Drag Performers' Perspectives on the Mainstreaming of British Drag: Towards a Sociology of Contemporary Drag. (February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: McCormack, Mark; Wignall, Liam
• Is Part Of: Sociology. Volume 56:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 3
• Page End: 20
• Publication Date: 2022-02
• Subjects: celebrity -- culture -- drag -- drag queen -- heteronormativity -- LGBT -- mainstreaming -- performance -- sexualities; Sociology -- Periodicals; Sociology -- Periodicals; Sociologie -- Périodiques; Sociologie; Electronic journals; 301.05
• DOI: 10.1177/00380385211008387
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0038-0385

Abstract

Drag performance has entered mainstream British culture and is gaining unprecedented appreciation and recognition, yet no sociological accounts of this transformation exist. Using an inductive analysis of in-depth interviews with 25 drag performers, alongside netnography of media and other public data, this article develops a sociological understanding of the mainstreaming of drag. There are two clear reasons for the success of drag. First, there is a pull towards drag: it is now seen as a viable career opportunity where performers receive fame rather than social stigma in a more inclusive social zeitgeist, even though the reality is more complex. Second, there is a push away from other creative and performing arts because heteronormative perspectives persist through typecasting and a continued professional stigma associated with drag. In calling for a sociology of drag, future avenues for research on contemporary drag are discussed, alongside the need for the sociology of cultural and creative industries to incorporate sexuality as both a subject and analytic lens.