Kyle J McAuley
Theme/Concept With the drastic changes made to the world with the coronavirus’ impact. It made such a limit to many of societys forms of entertainment. Specifically the art form of Drag. The art has been put on a hold and been forced to soley a digital standpoint. Will this method be the most beneficial? Will the arts ever touch the live stage light again? By exploring this further it can be further researched upon the industries best to prevail in such hard times and hear from some of the UKs best drag artists to explore the digital adaptation. With the industry facing such a drastic change, a lot of other issues arise within the art form and more and more people start to see the lack of diverse representation within the drag community on larger platforms. Through study it has been known Drag is a male originated art, reigning from the Roman theatres (B.C) where men would play all of the roles. This escalated further into homosexuality being known and as years went on, the art of drag has grew from a secluded secretitive expression into a mainstream, cultural phenomenon. Through the use of social media and the show “Ru Pauls Drag Race� we have a platform for drag artists to express themselves. However with this franchise there has been several controversies of women and trans people not being able to showcase their talents. Drag is a universal subject and it can be done by anyone. For a large platform to deny women and trans individuals the platform men get it creates a huge controversy and creates the stereotype that drag is a male dominated art. As well as the contradiction upon the art. Drag would not be what it is without women, to deny them the same platform as men is infuriating and goes against the entire point of the art - to celebrate women.
Practitioners Who can participate in the art of drag? You might be wondering this and why anyone would want to do drag? The answer is simple, Anyone can. It is simply an expression of ones creativity, gender/sex does not have any role in determining ones right to express themselves creatively. Drag involves so many aspects of creativity. From Theatre Performance, Dance background, Makeup Artistry, Hair styling and so much more. By combining all of these together it is Drag. People do Drag as an escape and a way to express themselves in the best way possible. Anyone can participate in the art - female, male, non-binary etc. Its an expression and we have no limitations to how people should express themselves. When most participate they also find themselves drawn to a certain persona. Most typically people get categorised in certain areas like comedy, dancing, serving looks and social media entertainer. A lot of people like to put people into boxes with Drag and limit them to one thing but in reality they do it all. Putting people into a box within their art makes no sense and also causes a lot of controversy within the community, mainly with it pitting against each other. Scotland has one of the most diverse drag scenes and there are so many different types of performers. It showcases so much diveristy and is a really close knit family that come together.
Culture of Drag Drag nowadays is a popular art and we can see it through so many Drag social media influencers, being featured in popular music videos, makeup brand ambassadors, walking the runways of fashion week and so much more. It is such a diverse and accepted art in todays day in age. With the television show Ru Pauls Drag Race it has brought so much joy and entertainment for such a large worldwide audience. This show which began in 2009 has really grown and showed the world drag should be accepted for all its glory. It was definately the kickstarter to Drag Queens becoming celebrities in this era. As well as Drag Race we have seen several other television shows release Queer programs which specify in the art of drag. Dragula - a horror themed competitive drag show which showcases the talents of performers and gives them exposure to greater success. And even shows like “All Dragged Up� - a makeover show which allows drag queens / kings to help out women across the country live their best lives through drag. It is very much a mainstream cultural subject and as society progresses so does the art of drag.