Drag has a very rich, cultural history and is carried out and treated very differently in countries all over the world. There are vast differences between Filipino and American drag as well as LGBTQ culture. They all have histories behind them that made them what they are today. Yet, each has stemmed from the same thing; an overwhelming need and desire by LGBTQ people to be normalized within society. 

    American drag has a rich history, with much of it beginning in New York City in the 1980’s. The gay men within this subculture were denied the very things in life that heterosexuals take for granted. It was a different time, these men were kicked out of their houses, beaten up, homeless, starving, and rejected. They needed a place to belong, This is how Ball culture, and ultimately drag, began making its way into mainstream society. 

    The film, Paris is Burning ,sheds light and gives an inside look to the traditions and elements of the LGBTQ ball/ drag culture of the 1980s that been carried into modern day. Cultural aspects such as “reading,” “voguing,” and “throwing shade” all began with ball culture and are elemental parts of the modern TV show, Rupaul’s Drag Race, that gives LGBTQ+ and drag culture visibility. 

    The drag community and Rupaul’s Drag Race have done a lot for the visibility of gay men. What has failed to be recognized is the visibility of transgender persons within American ball and drag culture as a whole, both in the 1980s and now. Being transgender was an extremely foreign concept in the mid to late 1980s. Being a drag queen and being trans were considered the same thing. With the popularity that Rupaul Charles has bought to the concept of drag, we now know that it is very different. Although the show has done very little for trans-visibility (with the exception of a queen coming out on television in the most recent season), we get the  chance to see the men take of their costumes and makeup and recognize that they are in fact cisgender. Other activists such as Jazz Jennings, Laverne Cox and Chaz Bono have used their shows and fame platforms to educate the public about being transgender. 

    There is a suppressed tension between drag queens and transgender women. The drag community has ultimately held back the transgender community and its validity and visibility. Rupaul Charles has made anti-trans comments in the past which can only worsen the difficulties between both of these oppressed subcultures. “Trans women have expressed their own concern that, if conflated with drag queens — i.e. “men in dresses” — the validity of their own identities will be questioned, further contributing to the oppression they experience.”  (ThinkProgress,Ford). The conflicts with Charles and gay media over the use of the word she-male (which is still used in the show today, but with the spelling “She-mail”) and "tranny", have bought to attention appropriate words and their usage to properly identify transwomen in general. Since then, Charles has had many trans judges on his show, such as Chaz Bono (multiple episodes) and Candis Cayne.

     Yet, knowing the past discrimination that both groups have faced, each side is hesitant to overstep their boundaries and say something too out of context. Transwomen can not tell gay men to stop dressing in drag because it is their form of self expression and they have had a past of oppression and find comfort in doing so. Gay men may or may not feel guilty for participating in drag, but obviously can not accuse transwomen of being overly sensitive because they face extreme discrimination in their everyday lives. Yet, overall, the cisgender, white, gay man is the most privileged member of the LGBTQ community. 

    Recently, there has been a trend of taking the interpretation of drag to mean something more than male-female impersonator. There have been many drag queens and performers who have overstepped gender boundaries and have done things to stray away from the stereotypical things drag queens might do to alter their appearance. Many queens, such as Daniel Donigan, also known as Milk, have refused to shave their chest and legs to show that they are men. Doing things like this spares the identity of transwomen and lets people know that being transgender is not an “act” or a “show”, but an identity. There are also many drag families across New York City who foster to male-male impersonators, female-male impersonators, female-female impersonators as well as male-female impersonators. These new trends may allow trans people to have more visibility within drag culture if they choose. Ultimately, it allows drag queens to show their respect and for the two groups to live in peace. 

    With regards to Filipino drag, the term Bakla is commonly used. “Bakla is a word used in the Philippines that may describe someone who is effeminate, a cross-dresser, a transvestite, queer, or homosexual.” (Transgenderglobe, Rachael) It is an all encompassing term that includes all types of LGBTQ+ persons. Filipino drag also has a rich past and wealth of traditions and customs that make it its own. Yet, it is very different from the way America views drag. It is very different from the way an American gay man carries out the art of drag.  

    The term Bakla also relates to aspects of immigration as well as modernity within society.  The writings in Martin F. Manalansan’s article shows how the Global North projects a certain idea of queerness to the term “gay”, because it is the most common label used within the area. When faced with a term like Bakla, we automatically think these people tend to be backwards since they come from areas outside the Global North. “Manalansan suggests that the Bakla in the Philippines may be part of an alternate modernity that we have disregarded through our tendency to see the way of the GN as the most correct and progressive way of seeing things.” (Transgenderglobe, Rachael). 

