Going Drag: Dr. Nicole Johnson Weighs In

While drag culture has become more mainstream and accepted, even embraced, in many parts of the world today, it still is a battle for people. “It’s a very complex issue because gender is a very complex issue. What was once thought to be just gay men dressing as women to be free in their identity, became a performance, an art, and today, for everyone an expression of gender and identity.

For a lot of individuals, the majority of individuals who identify as drag queens also identify as gay men. And so it’s not typical for individuals to identify as trans women and drag queens,” explains Dr. Nicole Johnson. “When you think about the trans identity, it kind of goes with that narrative. It’s about pushing against this idea that just because I was assigned this at birth, that must be who I am or that I can’t play with my gender or be flexible in gender and that there’s something wrong with that.” Dr. Johnson is an assistant professor of counseling psychology at Lehigh University. Her research has brought her to examine sexuality, gender differences and sexual violence. She says for many trans queens, drag has given them an outlet to safely express their identity; before they could communicate otherwise who they are and what they are feeling.