Pre-production research: Queer/Drag history

Drag and Queer culture has been apart of society for many decades and only recently has started to be accepted by mainstream viewers. In England, men (often boys) playing women's roles became an institutionalised mainstay of the Elizabethan playhouse of the early 1600's (The Drag Queen Anthology:The Absolutely Fabulous but Flawlessly Customary World of Female Impersonators)

Drag Queen - traditionally a man who dresses in women's clothing and makeup with exaggerated personalities and femininity for the purpose of entertainment.

Queer - an umbrella term for anyone who isn't cisgender (your gender identity matches the sex you were born with) or heterosexual(you're attracted to the opposite sex). 

1500's

The Buggery Act in 1533 made sodomy a capital offence for the first time in English law, it was exported to all British colonies. (Gender Speaker)

1800's-1900's

Madam Pattrini

In the 1800's cross dressing and drag queen shows have been popular among men like Brigham Morris Young who made a successful career in drag as Madam Pattrini, despite being the son of a major figure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

William Julian Dalton

Other famous drag queens in this time were, Francis Leon who performed as either 'The Only Leon' or 'Leon', William Julian Dalton the first 'ambisextrous' drag queen who presented as very masculine off stage but would actively try to pass as feminine on stage.
Even though cross-dressing was popular among men in the 1800's it was still a source of prosecution and regular arrests. One such occassion where this happened was in Manchester in 1880, 47 gentlemen were arressted for hiring a ballroom and using it for "one of the foulest and most disgraceful orgies that ever disgraced any town" (This Is What A Drag Ball Was Like In The 1880s Bust). 

Half of the men were dressed as women while everyone was engaged chiefly in grotesque dances, such as familiar at low-class music-halls, even worse in Victorian standards was what the men did while they weren't dancing certain proceedings which were seen in an ante-room adjoining the dancing-room and the retiring room carefully hidden, into which they seemed to have gone in twos.
After observing the men the police used the code word 'Sister' to gain entry into the hall, after a struggle and the assistance of some working men near by all the men were arrested despite trying to escape through the window. The men were charged with soliciting and inciting each other to commit, improper actions. The magistrate at the time was glad to learn that the great majority of the men came from places at a distance—ten being from Sheffield—and he sincerely regretted that some of the prisoners were Manchester men.” The newspapers printed all 47 of the names of the men. In the end the men had to bind the defendants over in two sureties of £25 each to be of good behaviour for twelve months, or in default to be imprisoned for three months

Other cases similar to this is the Thomas Ernest Boulton and Frederick William Park who made headlines across the country for incitement to commit and unnatural offence, they were later acquitted.



1900's-2000's

During the 1920's and 30's LGBT bars and meeting places started to appear, this started what is known as the 'Pansy Craze'

(Dates taken from StoneWall website)

1951   

• Roberta Cowell is the first known British trans woman to undergo reassignment surgery and have her birth certificate changed.

1958

• The Homosexual Law Reform Society is founded to campaign for the legalisation of same-sex relationships in the UK.

1964  

• The North Western Homosexual Law Reform Committee (NWHLRC) is founded to promote legal and social equality for lesbians, gay men and bi people.

1969  

• North West Homosexual Law Reform Committee becomes a UK-wide organisation and is renamed as the Committee for Homosexual Equality (CHE). The Committee attracts support from leading figures in the medical profession, the arts and the church.

• The Stonewall riots in America - a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the LGBT community against a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, Manhattan. This key event triggers the modern LGBT liberation movement in the US and beyond.

Marsha P Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson was an African-American trans woman and LGBTQ+ rights activist as well as being an advocate for trans people of colour. She spearheaded the Stonewall riots with Sylvia Rivera and went on to establish the Street Transvestite (now Transgender) Action Revolutionaries, a group who help homeless trans youth in New York City. (Taken from Marsha's Bio)

S.T.A.R

STAR started after a sit in at New York University in the 70's, to protest the school admins cancelling a dance because it was sponsored by a gay organisation. It brought together a lot of gay groups including 'Radicalesbians'. They succeeded in getting the dance back. Marsha and Sylvia saw that the needs of street youth and trans youth weren't being considered by other group and founded STAR to fill this gap. Their first house opened in a parking lot and functioned as a shelter and social space, and ended up becoming a house years later. It was the first LGBT youth shelter in North America and first trans woman of colour led organisation in the US. (Information taken from Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries found STAR House)

1972  

• The first Pride is held in London, attracting approximately 2,000 participants.
• Gay News, Britain’s first gay newspaper is founded.

1980

• Sex between two men over the age of 21 ‘in private’ is decriminalised in Scotland.

