You sit in the audience of a bustling ballroom. The lights are low; the energy is high. Everything comes to a hush as the first beats of Madonna’s “Express Yourself” are heard echoing off the walls. A performer is revealed in an extravagant, glittering outfit with heels and hair as high as the heavens. The spotlight bounces off the thousands of rhinestones as she begins her song–this is drag. 

The history of drag in the United States started with William Dorsey Swann, the first self-proclaimed drag queen. Although the style of drag that we know today didn’t become popular until the 1970s and ‘80s, Swann and others began to push for acceptance as early as the 1880s. Swann was known to have held the “first documented ‘drag balls’ in American History,” according to an article by Smithsonian. 

These drag balls were a risk to attend, but served as a space to desegregate the LGBTQ+ community. With people of all races attending these balls, this was something almost unheard of at the time in the LGBTQ+ community.  

William Dorsey Swann, having been an enslaved African American man himself, took inspiration from the “Queen of Freedom,” a title given to a woman, Katherine Johnson, who represented freedom for African Americans at Washington’s Emancipation Day parades. This inspired him to start crowning queens at his drag balls, naming winners of his dance competitions “queen of the ball.” This sort of competition inspired modern day drag races, with William Dorsey Swann being credited as the one who created this idea. 

The fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the ‘70s and ‘80s, with drag queens at the forefront, helped drag artists gain media attention and start rising in popularity. Though many drag artists fought for their rights during this period, the most notable was Marsha P. Johnson. She was one of the most prominent figures in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights during the Stonewall riots. While Johnson identified and lived as a woman, she also “described herself as a gay person, a transvestite and a drag queen,” according to the New York Historical Society. She helped pave the way for drag artists of the future, especially drag artists of color, to have a place in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. 

Drag queens of the past were leading the fight for their rights, which started to spark interest in the art of drag performance. While drag performances during the time of these movements were popular, what we know now as “drag races” didn’t gain traction until the early 2000s, with the show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” capturing media attention. 

Rupaul Charles is one of today’s most well known drag queens, starting the modern concept of drag races with his show “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” In the show, a group of drag queens compete in challenges to win the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar.” This show skyrocketed the popularity and presence of drag queens across the globe, as it became a show watched by families, couples and individuals alike. 

Though drag has become a beloved sensation for many, it hasn’t come without its share of opposition. According to the Movement Advanced Project, states such as Montana and Tennessee have enacted laws restricting drag performances, but both were deemed unenforceable due to court orders issued in March and July of 2023.

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP.” 

Drag artists and the LGBTQ+ community alike are still being targeted by our government, and even by our own president. 

Even with legislation and governmental actions targeting drag performers, they still inspire rising stars everywhere. The biggest example of this is Chappell Roan, naming drag queen Sasha Colby as her biggest inspiration whenever she can. Drag queens can also inspire drag kings who challenge the male gender norms and perform as some form of masculinity. 

The story of drag is about strength, resistance and power. The one lesson we can learn from the story of drag, though, is that all of this can be done glamorously. 

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Hi! I’m Hannah Planey, A Magazine’s editor-in-chief. My staff and I are committed to bringing you the most important and entertaining news from the realms of fashion, beauty and culture. We are full-time students and hard-working journalists. While we get support from the student media fee and earned revenue such as advertising, both of those continue to decline. Your generous gift of any amount will help enhance our student experience as we grow into working professionals. Please go here to donate to A Magazine.