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She Done Already Done Had Herses; The Dialect of Drag Queens

Drag: to quote Rupaul, “Aren’t we all just mens in wigs?” Simply, drag is the art of female impersonation. This is usually seen by men dressing as women, with varying styles and levels of realism. It is a performance art as well, with the “queens” as they are called lipsynching to various songs, usually by a female artist. It is a highly visual medium of art, with the makeup, wardrobe and movement of the queen displaying her personality. Aesthetics do not always suffice, and many queens are also comedians.

What is Drag?

The drag community is a subset of the LGBT+ community. Drag queens are frequently gay men, though there are many trans women or non-binary people who perform as drag queens. The idea of “female” impersonation is sometimes challenged as well, with some queens refusing to fully conceal their masculinity while embracing some femininity. It becomes a creative way to explore and challenge societal expectations of gender. This stray from the rigid gender binary has caused some controversy among queens.

As a community, drag queens do not necessarily share a common goal, instead they are grouped by their shared medium of performance. They mentor each other and help each other to improve their art. There is more of a connection between drag queens than other performers, like actors, as the community is smaller and not as widely known or accepted. Rampant homophobia has prevented most drag queens from breaking into the mainstream, though shows like “Rupaul’s Drag Race”, and the presence of social media has changed this threshold. Recent legislation in the United States has also allowed for more equality for the LGBT community, and this further reduces the barriers.

Herstory of Drag

Drag began as early as the late 1800’s as a way to mock women. It remained this way until the 1930’s when it began to be associated with the LGBT community and less with making women the butt of a joke. In the 1930’s, gay bars began to emerge, and in these drag started to be performed. There was a large government crackdown on the LGBT community in the 1950’s and 60’s, in which men would be arrested for wearing women’s clothing. The drag scene began to become mainstream in the 80’s, but remained relatively underground until recently. I largely credit Rupaul’s Drag Race with bringing drag to the mainstream.

Rupaul’s Drag Race is  reality TV show where drag queens compete for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar by completing a series of challenges. It is an excellent mix of a competition style show with drama filled reality TV. The show makes many references to the history of drag. A fan favourite challenge, the reading challenge, is always introduced as, “In the great tradition of Paris is Burning, reading is fundamental.” Paris is Burning and the 80’s NYC drag scene is also referenced in the Ball challenge each season. A theme is given, and then three looks are shown in a runway style and judged based on how they fit the theme. This is not exactly how the Ball circuit operates, but it is a modification that brings the idea of the Ball to the mainstream.

The Ball Circuit

The Ball Circuit is fully demonstrated in the film Paris is Burning (available on Netflix for your viewing pleasure!) The documentary follows balck NYC drag queens in the late 1980’s. It goes into detail of the Ball system. In the Ball, there are many categories in which somebody can “walk”, meaning compete. These include dancing, like vogueing, or a certain style of dress. These styles of dress are described as “realness”. The goal is to be as realistic as possible for the category provided, as in Executive Realness meaning dress exactly as an executive. Not all categories require drag, but it is a crucial element. The queens compete as part of  “house”, like the House of Extravaganza, or more recently, the Haus of Aja. They compete as a team, but outside the balls act as a family. Many LGBT people have been disowned by their families, especially people of colour, so they find family in their community and in their house.

Okay, But What About Drag Queen Slang?

So we have covered the herstory of drag, and Paris is Burning, but what is reading? Among the drag community, there are various significant terms with definitions other than those found in the common English language. These include;

Reading (v): to read is to insult somebody in a comedic way, an example is, “Jiggly Caliente, you’re such a fat slut after sex you smoke hams.” (Sharon Needles)

Fishy (adj): if a queen is fishy, it means she could pass as a woman. The opposite of this is a butch queen, who looks very unrealistic.

She Done Already Done Had Herses (?): the meaning of this is unknown. Rupaul said it on Drag Race to replace the “She-mail” phrase, but Ru herself has never stated a clear meaning.

Beat (n,v,adj): as a verb, to beat your face means to do your makeup. As an adjective, saying somebody is beat, means their makeup is done very well. Somebody’s beat can also mean their face.

Mug (n): a person’s face, usually with a good beat

Cliffhangers (n): when somebody is wearing an open toed shoe that is too small and their toes hang over the edge, they are referred to as cliffhangers, because it appears as though the toes are hanging off a cliff.

Sickening (adj): amazing, usually referring to the appearance of something or someone

Tuck (n,v): to tuck is to take the penis and testes and pull them back and up towards to rectum to imitate the appearance of a vagina. A tuck is the result of this act.

Shade (n): a negative remark made about somebody, but not necessarily in a comedic way. To throw shade is to made these comments.

Shady (adj): describes a person who frequently throws shade.

Campy (adj): exaggerated and unrealistic. A more traditional drag style that does not strive for realism or femininity. Campy queens tend to be more comedic, as they do not rely on aesthetics alone.

Clock (v): to notice a flaw

Kai-Kai (n,v): sex, specifically between two drag queens

Ki-Ki (n): a conversations consisting solely of gossip, two people “have a ki-ki”, meaning they gossipped.

Slay (n): similar to the common slang of “killing” something, it means to do very well at

Tea (n): gossip

Werk (n): an expression for when somebody is doing something very well

Ideally, if I say “Yas queen werk your mug is beat! Slay queen! You’re sickening! You’re unclockable!” it should make sense.

Drag and Me

I am not a drag queen, which is rather obvious because I am not a gay man so I cannot be one. I was introduced to drag fairly recently through social media and my friends. I love drag as an idea and the amount of artistic expression or humour that can be conveyed through drag. I think drag is evolving as the idea of gender in our society is changing. It is becoming less rigid in what can and cannot be done. It is evolving past just female impersonation, and is becoming about bending the concept of gender.

Two of my favourite queens are both winners of Rupaul’s Drag Race, Bianca Del Rio and Sasha Velour. Bianca Del Rio won season 6 of drag race and is a campy comedy queen. I’ve been fortunate enough to see her live, and she is absolutely hysterical. She is unapologetically offensive yet balances it so well with her humour. She also works out of drag as a costumer in NYC. Sasha Velour is from Brooklyn, New York, and won the most recent season of Drag Race. She is not a comedy queen, and instead uses drag for artistic expression and as a way to play with gender. She is a bald queen and does not always wear wigs, doing so to honour her mother who died from cancer. These queens are just a small example of the wide variety in the drag world.

To Conclude

Drag is a diverse form of self expression largely associated with the LGBT community. Historically, it has been shamed and looked down upon, but recently it has gained more positive attention. There is a distinct dialect among drag queens that is not widely used, though many terms are beginning to become more common. Drag has changed over time as society’s perception of gender has become less rigid, and is used to challenge traditional gender norms. Drag Queens may seem like they are just mens in wigs, but what they bring to the world is much more than that.