Drag and transgender — the distinction

Drag is a form of performance art 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 form of performance art 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 a person’s gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth.

Overlap

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

Why the distinction matters

The distinction is relevant to discussions about drag events for children, policy, and general understanding of these concepts. Drag is performance; being transgender is not a performance but an identity.

An old theater tradition

Men playing women’s roles is as old as theater itself. In Shakespeare’s English theater, boys played the women’s roles; Japanese kabuki has the onnagata, and British pantomime has the dame. Modern drag emerged in vaudeville and in the nightlife of gay men. The television program RuPaul's Drag Race, which began in 2009, turned it into a global form of entertainment; since 2020, there has also been a Dutch version. More about this visibility can be found under transgender representation in the media.

Cross-dressing, drag, and transgender identity

Well into the twentieth century, the terms were used interchangeably. The word cross-dressing referred to wearing clothing associated with the other sex, for whatever reason. Later, a distinction was made between people who did this on stage, people who did it privately without wanting to change sex, and people who wanted to live permanently as the other sex. A drag performer takes off the character after the show. Most drag queens are gay men who identify as men.

Storytime sessions and legislation

The distinction took on political significance because of storytime sessions in which drag performers read to children in libraries. Supporters see them as harmless entertainment that introduces children to difference. Opponents consider an art form from nightlife unsuitable for young children. Demonstrations were also held at such sessions in the Netherlands. What parents think, what the municipality regulates, and how to file an objection are explained at genderongemak.nl. In the United States, Tennessee passed a law in 2023 restricting drag performances in the presence of minors, which was subsequently litigated for years. Critics of these laws point out that they conflate drag with being transgender. See also ballroom culture and gender and the media.