drag queen

noun

plural drag queens

: a person and especially a man who performs as an entertainer in usually female drag (see drag entry 3 sense 2a)

Drag queens, who are traditionally male, dress in "drag" as female characters.

—Laura Wavra

For the past decade, (basically since RuPaul started Drag Race) traditional drag queens (ie, cis men performing as female characters) have been blowing up in the popular zeitgeist …

—Brittany Knupper

Drag is not simply female impersonation, but involves drag queens exaggerating femininity and drag kings exaggerating masculinity.

—Shannon Kelly

[Victoria] Sin is a female-bodied non-binary drag queen, examining how Western ideals of femininity are produced and consumed.

—Amrou Al-Kadhi

They are a black, non-binary drag queen with a beard in a part of the country that has a reputation for being anti-LGBTQ+.

—Bailey Shelton

Examples of drag queen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Its tables served everyone in Detroit, from the city’s first Black mayor to its drag queens to Jewish families seeking Christmas meals. —Troy Aidan Sambajon, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Dec. 2024

Thrift store finds, peel-and-stick wallpaper and flooring, drag queen inspiration: Decorating a small apartment in L.A. As an art director with a background in theater, Mary Kenny has a flair for interior design that rivals her skills as an event planner in the entertainment industry. —Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024

During one portion of the performance, Queen brought out drag queens to vogue along to the music. —Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 2 Dec. 2024

There is no one who knows makeup the way a drag queen knows makeup. —Taylor Alxndr, Them, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1941, in the meaning defined above