Drag: Performing for More than Tips [VIDEO]
Whether in a rural town or a sprawling city, you don’t have to look far for one of the most liberating forms of late night entertainment. With loud beats, flashy light shows, and on-point dance routines, drag shows bring on the good times (and hangovers) in a truly No Judgment Zone. Often LGBTQ-identifying, drag performers strut their stuff with hopes of loud applause and a pocketful of dollars.
For some performers, however, drag is more than a fun way to make some extra cash.
Transgender and genderqueer drag kings and queens often perform drag for the confidence to express gender in their own terms. For those who fall somewhere between boy and girl, drag celebrates individual expression of gender without the need to pick labels or choose checkboxes. By challenging outdated gender binary thinking, it opens doors to a wide spectrum of gender identities that blur the lines between masculine and feminine, male and female. Drag allows for nonjudgmental expression, encourages exploration of gender, and—in some cases—saves lives.
University of Georgia graduate Emma Marticke won Campus Best Drama in Campus Movie Fest 2012 for her short film Beyond Our Bodies. Just under five minutes, Beyond Our Bodies profiles the lives of three young people living in Athens, Georgia whose lives have been forever changed because of drag.
Check out the video here:
Jennifer Hicks is a Communications Intern for Campus Progress.
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