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Drag and transgender — distinction

Drag is a performance art form in which an artist exaggerates a constructed gender — drag queens (extreme femininity), drag kings (exaggerated masculinity), drag fae or androgynous expressions.

Two different phenomena

Drag is a performance art form in which an artist exaggerates a constructed gender — drag queens (extreme femininity), drag kings (exaggerated masculinity), drag fae or androgynous expressions. Being transgender refers to a persistent identity in which one's gender identity differs from one's birth sex.

Overlap

Historically, both worlds are connected. Well-known drag performers have shared transgender experiences and vice versa. Some people identify as both.

Importance of the distinction

The distinction matters for debates about child-focused drag events, policy and general understanding. Drag is performance; being transgender is not a performance but an identity.