Drag is the practice of dressing and acting in styles typically associated with another gender, usually exaggeratedly so and for entertainment value. Drag queens portray women and drag kings portray men. Drag performer is the gender-neutral term.
Drag and impersonation are more strongly determined by the nature of the costume and performance than by the performer’s gender identity or sex.
Drag is not synonymous with but is sometimes considered a type of male or female impersonation, in which performances may be spoofs of a specific person or character or may be more subdued than a drag performance.
Not synonymous with transgender, though some drag performers may identify as such, or with cross-dresser. See cross-dresser.
Updated September 2023