Communications is Everywhere: Drag, Entertainment, & Activism
This blog was created as part of an assignment at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in order to “make the case” for communications in a specific field… I chose drag.
What is a drag queen? According to Wikipedia, “A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes.” Drag is typically associated with gay men and gay culture. Historically, drag has been on the sidelines of culture as it is generally a pastime or occupation of a minority group: gay men and other LGBTQ+ individuals. While drag is performed for entertainment purposes, another challenge and motivation for communication about drag culture is shining a spotlight on LGBTQ+ issues. Drag’s main communication purpose is still seen as entertainment, as public interest with drag has increased due to the popular reality TV show, RuPaul’s Drag Race. Utilizing Google trends, we can see that interest in the search term “drag queen” increases in correlation with the search term RuPaul’s Drag Race since the show’s launch in 2009.
Yet, in a September 2021 article, LGBTQ Nation, an LGBTQ-focused independent news outlet, stated that “Drag has gone Mainstream”: “After decades of pushing boundaries, drag queens are taking center stage — not just on Drag Race, but in activism and even mainstream politics.” (Sloan, 2021).
Communications plays an important role in the drag world, especially in communicating messages from drag performers and major proponents to interested publics. According to a 2021 survey of the RuPaul’s Drag Race sub Reddit community, 72.6% of fans are white; 50.7% of fans are female while 38.2% are male; 28.5% are heterosexual, 31.4% are gay, and 18.6% are bisexual; 32.2% are 25-29 years old, 30.5% are 30-39 years old, and 27.7% are 18-24 years old (Smalls, 2021). Many articles and drag queens themselves have stated that most drag fans are young straight women and gay men, naming these demographics as the public’s interest in drag- related and further LGBTQ+ issues. Seeing as drag queen performers work in bars using fashion, makeup, and theatricals to create a creative caricature for entertainment and liquor sale purposes, the majority of communication surround drag queens is entertainment related. World of Wonder (WOW), the creator of RuPaul’s Drag Race and other reality TV shows and documentaries, shares drag-related entertainment content and advertises experiences and events on their social platforms. They utilize YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. WOW’s most popular platform is YouTube with 1.77M subscribers, followed by their Instagram with 415K followers. WOW knows how large of a community their drag content brings in, and they produce more drag entertainment content on their social platforms such as YouTube than any other content type.
Certainly, the entertainment value of the famous reality TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race has contributed to drag’s ascendency to mainstream popularity; but the increase in visibility of drag queens and gay culture in recent years has also led to drag performers coming to the spotlight in more than just the entertainment industry. For example, Drag Queen Story Hour is an international non-profit organization that “celebrates reading through the glamorous art of drag” by providing queer family programming such as having drag queens read to children (Drag Queen Story Hour, n.d.). The organization’s vision is “a world where kids can learn from LGBTQ+ herstories and experiences to love themselves, celebrate the fabulous diversity in their communities, and stand up for what they believe in and each other” (Drag Queen Story Hour, n.d.). While this story hour can be considered entertainment, it is also educational. Drag Queen Story Hour communicates to their audiences through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as through library and event space resources where Drag Queen Story Hours are held. However, Drag Queen Story Hour has had incidents with anti-gay groups who are against the program being held in public libraries. An anti-gay Christian group attempted to sue Huston Public Library for holding Drag Queen Story Hour in 2018 (Barden, 2018). However, in 2019 a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit for “lack of standing and failure to state a viable First Amendment Establishment Clause claim” (Langford, 2019). Drag Queen Story Hour was created to have family friendly queer programing for those who wanted it, and those who do not could just not sign up and ignore the program. However, anti-gay groups such as the one that filed the lawsuit against the Huston Public Library indicate that LGBTQ+ lives still need protection and recognition to be accepted in society.
In 2017, Honey Mahogany, a former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant and transgender activist, and two other Black trans activists, lobbied the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to designate a Transgender District. The Transgender District was approved; it celebrates San Francisco’s trans community and the city’s role in LGBTQ liberation. In 1966, “drag queens, trans people and other outsiders fought back during a police raid” at a cafeteria that was a safe space for LGBTQ+ people, in the very same neighborhood that is now the Transgender District (Sloan, 2021). Linda Simpson, a drag icon who started working in NYC at the same time as RuPaul in the 1980s, stated that “drag was intrinsically revolutionary” during the 80s: “it was about provoking a lot of questions and pushing boundaries” of gender and social norms—which it still is (Sloan, 2021). Drag continues to push and play with gender and social norms, and it has gained social acceptance as more publics have been exposed to it via entertainment media such as RuPaul’s Drag Race, performer visibility in increasing numbers of bars and clubs, and in more highbrow art and entertainment such as ballet: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo are an all-male drag ballet troupe that parodies classical ballet conventions (Trockadero, n.d.). All of these entertainment forms that drag emerges in are also tied to LGBTQ+ activism as a social boundary-pushing art form.