    The Bakla and the people who have coined the term tend to have a more inclusive, mature view about LGBTQ+ identities and culture than Americans do. First, the term Bakla is an all encompassing term that includes all types of LGBTQ+ identities. It is up to the mind of the outsider to determine the identity of the person, yet maybe it is better that it is left unsaid. Using an all inclusive term puts each identity on the same social platform, unlike how it is in America. As stated before, the white cisgender gay man is the most privileged in American LGBTQ+ culture. Once you no longer identify as cisgender, your social and political privileges and rights in the US deplete. Maybe if we had one, all encompassing term to begin with, it would, at the very least, take societal pressure away from those who are transgender. A person who introduces themselves as gay and someone who does the same, but as transgender, inflict very different thoughts in the minds of average Americans. With an umbrella term, there would not be any need to be specific. Why should they have to be specific in the first place? 

    With regards to American drag, the Bakla identity is quite different. A majority of American drag queens dress in drag in order to give a performance. They perform at night clubs and bars and are usually seen as lewd to the older generation here in America. There is a range of makeup involved in the preparation process as well as tucking and taping of genitals to make the queen resemble a biological woman. Costumes can range from evening gowns to “barely there” bikinis and G-strings. Usually, the audience throws tips onstage at the queen as a sign that they are enjoying the performance. In regards to performance, it can range from singing to lip-syncing to dancing to comedy skits. Gay pageants are also very popular, specifically in the southern states where club scenes and the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle is scarce. 

    Overall, American drag is about performance. A lot of the times, drag performances and shows (as well as certain queens on Rupaul’s Drag Race) can lack traditional talent. Why is lip-synching considered a talent, both on Charles’ show and off? Would average American citizens be buying tickets to watch a heterosexual dressed up as their identified gender lip-sync? If not, why do we do it for drag queens? For some reason, we find that a male dressed up as a female is humorous. The same goes for the talent that is beauty. Some queens on Rupaul’s Drag Race make it very far in the show just based on the fact that they are beautiful in drag. Why is this a talent? The same answer applies- heteronormative Americans find men dressed up as women to be humorous, and thus populate their shows. This is where the Bakla and the American drag community differ to great extents. 

    On the contrary, Filipino drag is a lifestyle. While American drag queens dress up solely to perform, these men dress up every single day. Because it is an everyday activity, their drag is more toned down, wearable, and meant to be lived in. Their entire identity is based around impersonating a female and dressing up as a woman. This is not to say that the Bakla do not perform. The Bakla tend to perform in groups with their own self-defined drag family as well as solo. The performances also commonly include traditional Filipino dances and acts.

    After analyzing both cultures, it can be concluded that the Bakla and Filipino drag culture promote a more inclusive environment. Despite the history of the term Bakla and its connections with migration and traditional ways of living, having one all encompassing term makes the culture more inclusive and thus may prevent further tensions between the subcategories within the subculture. The way drag is perceived in America may seem like like a joke to the Bakla because in some sense, it is. American drag queens usually tend to have a background in theatre, music, or performance art and treat the identity as such. Although an art form is something to be revered, it is seen as funny to the general public. It also misconstrues the transgender identity to look like a performance and a joke that one strips off when the show is over. That is why there are so many tensions between drag queens and transgender women in America.

    The Bakla use drag as a form of identity. It is an everyday activity for them and it varies from person to person. Some biological men may dress as women, yet some may choose to dress masculine. The same principles apply to women. Yet, they are all understood on the same level to the general public in the Philippines. If you are Bakla, you are homosexual. It is up to the outside person to decide on appearance and everyday dress. There is no pressure to decide on an identity or an identifying term. The ambiguity can be comforting, especially if the individual is in the process of transitioning or still trying to figure themselves out.

Bibliography

-Faye, Shon. "Looking at Paris Is Burning 25 Years after Its Release." Dazed. DazedDigital, 23 Aug. 2016. Web. 11 May 2017.

-Ford, Zack. "The Quiet Clash Between Transgender Women And Drag Queens." ThinkProgress. ThinkProgress, 25 June 2014. Web. 11 May 2017.

-Jones, Zinnia. "The Worst Assimilation of All: How Modern-day Drag Hurts Trans Women and Achieves Little or Nothing of Value." Zinnia Jones. N.p., 12 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 May 2017.

-Manalansan, Martin F. Global Divas: Filipino Gay Men in the Diaspora. Durham, NC: Duke U, 2007. Print.

-Paris Is Burning. Off White Productions, Inc., 1990.

-Rachael. "The Borders between Bakla and Gay." Trans Bodies Across The Globe. Indiana University Bloomington, 23 Nov. 2010. Web. 11 May 2017.