TV Companies Are Investing In Drag Culture

You can trace drag history as far back as the 1800s.

William Dorsey Swann, born into slavery, was freed when the Emancipation Proclamation came into effect in 1863.

The self-proclaimed “Queen of Drag,” organized balls and performances from the 1880s. Swann’s story is one of the earliest moments where we can point to how Drag culture is one of the most important roots in the modern fight for LGBTQ rights.

Fast forward just over half a century to the Stonewall uprising, and I need only utter the name, Marsha. The LGBTQ community are united that self-identified drag queen Marsha P Johnson is one of our most important historical figures of the last 100 years.

Jump ahead to now. And primarily because of the enormous success of RuPaul’s Drag Race, drag culture is everywhere. And it’s giving a platform to all kinds of LGBTQ stories.

One of the strongest recent examples comes from the UK. Non-binary lives had one of their best TV moments when Ginny Lemon and Bimini Bon Boulash opened up about being non-binary on Drag Race UK.

This colossal moment transcended the show. It was in headlines everywhere. It’s a powerful example of how popular culture has an incredible opportunity to cut through as both a fantastic TV spectacle – and one that helps LGBTQ lives.

The reason it did both? Bimini and Ginny told their own story on their terms, on a show made by and for LGBTQ people. 

Why are TV companies investing in drag culture, and what does that mean for LGBTQ rights?

Our community’s insatiable thirst for Drag Race means the demand is now very high. So much so it can feel it’s seldom off the air.

TV companies worldwide are listening and taking the US format to English and non-English speaking countries. Editions of Drag Race are now worldwide, from Spain to Chile. TV companies are now investing in all kinds of drag shows, capitalizing on this success.

Take recent hit ‘Drag Me Out’ the Mastiff Denmark production, which sees drag artists “transform celebrities into gender revolutionaries.”

It taps into popular YouTube formats from the likes of queer outlet Them, Queer Eye’s ‘transformation’ vibes and a similar show in the UK, Channel 4’s Drag SOS. All these shows have built momentum and an appetite for drag shows.

But there are broader moments that have sat as crucial stepping stones in this drive.

They sit in a growing recognition that content about LGBTQ lives is powerful, heartwarming – and not as divisive as it once was.

“In Denmark, we’ve been making, Strictly Come Dancing, or Dancing with the Stars for more than 15 years,” Mads Ulrick Homstrup, MD of production company Mastiff Denmark, tells me.

“In 2019, we had our first male/male dance couple, and they went on to win the show with outstanding results. We could feel the huge positive impact having the couple on the show was on the entire LGBTQ community.

“After that experience we wanted to create a show that could both entertain and attract a similar widespread audience, but at the same time promote an opinion about diversity and inclusion in general, and in particular for the LGBTQ community.”

A similar moment finally happened on UK TV this year, too, with John Whaite and Johannes Radebe winning the hearts of many while getting voted by the public into the final of Strictly Come Dancing.

“Entertainment and popular culture remain an extremely strong platform to show the big broad audiences that all individuals can live life authentically and be accepted,” Homstrup adds.

Popular culture is shifting the narrative on LGBTQ lives, but is drag culture in danger of being appropriated?

The massive show Pose has been a timely reminder of how the popularity of a subculture can be great – but also easily appropriated.

The show about ballroom culture in New York covered the scene’s high when Madonna released ‘Vogue’. It also showed this community’s pain when the ‘fad’ passed. Is this going to happen to drag too?

“Right now, there is massive popularity for drag and wonder when the ‘trend’ will fade,” Drag Me Out winner Di Di Cancerella tells me. “I firmly believe drag and queer culture will simply develop and take form in another scene as it has been the last 300 years.”

“Though drag is now on everybody’s lips, we need to take care and not sell out.

“The media can’t cover drag just because its trending right now, we need drag to be a part of the story and the history while making hilarious, ground-breaking and heart-warming entertainment.”

For Di Di, it’s about matching the intention of creating shows about our lives – to the impact they have.

“Producers and the media need to ask themselves why they want a drag artist, or trans person on a particular show?”

“Is it to make the show more fun, is it to tell a story? Either way, the intension needs to come from the heart. There is a huge responsibility to find the right people for shows.”

How can you make TV shows about LGBTQ lives authentic?

Speaking to Banijay, the global production giant behind Drag Me Out and Mastiff Denmark – it’s clear this question is at the front of their minds.

After all, Drag Me Out was designed to try and bring the LGBTQ community and broader society together.

“Authenticity cannot be compromised when developing a show with a co-viewing appeal,” James Townley, Global Head of Content Development, Banijay, tells me. “It would be a huge mistake to alienate the original audience.”

And for Drag Me Out, judge Megan Moore – to get this right – it’s about giving control to those with the lived experience.

“To properly do drag on television, LGBTQ people need to tell their own stories. We can do that by showcasing the diversity of talent within the community. Drag is constantly changing, and there are no limits to what can be achieved and who can perform.  

“It is also very important to acknowledge and honor the fact that a lot of the LGBTQ culture we consume today, is rooted in both ballroom culture and black culture.”

One of the critical reasons RuPaul’s Drag Race has been such a phenomenal success is because a drag queen makes it. The only way you’ll get the depth of our rich history embedded into the foundations of a TV show is with us on the team.

There is rarely a silver bullet in getting diversity, equity and inclusion right. But in media, there is one that counts time and again.

Hire, represent and then take the time to understand LGBTQ folk when making media about our lives. That’s the secret of success to good LGBTQ media.

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