What is Drag?

(From left) Maya the Drag Queen, Miss Bhenji, and Lush Monsoon.

It is all about shape-shifting. Maya the Drag Queen is trying to explain drag. Maya wears saris, wigs and makeup in her performative art which has been honed over the last nine years. Hello Kuttis and Kuttans is how she greets her audience before getting into the act. She literally towers on stage, standing tall at over six feet and very often, people find her formidable. Alex Mathew, a PR and marketing executive, on the other hand, is soft spoken and has a gentle demeanour. This dichotomy highlights the essence of drag — shape-shifting and transformation of Mathew into Maya.

We are discussing drag, drag queens and the conversations one should be having about it, especially now, when the community has opened out to others. "Only recently has the community sought to bring niche culture into the mainstream," notes Lush Monsoon, aka Ayushmaan, a drag performer and human rights lawyer based in New Delhi. "This change in mindset coincided with the legalisation of homosexuality. As society began to accept homosexuality, drag found its place."

Lush Monsoon, aka Ayushmaan.

Drag performers emphasise that their art is accessible to everyone. "Anyone can do it," affirms Miss Bhenji aka Nilay Joshi, a drag queen from Bengaluru. "If you don a costume and perform, it is drag." However, the definition of drag extends beyond simplistic notions of men portraying women or vice versa. Lush Monsoon argues that labels are being deconstructed daily, and it is best not to confine drag to gender stereotypes. “Historically, people have engaged in drag, transcending traditional boundaries.”

So far, drag queens and kings have been associated with the LGBTQIA+ community and it has been mistakenly assumed that trans people do drag. Like other queer communities, drag performers have faced judgement, hurtful comments, and queerphobia from outsiders. But drag radiates a special message. Be it Maya the Drag Queen, Lush Monsoon or Miss Bhenji, all of them speak of ‘belonging,’ ‘freedom’ and ‘self-expression’ when talking about drag. Drag empowers performers to be whomever they desire to be. When drag queens engage with the audience, the intention is not always to deliver preachy messages. Lush Monsoon states, "It's actually fun. My day job involves serious advocacy for LGBTQ rights, particularly housing rights. Embodying an avatar that doesn't take itself seriously provides relief. Drag teaches me this."

Drag performers are hopeful for the day when the freedom to be themselves isn’t relegated only to their performance on the stage. It should extend to every aspect of life. To achieve this, they assert that drag is about the art rather than gender. A cis man performing drag should be as normal as a queer person performing drag. “Let me explain this,” Maya says. “Drag is my art and queer is my identity. Let’s not conflate the art form with gender or sexuality.”

On stage, Maya can belt out Beyonce songs, perform the many personas of Bollywood diva Rekha, and spirited kuthu dance performances. Lush Monsoon, who chose the name lush to embrace body positivity, embodies diva-like energy on some days when feeling ultra-feminine, while embracing a gender-fluid, campy, and artistic persona on other days. “We work with the energy of the audience.” Drag may not have arrived where it should in pop culture although Bollywood heroines like Rekha, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit have done commendable drag performances on screen despite having had to accentuate their femininity. Most of the performers still face issues. They are almost always asked questions like: Are you trans? Will you be having a sex-change operation? Why are you so loud? and more on those lines. Performers have been touched, their wigs pulled, objectified, and in one case, a drunk member of the audience got his cigarette close to Maya’s face just for ‘fun’.

Miss Bhenji, aka Nilay Joshi.

Miss Bhenji has trained herself not to get affected by the comments but it’s not just during live performances. Online, there is trolling and abusive comments. “Delete and block is all I do,” Maya says. “I am getting low on tolerance for such things.”

Outside the realm of performance, drag queens have it tough. Mathew faced opposition from his parents who ultimately reconciled with his identity and art and today, his mother frequently helps him with his costumes. He talks of having lost two-three jobs once the employers knew about him. Ayushmaan is fearful of colleagues taking him frivolously as a lawyer because of his drag performances. Drag queens find it challenging to find venues for performances. Nightclubs like Kitty Su have been encouraging yet gigs have not been regular. Making a living out of drag is unheard of. “No way can anyone make a living from drag performances,” Maya claims, “which is why most of us have a day job.” A seasoned drag queen like Maya will probably be paid twenty thousand for a gig. Younger drag queens may get 5 – 10 thousand for a gig and sometimes, new entrants aren’t paid anything at all under the pretext of giving them good exposure. “That’s rubbish!” Maya exclaims. In such a grim scenario, pandemic wrought havoc although, believe it or not, helped some of the drag queens improve their performance. For instance, Miss Bhenji’s online gigs helped polish her performance and the ample downtime was spent in learning to apply makeup. “In drag, costumes and make up are very important.” She focuses on her performances and feels that some night clubs prefer hiring those who look good rather than those who perform well. “I am not booked as much as I should. That has been my main issue because there are not many platforms for drag.”

Maya the Drag Queen, aka Mathew.

Maya has encountered repetitive inquiries on dating apps, primarily concerning her physical attributes. “Most messages are about my body parts. For instance, one of the questions I am asked a lot is if I have boobs. How about starting with a hello?” This is the same for most drag performers who have to grapple with coming out as well. “People think drag is about hiding who you are but drag reveals who you actually are,” Lush Monsoon proclaims.

For most drag queens, be it Maya, Betta Naan Stop, Laila Gulabi, Rani Ko-He-Nur, Lush Monsoon or Miss Bhenji, conversations about them should be rooted in genuine interest and without any preconceived prejudices. “Things are changing, people are becoming more supportive, and more venues are opening,” Lush Monsoon says, “but all of these are still restricted to the upper class. Drag will never be mainstream until and unless it reaches all sections of society.” Entertainment and fashion industries too are unsure what to do with drag. Should they be on the cover of a magazine or model for makeup? In 2019, Lush Monsoon was featured in Vogue India along with Maya and few other drag artists, an affirming step towards recognition. “Previously, what we did was never taken as fashion.” Slowly but surely, drag is being celebrated and has come a long way from being considered as the domain of hijras or meant ‘Chandler’s mom’.