Community feeling on Drag

[Rogina B]

Ten years ago or so,I was invited to participate in the first Salem Ma Pride Parade and represent a local and new drag performance bar. I was the only non performer on that big bus filled with most all of the Boston area "dragons" and what entertainers they were ! I laughed for days after about the catty comments and banter said in jest between them. We got to Salem,bus parked,and hand mirrors came out and the final touchups began. Something to see...lol Striped parasol umbrellas were handed out to each as well as promotional trinkets we were to hand to the eager crowd. HUGE personnas for sure and they loved performing. Big hit with the crowd in the "Witch City".. After,we bussed it back to the venue for a cookout. Nice group for sure and they really worked for their time onstage,I could see. Not my thing but I will say that the venue and the style of the show as well as the performer's attitude toward tipping as they work the crowd has a lot to do for whether people enjoy it enough to regularly return. It is a performance art for sure,and an expensive one !

[BTWimRobin]

Hi Micki,

I'm a 1, 3 or 5.... rather odd. I wouldn't mind learning more about it.

[Ceera]

4, for me.

When I first started going out as a cross dresser, I specifically chose an LGBT nightclub that did weekend drag shows as my venue of choice for my first public outings. I felt, and it proved to be true, that a place hosting drag shows would be a safe venue for me to experiment with my own feminine self expression. That same venue also offered a lively dance floor with a DJ and music videos to dance to, both before and after the drag shows, as well as on other nights of the week when no drag show was being performed.

Before I stepped out my front door en-femme, I worked at home on my wig, breast forms, tucking, makeup and clothing options, to make sure I did at least an adequate job of presenting as a realistic female. Looking back at my old photos, I still had much to learn, but at least I did not look like a guy who slapped on a wig and a dress and went out in public on a bet, or for laughs. I also practiced walking and dancing in high heels, until I could do just about anything I wanted to in a pair of 4 inch spike heels.

And lastly, I worked on speaking in a passable feminine voice, simply because, having spent that much effort on my presentation, I did not want to shatter the illusion the moment I spoke. You see, my male voice was well into the bass range, so if I used it as a woman, I would look like my hidden, nearby boyfriend was using ventriloquist tricks as a joke, with me as his dummy. Not that I had a companion of any sort with me, but the difference between expectations and what would otherwise have come from my mouth was that glaringly different. Fortunately, I am also well trained as a singer, so changing my vocal attributes was not too difficult. I realize that most cross dressers and most drag performers do not bother to alter their voice, ant that is fine, as long as they are comfortable with that choice. It just was not the right choice for me.

Well, I lucked out. Not only was the venue safe and accepting, but there were also at least five other cross dressers who were regular patrons on the same drag show nights, and who befriended me, to some extent. A few of the also attended the club’s activities when no drag show was scheduled. And both the male and female patrons of the club accepted me and danced with me. Some even got quite affectionate, which I enjoyed.

Their group of drag performers was quite talented! Several of them could actually sing in a female voice, rather than lip syncing. Good dance routines, a broad touch of comedy, and several truly athletic/gymnastic performers drew me in quite rapidly. I quite happily took up front row positions so I could generously tip them and interact with them at the edge of the stage. I became a regular at the venue, someone the performers could count on to help gather their tips off the stage between performances, or to ham it up when interacting with them. Sometimes I even ended up on stage myself, when they hosted a drag costume contest for Halloween, or when it was my birthday week (they offered a a free shot of tequila and happy birthday wishes on stage for those with birthdays that week), or on some occasions, my tip-offering hand would lead to me being pulled onto the dance floor to briefly dance with the performer. Off stage, and in the post-show open dance floor times, the performers often chatted with me as friends, or would dance socially with me, still in the last costume they performed in that night, or in another outfit which they had reserved for social interaction.

I quite seriously considered joining the performers myself. I could certainly dance and at least lip synch, and I kind of liked being the center of attention on stage. (My speaking voice was fine, but I was not satisfied with how I sounded when singing as a woman.) I had even collected quite a wardrobe, for my fun time on the dance floor. Years later, until the pandemic shut down my social outings, I still frequently enjoyed attending both drag and burlesque performances, and have always been friendly with the performers. But I just enjoy watching their shows. i don’t want to be one of them.

But in the end, I decided that being a drag performer myself was not for me. I did not want to be seen as a performer - as a guy doing a show in female presentation, no matter how spot-on or how broadly they parodied a woman’s appearance. I had become an accepted part of the lesbian community. None of the other cross dressers got that kind of welcome from the lesbians. They fully saw and accepted that I really was mentally female, before I really accepted being transgender myself. What I wanted, and needed, was simply to be seen and accepted and appreciated as a woman. About four years after those first public outings, I committed to full medical transition to female, and began living full time as a woman. And I could not be happier.

I do not care much for Ru Paul or similar drag TV shows, though. I feel those tend to give the wrong impression of cross dressing or transgender life to the general public. They may be a fine cross section of a drag performer’s reality, but those shows, when I have seen them, always rubbed me the wrong way. I think in part it is because they show the performers out of character as well as in drag challenges which depart from more traditional stage performances. It shatters the illusion tge drag performer brings to the stage, as much as it would be bad for a Shakespearian actress to suddenly speak with a broad California valley-girl accent and speech patterns.

[Leslie Mary S]

Ceera, Nicely written. I to have been on stage. Being a photo type person I was welcomed into the local group of DQs. I have not been on stage now for 3 years. I to want to present as a normal tall heavy woman.

[Taylor186]

I'm somewhere between a four and a five. My Halloween costumes are always kind of over the top draggy and, happily, I get a lot of positive attention at the public venue I attend. But, I would not be comfortable as a solo act on stage. That is a different level of attention.

[Alexis00]

There I a club in Boston with drag performances. Went there with my wife, and she brought friends there for a batchelorette party. Turns out that is quite popular.

Never thought about perrform8ng.

[alwayshave]

Firmly number 4.

[Julie MA]

5&6. I've done CD Karaoke. But I wouldn't call that Drag. The definition I've most often seen for Drag, is gay men who dress over the top as women, mostly for comedic entertainment. I find it fun to watch and even get a little attracted to some of the Drag Queens. But when I sing I am trying to look and sound as good as I can, as a woman. One of my faves is Endless Love, where I sing both parts, in the original Lionel Richie and Diana Ross pitches.

[Melanie Sykes]

1) I have not been to a drag show or watched RuPaul or Boulet Brothers in the last 15 years, but I think I know what it's all about and it's not anything I would enjoy watching or doing.

It's crossdressing, but not as I know it. Though I'm not criticising: if you enjoy watching or doing it, then that's great.

[Katherine L.]

I have been to a drag show or watched a TV show about it and it’s not for me.

[Maggie3210]

I am a 3-4. Enjoy RuPaul's show. I have never been to real drag show, but would like to go to one sometime.
When I was may 14, I went to Kings Island amusement park with my friend and his family. While there, we went to one of the saloon shows with dancing girls. Some how when they asked for volunteers to come up on stage, my friends family volunteered me. They took me back stage and dolled me up in a showgirls costume, the made me come out on stage. I was horribly embarrassed, but loved every minute of it. I wish I could have kept the dress!

[Charlotte Haynes]

Colour me 5. I watch Drag Race and the UK and Canadian versions. My partner loves it. If I could learn to move with a bit more fluidity, I'd love to do it.

[Julie MA]

Alexiss,
Jacques?
Julie