While the majority of drag related communications revolve around the entertaining aspects of drag, drag is inherently part of LGBTQ+ social issues and activism. Communications by drag fans, drag queens themselves, and drag-favoring organizations can be both entertainment and social activism by and about queer groups and individuals. Continued communication revolving around drag should maintain the balance between drag as entertainment and LGBTQ+ social issues and activism. For example, in an episode of Drag Race Down Under, a white contestant apologized for wearing blackface, aboriginal costumes and a burqa as part of her drag act in the past. RuPaul made a brief statement about the issue: ““I’m sure there are people who would want me to cancel you, right here right now. But I'd rather this be a lesson in humility and accountability. I pray all of us can learn and grow from our mistakes”” (Them.us). Many fans, Australian and international, took to social media to voice their opinions, many feeling RuPaul’s statement wasn’t enough and punishment or spending more time discussing how it was wrong should have occurred. Yet, ultimately drag fans and LGBTQ+ activists did discuss the issue, multiple articles discussing everything from the facts of the episode, the Australian context, public opinion about the incident, and what should have been done did emerged in drag fans communication delivery platforms—ultimately pushing the envelope and facilitating discourse about social norms. It might be beneficial for RuPaul’s Drag Race and affiliated programing to dedicate more time, social content, and video content to activist issues as well as maintaining entertainment content. This would help larger populations such as the straight female audience watching drag content learn about activist issues that challenge gender and social norms, which drag is intrinsically tied to.
Drag is an art. It emerged as members of the gay community played and experimented with gender and social norms that were outside the box. As outsiders, drag performers like many LGBTQ+ persons faced discrimination, violence, and police raids like the famous Stonewall riots. The increase in drag’s visibility in recent years can be attributed to social sentiment changing to favor social activism and increase in visibility due to entertainment content like RuPaul’s Drag Race. Communication in the drag industry must reflect its purposes and origins; drag is fun, entertainment, and art, as well as an activist cause.
Bibliography
Home - Drag Queen Story Hour. Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://www.dragqueenstoryhour.org/
Petski, D. (2021). ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 13 Finale Scores Record Ratings For VH1 – Deadline. Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://deadline.com/2021/04/rupauls-drag- race-season-13-finale-record-ratings-vh1-1234745080/
Smalls, N. (2021). /r/rupaulsdragrace Demographic Survey Results! (2021 Edition). Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://www.reddit.com/r/rupaulsdragrace/comments/nbdb8k/rrupaulsdragrace_demographic_sur vey_results_2021/
WOWPresents. Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/c/WOWPresents/about
World Of Wonder. Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://www.instagram.com/worldofwonder/
Drag queen - Wikipedia. Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_queen
Langford, C. (2019). Opponents of Drag Queen Story Hour Tossed From Court. Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://www.courthousenews.com/%EF%BB%BFopponents- of-drag-queen-story-hour-tossed-from-court/
Barden, D. (2018). Anti-Gay Activists Sue Houston Public Library Over Drag Queen Story Hour. Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/drag-queen- story-hour-houston-public-library-sued_n_5bcd16e8e4b055bc9481fdfc
Sloan, B. (2021). Drag has gone mainstream. Here’s how it continues to change the world for the better. - LGBTQ Nation Authentic Voices of Pride presented by Chevrolet. Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://www.lgbtqnation.com/authentic-voices-of-pride/drag-as- activism/117-drag-has-gone-mainstream-heres-how-it-continues-to-change-the-world-for-the- better
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo – The World’s Foremost All-Male Comic Ballet Company. Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://trockadero.org/
Kumar, N. (2021). “Drag Race Down Under” Brushes Over Contestant’s Blackface History. Retrieved 3 November 2021, from https://www.them.us/story/drag-race-down-under- brushes-over-scarlet-adams-blackface-history
