Drag

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"drag": referring to men dressing in women's clothes

1870, March 20

John Safford Fiske writes from the United States consulate in Edinburgh to Ernest Boulton in London saying that he had received a "charming: letter from their friend Louis Hurt, reporting that Boulton was "living in drag".[1]


1870, May 29

"We shall come in drag, which means men wearing women’s costumes.” Reynolds's Newspaper [Magazine?].[2]


1870, June 23

"Not quite so low‥as going about in ‘drag’." London Figaro [3]


1873

“DRAG, feminine attire worn by men. A recent notorious impersonation case led to the publication of the word in that sense.” Slang Dictionary (edition 4) by Hoteen[4]


1887, July 24

“Mrs. Sheppard is now played by a man . . . I don’t like to see low [comedians] in drag parts, but . . . Mr. Steyne is really droll." Referee[5]


1893, October

"an annual convocation of men [in Washington, D.C.] called the drag dance". Charles H. Hughes, "Postscript to Paper on 'Erotopathia,' -- An Organization of Colored Erotopaths."[6]


1914

“Amongst female impersonators on the stage and men of dual sex instincts 'drag' denotes female attire donned by a male.”—‘Vocabulary’ by Jackson & Hellyer, page 30.[7]


1925

“I’d been to a drag dance with earrings on.”—‘Stockings’ by McAlmon, page 62[8]


1933

“We thought you were a Lesbian in drag when we first saw you.”—‘Young & Evil’ by Ford & Tyler, page 11.[9]


1949

“Drag-Queen: One who makes a living doing female impersonations in a drag show, or otherwise appears frequently in drag.”—“Gay Girl’s Guide,” page 8[10]



"drag queen"

1941

"Drag-queen, a professional female impersonator; the term being transferentially used of a male homosexual who frequently‥wears women's clothing…While many innate male homosexuals wear women's underwear‥they are not for that reason called drag-queens."[11]


Notes

  1. Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories: Sex Between Men Before Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), page 193.
  2. Reynolds's Newspaper.1870, 29 May, page 5, column 5 cited in: Oxford English Dictionary, full citation? And which is correct, "Newspaper" or "Magazine"
  3. London Figaro 1870, 23 June, page 3, column 4, cited in: Oxford English Dictionary, full citation?
  4. details of citation?
  5. Referee 1887, 24 July page 3, column 1 cited in: Oxford English Dictionary, full citation? OED cites Passing English by Ware, page 117. Full cite?
  6. See OutHistory.org: OutHistory.org. The original source cited in Jonathan Ned Katz, Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. (NY: Crowell, 1976) is Charles H. Hughes, "Postscript to Paper on 'Erotopathia,' -- An Organization of Colored Erotopaths." Alienist and Neurologist (St. Louis, MO), volume 14, number 4 (October, 1893), pp. 731-32.
  7. Full cite?
  8. Full cite?
  9. Full cite?
  10. Full cite?
  11. Gershon Legman in George W. Henry, Sex Variants: A Study of Homosexual Patterns, 2 vols. (New York: Hoeber, 1941), volume II, page 1164.