Drag conjures image of incredible wardrobe, hair, sand spectacular make-up, bold and daring men who break from form and bust out in style. While most believe the increasing popularity of drag shows in mainstream culture is a recent phenomenon, evidence of drag dates back in ancient Egypt, detailing men and women dressing as opposite gender expression for entertainment.
Drag has moved far beyond perceptions of smoky nightclubs and Netflix specials into daily life. The face work reflecting back from your makeup mirror has been shaped by drag culture.
“We’re all born naked, and the rest is drag.” - RuPaul
Apologies to Kardashian fans convinced that this squad created contouring. Certainly Kim's video tutorial on contouring cemented in social media minds that she'd created the technique, she did not. She did, however, popularize it. Former Kardashian makeup artist, Joyce Bonelli, confessed her techniques were largely inspired by “drag anything and everything.” And Mario Dedivanovic, another makeup artist for Kim Kardashian, also claims his techinques can be attributed to drag. While many believe the flawless airbrushed face, full eyebrows, highlighted and contoured cheeks and false eyelashes are a more recent look, the Instagram standard originated with the drag community.
Drag queens were the original look testers, experimenting with contour centuries ago, for two primary reasons. Largely a theatrical event, drag is distanced from audiences and bright lights. Technical skills was required for success on stage. So borrowing from theater, drag queens exaggerated their features so that stage lights wouldn’t blow out their faces across the performance space, and observers in the back of the house could see the performer. But beyond practical stage reasons, drag queens used makeup as a tool of transformation, much like every day make-up users do. We seek to accentuate the positive and downplay the negative, but for drag queens, makeup was freeing. They were liberated behind that makeup, and it allowed them to emerge as themselves. Techniques like contour offered a look that pushed cheek bones higher, refined jaw lines and thinned faces. And cut creases, baking, false lashes, and overlining lips can all trace their origin to drag. But drag influence isn’t simply tied to accentuating features and pushing boundaries, even natural looks and daily methods of application have been altered by drag culture.
Historically, drag queens didn’t have tutorials or social influencers for cosmetic secrets, rather they had peers, elders and drag mothers. This community that passed down tips, tricks, and methods often in the back rooms of bars and backstage spaces. Here, they learned and experimented, teaching one another artistic lessons, and developing the best ways to accomplish a desired look. Undoubtedly, the finished product may looked more theatrical than a day-to-day look, but as techniques were perfected by queens, they’ve become the building blocks we use every day. Drag queens’ theatrical looks inspired and shaped the techniques used by professional makeup artists, those makeup artists applied new ideas to celebrities, who in turn inspired the rest of us to emulate them. That’s how a drag queen (likely from Egypt) influenced the batwing eyeliner technique you use today. (Photo courtesy Alyssa Edwards)
For Queens (and Kings), drag is an art form, and their art has inspired change in the real world—impacting more than fashion and the beauty industries, but in societal attitude towards self-expression. From apparel and cosmetics to wigs, hair pieces and hair styes, drag continues to encourage us to look past entrenched norms and standards. Because aside from the glamour, pageantry, and artistry, drag has given us a front row, center stage opportunity to reconsider how these norms have played out in our own daily style and remember what impact this art form has had on our lives today.
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