Drag Flag

Drag Performers or Drag Artists are a group of individuals who dress in non-traditional ways for their gender identity (such as men who dress up extremely femininely) and often perform shows or acts such as dancing, singing, lip-syncing, comedy, fashion shows, and so on. These individuals tend to switch pronouns when performing, have different names when performing, and have a character/persona they perform as. [1]

Drag performances have been a common show in LGBTQ+ spaces, such as pride parades, as they encourage gender non-conformity, pronoun non-conformity, and the normalization of being oneself, all through theatre and shows.  [1]

Individuals do not have to perform in shows or in public in order to be qualified as a drag artist. As long as they like to participate in drag in some way, they can still be called drag artists. [1]

There are specific etiquettes and ways in which drag is performed. The way these shows or acts are performed vary from location to location, however some ways in which the shows or acts are commonly performed are listed here. [1]

The first individual known to describe themself as "the queen of drag" was William Dorsey Swann, born enslaved in Hancock, Maryland, who in the 1880s started hosting drag balls in Washington, DC attended by other men who were formerly enslaved, and often raided by the police, as documented in the newspapers. In 1896, Swann was convicted and sentenced to 10 months in jail on the false charge of "keeping a disorderly house" (euphemism for running a brothel) and requested a pardon from the president for holding a drag ball (the request was denied). Since then, the term drag has been used for individuals who do gender non-conforming performances. [1]