Drag Performers' Perspectives on the Mainstreaming of British Drag: Towards a Sociology of Contemporary Drag
Dados Bibliográficos
AUTOR(ES) | |
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AFILIAÇÃO(ÕES) | University of Roehampton, Bournemouth University, UK |
ANO | 2022 |
TIPO | Artigo |
PERIÓDICO | Sociology |
ISSN | 0038-0385 |
E-ISSN | 1469-8684 |
EDITORA | SAGE Publications |
DOI | 10.1177/00380385211008387 |
CITAÇÕES | 4 |
ADICIONADO EM | 2025-08-18 |
Resumo
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.