Folklore scholarship frames folk groups as a set of people who share the same interests, values, and experiences (Sims and Stephens, 2011). These can be mundane and ordinary, or be a special and unique ritual or tradition. Drag can be considered both customary and material folklore, which Sims and Stephens describe as behavioral or ritual and with use of items. The components which make it customary folklore are the process of developing a drag identity, dressing up, and performing. Sims and Stephens explain that ritual can involve costumes, pageantry, and mystery, all of which are exemplified by drag performance culture. Drag is material folklore because of the costuming - the makeup, clothing, jewelry, wigs, and shoes.
Membership into the folk group of drag queens is one that requires acceptance from other members, as drag queens new to the scene can be harassed and rejected by established queens (Moncrieff and Lienard, 2017). Drag can also be considered an art form, as it does involve costuming for stage performance, which Horowitz (2013) critiques as likened to a play. Although some drag queens emulate celebrities of popular culture, and others perform lip-syncs, to popular music, drag is typically not considered to be part of popular culture, because it does exist primarily in the non-normative realm of LGBTQ+ sexuality and queer gender community. Drag queens share tips and community because this group is not necessarily always accepted into the larger LGBTQ community, although their performances typically occur at LGBTQ bars and clubs (Taylor and Rupp, 2004).
Drag is folklore with layers. It can be categorized broadly as a whole, or more specific into drag queens and kings, drag shows (performance, competition), a subcategory of the LGBTQI+ community, and more. While it can be and is disputed, drag is primarily done by gay men, but it is also done by transgender and transsexual individuals who are in the process of or learning about transition (Horowitz, 2013). As time progresses, individuals of other genders and sexualities are trying drag too. Mainstream drag is making this “costuming” exactly that - costume - and bringing it to popular culture where this form of folklore is evolving.
Sims and Stephens describe folklore as that which is creative communication within a culture, and contains a particular vernacular (language, objects, practices). Drag queens exist as a folk group which has these special (or specific) elements, all of which are also dynamic and static (Sims and Stephens, 2011), meaning that while the idea, purpose, status, and reception of drag queens may have been similar throughout time, other aspects have changed drastically. Creating and navigating group identity as drag queens happens on an esoteric level, since knowledge and tips are shared within this folk group, however, identification with the broader LGBTQ+ community would be considered exoteric since “folk life is community life,” and drag culture is considered a sub-community (Sims and Stephens, 2011).
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