Dressing in drag is nothing new
From the ancient Greeks to Shakespeare, men dressing as women is something men have always done.
Kayla Watson explores how dressing in drag became part of our popular culture.
She writes:
In modern society, drag is usually defined as a performance with the use of exaggerated facial features of a specific gender role for entertainment purposes.
In recent decades, drag has been often associated with being part of the gay culture, but this, however, has not always been the case.
Drag can be traced as far back as ancient Greece. In many of their theatres, women were not allowed to perform on stage. Therefore male actors played women onstage.
This can also be seen in many of their religious ceremonies where men were expected to dress as women.
According to various sources, there is the same controversy around this fact, as it can be more clearly seen as a developing art form in the 1800s to mid-1900s in the pantomime dames who were the female impersonators.
These performances first appeared in Shakespeare’s tragedies and Italian operas as a form of comic relief.
These characters were used for shock and storytelling in many ways including improvisation.
So, although drag has evolved and changed into what we know it today, it can be traced back to what is generally perceived as the beginning of Western civilisation.
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