Drag queen vs crossdresser

[aries]

I was on Facebook yesterday, on my friends I have CDs and drag queens as friends, so one cd tells a dragqueen that he would love to look like you, but I still got long ways to go, then the one replys "well crossdressing is different than drag, I don't know what u r getting at, what do u nee help with?" and I thought about it, well crossdressing you don't have to be gay to cd, but I mean we both like to dress as feminine as I we can, the only difference is they perform and we do it more private, they basically are crossdresser out of the closet. I don't think us a cd like to look like a man on dress, we take pride on what we do, and l know not all us have femenine bodys, but we still want to look the best that we can.


What do you think

[Jill Devine]

Drag queens typically strive for a stage look with heavy makeup and glitzy clothing. In terms of looks, I would say that the average CD tries to be more mainstream and blend in where possible. Sure some CD's will be guilty of heels too high and skirts too short but drag queens are defined by their over-the-top style and look.

[Karren H]

I had a few female friends on Cosmo Radios FB fan page ask me the same. Told them that DQs are performers. Professional or semi pro crossdressers that make a living or try to via dressing female.

[suzy1]

Drag queens and crossdressers are the same thing. Men looking and dressing like women.
Some crossdressers go on stage and perform. Now they get the label Drag queens.
Apart from there being far more homosexuals among drag queens so I’m told, I can not see any other difference.
What I find disappointing sometimes is a small minority here running down drag queens.

SUZY

[VioletJourney]

Drag queens usually go for an unrealistic, over the top look for their performance, as opposed to the subtler more realistic looks that regular ol' CDs typically go for. That's what your DQ friend was talking about.

[aries]

I feel the same way Suzy, and I do know alots DQ, and the mayority are homosexuals, What I didn't understand or like was when she said well how do you need help? Where are you getting at? I think our goal at the end of the day is the same.

[desa ray]

Good question! I thought long and hard about this one, The only difference that I could come up with was attitude.
Desa.

[suchacutie]

Anyone who has gone on the stage realizes that stage makeup and costuming must be more intense, having higher contrast, in order to handle the lighting and distance effects from the audience. Likewise, the physical actions of performers are exaggerated when in performance, much more one would ever expect walking through the mall or having dinner in a fine restaurant.

Beyond that, however, I think Suzy has hit the nail on the head. DQs put forward a certain female personna, and so do CDs. Both groups do the best they can for a variety of reasons that all boil down to the fact that in some way we all feel good about ourselves when the outcome is the feminine personna we wish to present, to others and to ourselves!

tina

[Jennaie]

Drag queens and crossdressers are the same thing. Men looking and dressing like women.
Some crossdressers go on stage and perform. Now they get the label Drag queens.
Apart from there being far more homosexuals among drag queens so I’m told, I can not see any other difference.
What I find disappointing sometimes is a small minority here running down drag queens.

SUZY

I never met a drag queen who was a gay man who spent time at leisure in there home dressing. All the drag queens I ever met were gay or transsexual men who liked to perform and were trying to make money as well. Only the transsexuals were dressed at leisure in there homes. I think there is a tremendous difference between a gay drag queen and a crossdresser as well as a transsexual drag queen and a crossdresser. Tell any drag queen that your a crossdresser and their response will be, oh, well, that's different.

[DonnaT]

I've knows CDs who have gotten into preforming as DQs. So there is a crossover. As there is in sexual orientation, some CDs/DQs are gay, some aren't.

But generally, someone who has a need to dress enfemme will be considered a CD, and someone who has a desire to perform in drag will be considered a DQ.

But since both wear the attire of the opposite sex, both are crossdressing.

Some DQs think a CDer is someone who dresses for sexual pleasure, and distance themselves accordingly.

Another difference, for some, is that many DQs are not trans, whereas most CDs are trans.

[Inna]

CD's pay to have a lifestyle, DQ's get paid for the same, hmmmmmmm...........................darn, where is my money honey!
TS's not only pay for their clothes but therapy as well......................talking about wrong choices

[Stephenie S]

Some incorrect assumptions here.

As has been said, drag queens are PERFORMERS.

Crossdressers are men who want to wear women's clothes.

Not the same at all. And to assign a sexual preference to either one is just uninformed.

There is nothing about being a DQ that makes one homosexual.

There is nothing about being a crossdressers that makes one straight.

Gays and straights are crossdressers. Gays and straights are drag queens. All these other comments are sexist, homophobic, or transphobic.

Who one sleeps with at night has VERY little to do with crossdressing or stage performance.

Stephie

[rhonda]

dq's , cders why can't we just along ? we are in the same life style , aren't we ?

[Barbara Jo]

OK........drag queens are basically just going for the exaggerated female look, almost mocking them and have no desire to be and/or feel female.
They celibrate their penises under their female finery.

The drag queens I have known only wore female clothes when performing and could not wait to get out of them.
This is not to say they did not enjoy wearing female clothes when performing. They just enjoyed wearing them at a different level than CDs

[NicoleScott]

I like to dress "over-the-top", that is, exaggerating certain aspects of female dress and makeup that I especially like: eye makeup and eyelashes, dark red lips with glamour-length nails to match, short skirts, and very high heels. I try for glamour, tastefully excessive (some would say that's an oxymoron), but I'm not a drag queen.
As others have said, a DQ is a performer, and their exaggeration of feminine features is often wildly excessive, to the point of caricature. A good caricature artist looks at his subject and finds a distinctive feature, then exaggerates it in the drawing. Think of Leno's chin or Letterman's gap. Drag queens exaggerate many or all features that are traditionally, exclusively, and recognizably female.

