Modern society offers many subcultures, each of which is a unique way to express your personality. The drag style, which appeared two centuries ago, has acquired new features today and offers a lot of options for expressing your own "I".
The mores of the Old World have always been somewhat frivolous. Already in the middle of the 18th century, communities of transvestites formed on the continent, who wore long women's skirts that dragged along the floor. Many believe that this is what caused the emergence and spread of such a phenomenon as the drag queen, which in translation from English means approximately the following - "the king pulling the mantle."
Travesty culture
Then this slang expression gained wide popularity in the early 20th century in the English gay community. Then, in the external signs of this culture, attributes began to appear that are characteristic of the persons of the royal family. The term itself began to be used as derogatory to women and gays who have promiscuous sex. This slang English word has not been translated into other languages.
Gradually, the term spread to the culture of travesty. This was explained by the fact that many representatives associate themselves with women and require that they be spoken about using the pronoun "she". Although not always drag queen divas hide their gender, and sometimes, on the contrary, emphasize it.
Features of the image
Artists who use the drag style in their work, dressing in women's clothing, often create grotesque, satirical images in order to make the viewer laugh. To do this, some parts of the body are deliberately highlighted, an unusually bright makeup is done with huge false eyelashes. Sometimes a dramatic female image is created, the purpose of which is to convey a certain idea to society.
Drag culture involves the creation of four images:
1. Grotesque. The queens of this image create a pretentious satirical image and swear on stage.
2. Parody. Travesty acts in this genre, imitating many famous figures in show business - Britney Spears, Cher, Bette Midler, Madonna and others.
3. Beauty queen. Special beauty contests for men are held in the world, which transform into a female image. Many of them then continue this image on television or become participants in the show.
4. Post-modernism. Representatives of this trend create performance-style shows using unconventional techniques. In such shows, it is customary to erase the signs of gender, and the viewer often does not know who is on the stage - a man or a woman.
Currently, the concept of "drag" is usually applied to any occasion when a man tries on the image of a woman, and a woman puts on a man's suit. Not everyone who does this kind of dressing up is gay or transgender. For women who dress up in men's clothing, the term "Drag King" began to be used. With the emergence of this culture, both men and women have an interesting opportunity to try themselves in the role of the opposite sex, to learn all its subtleties and secrets.