to indicate the actor should “dress as a girl.”ĭrag performances could later be seen on the vaudeville circuit and during the Harlem Renaissance. They became a mainstay at gay bars throughout the 20th century, and remain so. The origin of the term is debated, but one possibility is that it was coined after someone noticed the dresses or petticoats that male actors wore onstage would drag along the floor. What is drag?ĭrag is the art of dressing and acting exaggeratedly as another gender, usually for entertainment such as comedy, singing, dancing, lip-syncing or all of the above.ĭrag may trace its roots to the age of William Shakespeare, when female roles were performed by men. The recent headlines about disruptions of drag events and their portrayal as sexual and harmful to children can obscure the art form and its rich history. WATCH: Drag Queen Story Hour offers a different kind of page-turner Performers and organizers of events, such as story hours in which colorfully clad drag queens read books to children, say the protesters are the ones terrorizing and harming children and making them political pawns - just as they’ve done in other campaigns around bathroom access and educational materials. Some politicians have proposed banning children from drag events and even criminally charging parents who take their kids to one. Opponents often coordinate protests at drag events that feature or cater to children, sometimes showing up with guns. The art form has been cast in a false light in recent months by right-wing activists and politicians who complain about the “sexualization” or “grooming” of children. Lately, drag has been dragged through the mud.
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