You're listening to Well Now,

You're listening to Well Now,

Slate's Podcast on Health and Wellness.

I'm Maya Feller.

And I'm Kavita Patel.

Today we're going to talk about the intersection of wellness and one of the fastest growing and most controversial forms of entertainment,

Drag shows.

In recent years, Drag has grown in popularity and has made its way into the mainstream.

Most notably RuPaul's drag race has catapulted performers known in the drag community

into mainstream celebrity. The Joy of Drag dates back to

1882, yes you heard that correctly, 1882, where there is documentation of

extravagant balls that were thrown by William Dorsey Swan,

a recently emancipated man.

Swan's Washington DC parties were initially well known and then continued secretly

as he was convicted of keeping a

disorderly house. Now modern drag can be enjoyed across multiple venues from

live theater to story hour to comedy to movies like Rocky Horror Picture Show,

or The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert,

Paris is burning, pose, and more.

But beyond entertainment value,

the popularity of drag has opened up more expansive conversations

about sexual orientation and gender expression in the wider public and has created a safe space

...