'We're not strippers!': What to know about drag queens (and kings)

People get a lot wrong about drag queens, says Andy Spaulding of Fort Myers.

He should know. Spaulding is better known by his stage name, Alyssa Lemay, and he performs as a drag queen throughout Southwest Florida.

Drag shows are an art form, he says, and they’re meant to be fun and entertaining. You’re supposed to laugh at his huge wig, over-the-top mascara and fake breasts ― and also maybe ooh and ahh at his impressive collection of outfits.

“My goal is I want people to laugh,” Spaulding says. “I want to bring everyone in on the joke. We all laugh at the fact that everyone knows I’m a man in a dress. I’m a baritone. Trust me, you can tell.

“And I don’t try to cover up that I’m a man in a dress. I have fake boobs. I have fake hips. This all comes off at the end of the night.”

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Still, there’s a lot of misinformation out there about drag, which has been in the news lately with Republican leaders across the country banning children from attending drag shows (including a Florida bill expected to be signed into law any day now by Gov. Ron DeSantis).

That’s why we recently talked to several Southwest Florida drag performers and organizers of drag events. Here's what they had to say about drag, why people do it and what people just don't understand about the art form.

What is drag and what are drag queens?

Drag is a theatrical tradition that dates back for centuries, including the ancient Greeks and Shakespeare’s plays. Broadly speaking, it involves people dressing in makeup and clothing to portray a person of the opposite sex (or sometimes even the same sex).

Drag queens are even more exaggeratedly feminine with false breasts, towering wigs and heavy makeup. They’re characters ― traditionally (but not always) played by gay men ― who lip-sync to pop songs, tell jokes and emcee events.

“It’s the same as doing a stage show,” Spaulding says. “You get to take on another character and you just get to entertain people for two hours or so."

There are also drag kings — usually women who dress in male clothing and hairstyles in an exaggerated version of masculinity.

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When did drag get popular in the United States?

The art form gained ground in the United States after the Stonewall Riots in 1969. Drag queens helped protest a police raid on New York City's Stonewall Inn, a gay bar that also included drag shows.

The protest is widely seen as the start of the modern gay-rights movement.

Since then, drag has continued to grow in popularity. Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler and many other movie stars have performed in drag (as did an earlier generation that included Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Julie Andrews and even Ronald Reagan). The reality TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is preparing for its 16th season. And drag is featured heavily in popular musicals such “Kinky Boots,” “Matilda,” “Hairspray” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” (all featured in movie versions, as well).

Drag shows are hugely popular in Southwest Florida, too, with drag queens performing more raunchy, adult-oriented material at LGBTQ bars and clubs (including the ever-popular drag-queen bingo), and more "family-friendly" material at all-ages events such as drag-queen karaoke and LGBTQ Pride festivals and parades.

“It’s performance art,” says Annette Trossbach, artistic director of Fort Myers’ The Laboratory Theater of Florida, which often stages plays featuring people in drag. “It’s been enjoyed by millions.”

Are drag queens strippers?

Drag shows rarely involve nudity. In fact, quite the opposite: Drag queens usually wear even more clothing than most people, including elaborate ball gowns and, for drag kings, bindings to minimize their real breasts.

"Drag performers often wear more, not less, clothing than you’d see at Naples Beach," says Callhan Soldavini, a board member of Naples PrideFest organizers Naples Pride. "I have never seen nudity at a drag show. Drag doesn’t typically involve nudity or stripping. That’s a totally separate form of entertainment.”

Dominique Sierra of Cape Coral, who performs as drag king Nick D’Cuple, emphatically echoes that point.

“No, we’re not strippers!” she says. “I don’t know why they put us in that category.

“I’m binded and taped and I’ve got four layers of clothing on. You ain’t seeing NOTHING (laughs).”

Is drag the same thing as transgender?

Nope. They’re entirely different things.

“People absolutely combine the two: Transgender people and drag queens,” Spaulding says. “They’ve put those two in the exact same box.”

Sure, there are transgender people who perform in drag, Spaulding says. But not all drag queens are trans.

Drag is an art form meant to entertain people and provoke thought, he says. It’s much more personal for trans people, whose gender identity doesn’t match the sex they were identified as having at birth.

“Transgender people are just living their lives,” Spaulding says.

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Are drag shows sexually explicit?

It depends on the show.

Drag shows at gay nightclubs, drag-queen bingo and other adult-oriented events can be raunchy and feature skimpy clothing and sexual behavior. But that’s not all drag shows.

There are also public events where teens and small children might be present, including Pride parades and drag-queen karaoke. And for those, drag queens try to keep things clean.

They don't usually curse or do anything sexually suggestive, Spaulding says. And they tend to be more modestly dressed.

For public events like Naples PrideFest and Pride Cape Coral, drag performers are specifically told to avoid cursing, sexual innuendo and inappropriate clothing, Sierra says. “And we do that,” Sierra says. “Because we know there’s a time and a place."

Are drag queens trying to 'groom' kids?

Many drag critics talk about “grooming” and suggest that drag queens are trying to entice children to become LGBTQ.

Spaulding wants to deflate that belief, as well.

“This whole narrative of we’re grooming kids: Sorry, It’s absolute crap,” Spaulding says. “It’s a narrative they put together. …

“Besides being flat-out wrong, it’s stupid. If you really take a second to think about it, why would drag queens be going for kids? No. it really doesn’t make any sense. This is still a job.”

Sierra calls the whole idea of grooming “a crock.” People don’t just turn gay overnight.

“Just because you see a dude in a dress, it’s not gonna make you gay,” Sierra says. “When you’re gay, you know you’re gay. You’re not being groomed to be it.

"It’s in you already. I personally knew when I was 6 years old."

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Is there more to drag than just laughs and lip-syncing?

Oh yes. Drag queens entertain, but they also challenge how we think about gender, identity and personal expression.

"They entertain, at least on the surface," says Soldavini of Naples Pride. “And underneath that, they make it OK to laugh at ourselves, to be who we want. …

"You don’t have to be anything that you are told or brought up that you had to be. And that’s not grooming. That’s just accepting who we are and that we can all be the person that we want to present to the world.”

Drag queens are also traditionally the public face of LGBTQ culture. They protest and represent their community with social and political issues.

“I think it’s because, in general, drag queens are the ones who always have the microphone,” Spaulding says. “And we’re the loud ones and in people’s faces to begin with.

“So I think it’s just one of those mantles that you kind of realize, when you become a drag queen ― especially when you become one that’s seasoned and you’re a show director and all that. That becomes one of your requirements. You will be the face of whatever we need you to be the face of (laughs).”

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. For news tips or other entertainment-related matters, call him at 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com. You can also connect with him on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: What are drag queens (and kings)?: Understanding the LGBTQ art form