The Similarities Between Drag and Hip Hop

This is probably going to end up being my most esoteric and academic posting, but screw it. I think this is interesting.

So, last night my husband and I were talking about drag shows. We agreed that everyone should see a few in there life. They are entertaining first and foremost. They are the American equivalent to Kabuki. And, mainly, they just make you laugh.

Now, on a deeper level, drag does many things. There are also many types of drag. I'll delve into all of this. But, first a small antecdote. I have been a fan of drag for a long time. Personally, I have almost always enjoyed camp, satire, and ironic commentary. An appreciation of these things is essential to enjoying drag. In Dayton, Ohio there was a club I went to very often called "Celebrity". This was one of 2 gay clubs in the city. Celebrity had some great drag shows. Most of the drag fell into the lip-synch a diva's song category. You would watch and laugh and generally participate in the shenanigans. Seeing many shows there for such a long time gave me an appreciation for good drag and a keen eye in spotting bad drag.

So, there are several types of drag. They include; good drag, bad drag on purpose, scene drag, music drag, and gender illusion. Let me explain. Good drag is over the top femininity with glamorous gowns. Bad drag on purpose is looking messy or "real" for comedic effect (i.e. Divine, Kiki and Herb), scene drag is the lip-synching or acting out of classic scenes featuring over the top women (i.e. Mommie Dearest), music drag works the same way as scene drag (i.e. Cher, Judy, Liza, et. al.), and gender illusion is the most confusing, it is typically standard drag for the purpose of contests and pageants.

Now, I said something at the top where I said drag and hip-hop have similarities. The main similarity they have is that unlike many other forms of creativity, they do not live in a vacuum. They constantly comment on the society they live in. Hip-hop many times uses the music video genre to comment on films, TV, and other pop culture detrius. Drag does the same thing.

There is a term in literary criticism called "informing the text". This is when outside influences, history, or just time change how we look at the piece of work. Drag does this constantly. Any song or scene that is acted out, is changed by the drag performance. Many times it illuminates unseen comedy, pathos, or subtext not seen in the original piece.

I encourage anyone who has never seen a drag show to check one out. It's worth the price and is a definite artistic experience. Leave your preconceptions at the door.