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

For these drag queen guests, Daisy plans a drag show with Keith and Gary. —Emma Soren, Vulture, 14 Jan. 2025

There's this backlash against drag queens and against trans people. —H. Alan Scott, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025

The British drag queen died over the weekend, their manager Simon Jones confirmed in a statement posted to Instagram. —Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025

And, by the way, drag queens make the world a better place, more beautiful and fun. —Lanna Apisukh, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1941, in the meaning defined above