Drag?

[pammiecd]

Where did the term " Drag " come from? Sure isn't a drag for me!

[lizbendalin]

From http://www.word-detective.com/back-p.html#drag

A Drag, Man

Dear Evan: There appears to be a resurgence in drag movies: "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" are the most recent manifestations, and the remarkable staying power of Ru Paul bears further witness to popular culture's current infatuation with men dressed up as women. The tale I've heard is that "drag" is an acronym for "DRessed As a Girl"and harkens back to the Elizabethan stage when only males acted, thus requiring boys and occasionally men to fill what are now women's roles. "DRAG" would be noted in the play's marginalia to indicate this. Is this even remotely correct? -- Michael Raynor, via the Internet.

I'm glad that someone else has noticed the weird current popular fixation on transvestism. I was beginning to think that I was the only one who found it odd. The whole thing reminds me of the day a few years ago when I woke up to discover that everyone was wearing baseball caps turned backwards. After the first few negative reactions to my courteous observation, "Hey, yoyo, your hat's on backwards," I decided to just get used to it. This too shall pass.

The explanation you heard of the origin of this meaning of "drag" is not correct, but it isn't really that far off the mark. As far as we know, "drag" isn't an acronym for anything, and the use of the word in this sense dates only to the late 19th century, long after Elizabethan times. But the origin of "drag" to mean men dressing in women's clothing does indeed come from the theater. The explanation, given that we are talking about a phenomenon that often involves significant amounts of rhinestones and mascara, is remarkably prosaic. A male actor required by his role (or the lack of a female actor) to wear women's clothes on stage quickly discovers what women have known for centuries -- that long skirts and dresses often drag on the floor. Such roles became known as "drag" roles, and when cross-dressing became popular off-stage, the theatrical term was adopted for the practice.

[pammiecd]

Interesting. " Dressed As A Girl " suits me as a reason to call it DRAG.

[Holly]

Gee, could have been DRAW... DRessed As a Woman.

[Cathy Anderson]

Interesting. " Dressed As A Girl " suits me as a reason to call it DRAG.
and DRAB = "Dressed as a Boy"

[Angela Burke]

In Hugh Young's Lexicon of Polari, (gay slang), the term "drag" means clothes, just clothes.

[MarinaTwelve200]

In Hugh Young's Lexicon of Polari, (gay slang), the term "drag" means clothes, just clothes.


I heard that "DRAG" was a theatre term---Years ago it simply meant a costume---or "in costume"---- reguardless of the "gender" aproprateness. Such as "Midevial Drag" or "greek drag", etc. for example.

It has only been in later years that DRAG has come to mean a costume of the opposite sex of the wearer.