Drag in France is a very interesting topic. In the 1920s, “[g]ay nightlife and drag balls flourished” (“LGBT Culture in Paris”). Some examples of places this nightlife would go would be Le Monocle, specifically for women in tuxedos. Other clubs brought men and women in both male and female attire such as Clair de Lune, Chez Ma Cousine, La Petite Chaumiere, and more. (“LGBT Culture in Paris”)
“When the Nazis cracked down on Berlin in the 1930s, Paris became an even more important center for LGBT life. Tamagne stated that in the 1930s the LGBT populations socialized with migrant groups, some youth groups, criminal groups, and other groups who were "marginalized" in society.” (“LGBT Culture in Paris”) When most or all marginalized groups band together, they become one large force that is difficult to take down. Sadly, cabaret culture disappeared for a short time during the Nazi occupation. When the cabarets came back, it gave drag a new life. This popularized a form of drag called transformisme which means ‘female impersonation’. They took a specific character, usually a celebrity, and played it onstage, sometimes in front of said celebrity. (Richardson) In French drag, there is still a divide between celebrity impersonators and drag queens. Though that divide is growing smaller over time, there is still a divide.
Later in the 1950s and 1960s, France seemed okay with gay bars and the LGBTQ community as long as it was out of public view. There was a new Indecent Exposure law brought into effect in 1960 that made it easier for the police to harass those from the LGBTQ community. That law also made it easier to raid gay bars, sometimes the people who ran the bars got in on it and helped the police. Drag performances in that time were usually performed by trans women because they would not let cisgender men perform. The gay community at the time would go out to bars more than the lesbian community. Women were more scared of ruining their reputation if they were seen at a ‘gay bar’ so they kept socializing to small groups and get-togethers. (“LGBT Culture in Paris”) Later in the late '60s, there was the creation of Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire. They were activists for the LGBTQ community. Below is one of their slogans "il est interdit d'interdire". That translates in English to 'its forbidden to forbid'.
As you can see, France has had a… strained… relationship with drag and the LGBTQ community from the beginning. Just a few years ago in 2017, an American Drag Queen named Chachki accused a Parisian club of discrimination when she was removed from the club by security for not being “masc presenting enough”. The club named Le Depot denied that was the reason she was escorted off the property. It seems no one knew what really happened in that incident but she wasn’t the first Queen to accuse a French club of discrimination. In France today, drag queens don’t run gay nightlife like they do in America. Gay clubs in France are more for dancing and partying than shows by drag queens. (Richardson)
Today in France, there isn’t a huge drag community like there is in America. Recently though, “the number of local drag queens has at least quadrupled in the past two years, with an influx of so-called ‘baby drags’” (Cappelle). French drag is much more fashion-oriented than American drag. In America, drag is very ‘out there’. As Nicky Doll says in a Vogue Paris YouTube Video, “in the United States, They’re much more campy, with more crazy and funny looks.” (Meet Nicky Doll, the first French queen in RuPaul's Drag Race) Nicky Doll is the first and only French Queen to have been on RuPaul’s Drag Race so far. It also seems that “Paris’ queens are more restrained when out in public compared to the many plain-spoken queens I’ve met in the United States. Their movement is still young, and they don’t want to develop a reputation for causing trouble.” (Richardson). That being said sometimes the trouble finds them.
Drag shows are growing more popular. As of 2018, “[t]here are... 2 drag weekly venues Cookie Kunty’s Jeudi Barré on Thursday’s and... LIPSTRIP on Wednesday’s. There are also monthly shows like Drag Me by Sativa Blaze and Fugly by the House of Fugly led by Calypso Overkill.” (Drag Adventures)
You cant talk about drag in France and not talk about the famous La Cage aux Folles which was later adapted into The Birdcage with Robin Williams. There were several versions made of La Cage aux Folles, first, it was a play written by Jean Poiret. Later it became a movie, then a musical. “[I]t tells the story of a gay couple, Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his romantic partner and star attraction, and the farcical adventures that ensue when Georges's son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancée's ultra-conservative parents to meet them. La cage aux Folles literally means "the cage of mad women". However, folles is also a slang term for effeminate homosexuals (queens).” (“La Cage aux Folles (musical)”). This musical ran on Broadway in 1983 and closed in 1987. There was also a 2004 and a 2010 broadway revival. In London, the play ran originally in 1986 and closed in after 301 performances. The closing of the London location was blamed on AIDS and not wanting to portray gayness onstage so openly. It was revived in London in 2008. (“La Cage aux Folles (musical)”)
Some notable French queens and kings are Nicky Doll, France Gaule, Le Filip, Tiggy Thorn, Cookie Kunty, Klaus Wiekind, and Mirage. Some notable locations and events are Le Depot (in Marais), Kindergarten, Jeudi Barré, Tech Noire, Drag Me, and La Toilette at Le Depot.
Bibliography
Cappelle, Laura. “Rewriting the Rules of Drag in Paris.” The New York Times, 22 August 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/22/theater/paris-drag-shows.html.
Drag Adventures. “Le Filip: A pathological woman.” Drag Adventures, https://dragadventures.wordpress.com/2019/01/02/le-filip-worldwide-wednesdays/. Accessed 4 May 2021.
“La Cage aux Folles (musical).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Cage_aux_Folles_(musical)#Original_Broadway_production. Accessed 6 May 2021.
“LGBT Culture in Paris.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_culture_in_Paris. Accessed 5 May 2021.
Meet Nicky Doll, the first French queen in RuPaul's Drag Race. 16 March 2020. YouTube, Vogue Paris, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COHSk9lWwJI.
Richardson, Stuart. “What “Chachkigate” Says About the State of Drag in Paris.” Slate, 25 October 2017, https://slate.com/human-interest/2017/10/what-violet-chachkis-paris-nightclub-incident-says-about-drag-in-the-city.html.
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