Just like in everyday fashion, the style trends change. Often trends will resurface many years later. The world of drag performance is no different. As time goes on, different styles will take over. There are many different answers for who the first drag queen was and where they originated from. There’s no doubt that Drag has been alive and thriving for a long while. Drag performers will often base their looks on beauty icons from that time. The word ‘Drag’ itself has developed different meanings.
In times of Shakespeare, only men would perform on stage. The actors would play as men and women. When they played as women, their costumes would drag on the floor, and that is believed to be how they used the word. Female impersonation was then introduced in the early 1900s into American culture, known as vaudeville. This form of performance was a much more individual form of entertainment rather than a group ensemble performance.
During the Prohibition era, gay men dressed in drag at underground clubs and speakeasies as an opportunity to express themselves. The popularity of speakeasies where drag was welcomed during the 1920s was known as "the Pansy Craze." A popular drag performer at The Pansy Craze as Rae Bourbon. In the image of Rae Bourbon below, her curls are pinned, she has a bold lip, and her eyebrows are angled downwards at her temples.
As years pass by, the looks of Drag naturally shift. In the 1950s, the largest beauty icon was Marilyn Monroe. She was best known for her bright red lip, winged eyeliner, and platinum blonde bob. During this decade, there was a popular comedy show on NBC called I Love Lucy. In this show, the main character, Lucy, is also known for the red lips and blonde curls. There is a drag performer named Kitt Russell who has incorporated characteristics from both women into their looks.
In the 1960s, drag pageants came to light. Drag queen Flawless Sabrina organized many drag pageants across the united states. The looks that the queens had in these pageants were closer to traditional pageants, but they still included bold eyes, lips, and hair.
By the times the 90s hit, RuPaul Charles began to make a name for himself in New York City. RuPaul released a single in 1993 titled “Supermodel (You Better Work).” He then became the first drag queen to ever become a spokesperson for a major cosmetics company with MAC Cosmetics. In 2009, RuPaul premiered his reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race. The show has been running for 13 seasons and is still extremely popular. The looks on the competition include incredibly high heels, large hair, creative outfits with lots of colors, and exaggerated makeup.
As the times change with beauty trends, the world of drag follows right behind. Even though Drag is not constricted to be just one thing, throughout the years, images of different queens from different eras prove that the expressive art form is constantly evolving and changing. In ten years, something completely different maybe the new focus, or something from forty years ago might resurface.
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