Photo Credit: Instagram @babylove.nyc
RuPaul always says, “We are all born naked and the rest is drag.” But, what does that mean and what is drag?
People typically think of drag as a queer man dressed up as a woman, and while that is true to an extent, there is more to drag than just that. Drag is an art and a form of self expression. Trixie Mattel said, “…drag can involve [anyone] dressing up, wearing crazy makeup, gender crossing or having a persona or fictional character,” in an article from Them Magazine. The drag world is not only exclusively queens, but also includes drag kings, drag things, trans women, trans men, and non-binary people. In a world with limitations, in the drag world, there are none. If someone can think it, they can be it.
There is something that is undeniable about drag shows and it is the feelings that the audience may experience while and after watching, whether it is confusion, joy, curiosity, happiness or arousal; these feelings were evoked by the performer. Seeing people dressed in different ways that bend the gender binary as they know it can make the crowd question themselves in ways they have never done before. These questions can be about their own sexual orientation, their own gender identity, and what gender is to them. Though the queer community may seem as if it is outside of the world’s binary, there are still binaries at play within it. Drag can help deconstruct that. While labels are good and help people understand themselves and others around them, sometimes people cannot see outside of that.
It is important for members of the LGBTQ+ community to see the openness, freedom, and diversity that drag performances bring with them. It is important to see things people have never seen before, and to experience the greatness of it all.
“We are all born naked, and the rest is drag” is something that may confuse people because it is obvious. We all come into this world with no clothes on. But, to say the rest is drag? It is an interesting thing to think about, since clothing is something people can use to feel comfortable, as a function of weather, and even to make a statement. I think RuPaul is saying that we should not take ourselves so seriously, and that “the rest” is whatever we want it to be.