RuPaul

RuPaul started performing with his friends and roommate in the East Village area. His confidence on stage meant he was a hit club dancer and by the end of the 80's he was dubbed the 'Queen of New York'

In 1991 he signed a recording contract and has had multiple hits as well as duets with Elton John. He has been a strong presence in bring drag to a modern mainstream audience.

1983

• UK Crown Dependency, Guernsey, decriminalises sex between two men.
• Men who have sex with men are asked not to donate to UK blood banks amid the AIDS crisis

1986

• Mark Rees, a trans-man, brings a case to the European Court of Human Rights, stating that UK law prevented him from gaining legal status recognising him as male. The case was lost but the court noted the seriousness of the issues facing trans people.

1988  

• UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, introduces Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988. The Act states that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".

1991  

• Sir Ian McKellen meets UK Prime Minister John Major - the first time any sitting Prime Minister has met with LGBT activists

1995 

• Mermaids is founded by a group of parents brought together by their children’s longstanding gender issues. The UK charity offers appropriate resources to young people, their families and carers, and professionals working with gender variant young people.

1999

• Trans Day of Remembrance  is founded in the USA, and then later in the UK and worldwide, to memorialise those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia and to bring attention to the continued violence endured by the trans community.

From the 1950's to the 1960's the American public started cracking down on the LGBT community, in order for a man in drag to not be arrested he had to be wearing at least 3 items of male clothing. It was also in this time that Drag Balls became common and drag queens would form houses with the 'mother' being the head drag queen. In the 80's Drag became a mainstream phenomenon where drag queens were being featured on TV shows and in films. Drag Queen Divine starred as Tracy's mother in the movie-musical 'Hairspray'.

2000's-now

2000

• The UK Government lifts the ban on lesbians, gay men and bi people serving in the armed forces.
• Legislation is introduced to repeal Section 28 in England and Wales. The bill is defeated. Scotland abolishes Section 28. It remains in place in England and Wales

2002  

• Equal rights are granted to same-sex couples applying for adoption.
• Brian Dowling becomes the first openly gay children’s TV presenter in the UK.
• Alan Duncan becomes the first Conservative MP to be open about his sexual orientation, without being coerced.

2003  

• Section 28 is repealed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, lifting the ban on local authorities from ‘the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality’.

2004  

• The Civil Partnership Act 2004 is passed, granting civil partnership in the United Kingdom. The Act gives same-sex couples the same rights and responsibilities as married straight couples in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
• The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is passed giving trans people full legal recognition in their appropriate gender. The Act allows trans people to acquire a new birth certificate, although gender options are still limited to ‘male’ or ‘female’.

2008  

• The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 recognises same-sex couples as legal parents of children conceived through the use of donated sperm, eggs or embryos. 
• Gendered Intelligence (GI) is founded in the UK to increase the understanding of gender diversity.

2010

• The Equality Act 2010 officially adds gender reassignment as a protected characteristic

2011  

• The Department of Health lifts the lifetime ban on gay and bi men donating blood, although a 12-month celibacy clause is still in place in order for men who have sex with men to be eligible to donate.

2013  

• Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act is passed in England and Wales.
• Alan Turing is given a posthumous royal pardon for his conviction of ‘gross indecency’ which resulted in his being chemically castrated and later committing suicide

2017

• The UK Supreme Court rules that the discrimination against same-sex couples on pensions rights needs to end immediately. 
• The Department of Health reduces the deferral period for gay and bi men wishing to donate blood from 12 months to three months.

In the modern day drag has been pulled into the mainstream spotlight, being available on multiple platforms drag has exploded in popularity. You tubers and instagrammers are doing drag challenges and collaborating while getting millions of views. Now more then ever drag is being shared and celebrated by the world.

“We’re dealing with people who have been shunned by society and have made a life regardless of what anyone else thinks of them have decided,” RuPaul says. “It shows the tenacity of the human spirit, which each of us watching relates to. And we root for them. I think that’s what’s so captivating about it, seeing how these beautiful creatures have managed to prevail.” (RuPaul in the Guardian). 

While the general public seems to have accepted drag and the LGBT community there are still incidents where it isn't as accepting as it seems. There is still room to grow in terms of acceptance and understanding with the new publicity of Drag Kings etc. coming out.

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I found this research important as;

• It highlighted why it's so important for a doc like our to be made, it's aim is to bring light to the different aspects of drag and educate people further
• It's given me an understanding of how much of an integrated part of society it actually is as drag has been around for decades
• It's also shown me how much of an aversion people can have to something different

I'll use this in my pre-production package by; acknowledging my audience and making sure we're not forcing information at them, it's important for our format to be user friendly but get the message across too.

I'll also ensure that the history that's behind drag isn't lost in our message or delivery as the journey to present day is just as important as where we are currently at with acceptance and understanding.