[docrobbysherry]

Both r performers, rite?

I always assumed the term "queen" meant gay. Isn't that correct?

Would that mean that "female impersonators" r straight? Or, r they gay, too? I actually have no idea!

[Melody Moore]

Some incorrect assumptions here.

As has been said, drag queens are PERFORMERS.

Crossdressers are men who want to wear women's clothes.

Not the same at all. And to assign a sexual preference to either one is just uninformed.

There is nothing about being a DQ that makes one homosexual.

There is nothing about being a crossdressers that makes one straight.

Gays and straights are crossdressers. Gays and straights are drag queens. All these other comments are sexist, homophobic, or transphobic.

Who one sleeps with at night has VERY little to do with crossdressing or stage performance.

Stephie

Nicely said Stephanie

I know something about drag queens and it is because I am friends with some of them, and to be straight up
& to the point, cross-dressers - drag queens - transsexuals are all typically 3 very different groups of people,
however there are some crossdressers & transsexuals that also perform as drag queens. There is nothing to
say that you have to be gay to be a drag queen, cross-dresser or transsexual. Our gender identity & sexual
orientations are always fluid with each other. There is nothing binary about any of it. And this is also the reason
why there are so many 'variants' of straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender people living in the world today.

Draq queens do dress & use heavy make-up for stage presence, but there are also draq queens that are gay men
who really over do it, & dress up very poorly simply to take the piss out of women. So I think that is very sexist
on their part & have clashed with some of them for some jokes done in very bad taste. It was the reason I walked
out of the last drag show I seen. But I am no stranger to the drag scene in the beginning when I came out I started
working with the local drag show as their MC, but then I got sick of the bitchiness & political bullsh!t that they carried
on with about the local LGBT community. Not to mention the fact that by becoming a committee member myself didn't
make me very popular with the biggest DRAMA drag queen of all who tried very hard to divide the local LGBT community.

In the end I quit working for the drag show because it was like I am over here and they are way over there,
there was miles of things that stood between us. And one of those things was they wanted to be the centre
of attention & all "Miss la dee da" on a Friday night then the make up comes off the next morning, whereas I
just want to be accepted into society as the person I am - a woman. who really just wants to have a normal life.

I could go on & on, but it just isn't worth it, accept it we are all different, we shouldn't judge others for who they are,
if we don't like the way they are, don't hang out with them. But we cannot generalise & just pigeon hole anyone in the
transgender spectrum because it is so diverse - if we do, it leads to arguments & disputes.

[bridgiit s]

hiya drag queens dress to be laughed with and at and stun people with their art ; as a cd i like to be out and about showing my feminine side, and sometimes this urge presented by the clothes i wear is stronger than other times - people say i am inconsistent but i am inconsistent - have stopped seeing inconsistent as a derogatory label ands instead as a mere fact to be taken on board about myself by myself

[eluuzion]

My impression, based solely upon personal observation is that "Drag Queens" appear to intentionally portray a "theatrically enhanced" presentation of the female gender. I am not a "Drag Queen" so that is simply personal impression, based on perception.

When I am curious about something (which is about 100% of my waking life, lol) I try to go straight to the source of my curiosity for answers, whenever possible. In my experience the further away the people get from the source...the fuzzier the explanations get. In this case I would be asking several "Drag Queens". It seems logical to expect that although their explanations would vary, they would have more credibility than those given by "outsiders" attempting to define the motivations and behaviors of "other people."

That is my strategy...

[Lynn Marie]

[SIZE="4"]I just loved Stepenie's comments. Gee, I wish I could have said that so well.

Categorizing and making snap judgements is just a basic survival skill of all the species on earth. Learning to moderate those catagories and judgements is an advanced learning skill that involves risk and danger, but can also be tremendously rewarding. An extreme example of this are lion trainers.

As for me, happily I'm still learning.[/SIZE]

[LilSissyStevie]

Let's see:

I like to dress in a WAY over-the-top presentation, I "perform" femininity (same as I perform masculinity) and while I don't think I'm gay, I'm definitely as queer as they come. Hey, I must be a drag queen! {looks down nose at the "mere" crossdressers}

BTW, when I was young, drag queen was just slang for transvestite or crossdresser. I don't know when it came to mean a crossdressing gay performer. I guess it was after a couple of movies featuring drag acts.

[NicoleScott]

Doc, I always thought that female impersonators strived to imitate/impersonate SPECIFIC women, both in looks and voice (including singing, when applicable). Favorite targets have been Cher, Barbara Streisand, Dolly Parton, Joan Rivers (like we need another one!), Carol Channing. I guess my generation is showing. Maybe now it's Lady Gaga, that is, assuming , you know....

[ValRom]

CD's pay to have a lifestyle, DQ's get paid for the same, hmmmmmmm...........................darn, where is my money honey!
TS's not only pay for their clothes but therapy as well......................talking about wrong choices

Choices? I don't think I had any choice about being TS. I definitely wasn't a DQ and recognized the gender incongruity long before I coveted Manolo Blahniks! lol

[StarrOfDelite]

As a sexually active Gay (or Bi or Pansexual) Crossdresser/Transvestite, I would probably be disposed to kick the arse of anyone who called me a Drag Queen. I think it is a pejorative almost as offensive as *******. Just sayin'.