Drag Kings are biological females who assume a masculine aesthetic. Since transgender queens are women, many people do not consider them drag queens because they are not men dressing as women. This subject is argued because Drag Queens are defined as a man portraying a woman. In the drag queen world today, there is an ongoing debate about whether transgender drag queens are actually considered "Drag Queens". Many drag performers refer to themselves as drag artists, as opposed to drag queens, as some contemporary forms of drag have become nonbinary. The term tranny has been adopted by some drag performers, notably RuPaul, and the gay male community in the United States, but it is considered offensive to most transgender and transsexual people. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee I don't care! Just so long as you call me." ĭrag queens are sometimes called transvestites, although that term also has many other connotations than the term drag queen and is not much favored by many drag queens themselves. Other drag performers, like RuPaul, seem to be completely indifferent to which pronoun is used to refer to them.
Some drag queens may prefer to be referred to as " she" while in drag and desire to stay completely in character. Pabllo Vittar is a Brazilian drag queen, singer and songwriter. Alternative terms File:Vittar Vai Passar Mal Tour 5.jpg American drag queen RuPaul once said, "I do not impersonate females! How many women do you know who wear seven-inch heels, four-foot wigs, and skintight dresses?" He also said, "I don't dress like a woman I dress like a drag queen!".
Female impersonation has been and continues to be illegal in some places, which inspired the drag queen José Sarria to hand out labels to his friends reading, "I am a boy", so he could not be accused of female impersonation. Drag queens' counterparts are drag kings, women who dress in exaggeratedly masculine clothing trans men who dress like drag kings are sometimes termed trans kings.įemale impersonator File:2004-GayPrideBrazil-1.jpegĭrag queens walking in a parade in São Paulo, Brazil.Īnother term for a drag queen is female impersonator. Cisgender women who engage in drag are often termed faux queens as a cisgender woman can never be a true drag queen. Drag queens are almost always gay men, but there are also trans women who perform as drag queens, sometimes termed trans queens, include such persons as Monica Beverly Hillz and Agnes Moore, known by her stage name Peppermint. The origin of the term is uncertain the first recorded use of drag in reference to actors dressed in women's clothing is from 1870. 2.2.2 Vaudeville and female impersonators.