Ancient Greece The concept of drag can be seen in the earliest forms of entertainment, including
Ancient Greek theatre. In ancient western cultures, women often were not allowed to perform onstage or become actors, therefore male actors played the roles of women also. This demonstrates how female impersonation can be traced back to the earliest forms of entertainment and spectacle. Not only this, but men and boys were expected to dress as women, or in drag, for many religious ceremonies and rituals in Ancient Greece. There is some controversy as to whether this is actually where drag emerged, or if it occurred later in history, in the 19th century with forms of entertainment such as
minstrel shows and Shakespeare's plays, as he often incorporated male actors as female impersonators. The term female impersonator was in wide use during the 19th century in
theater in the United States to refer to a specific type of performer in minstrel shows and later
vaudeville known as "wench" and "dame" roles. These roles were performed by both
cisgender heterosexual men, and by queer men who were
closeted and in some rare cases openly non-heterosexual. The actor
Thomas L. Moxley was a celebrated blackface female impersonator who performed under the name Master Floyd in
George Kunkel's Nightingales; a leading minstrel show of the 1850s and 1860s. These shows were an example of how
Blackface was used in a racist form of entertainment where the performers would mock African American men, but as time went on they found it amusing to mock African American women as well. They performed in comedic skits, dances, and "wench" songs. Black people themselves were largely excluded from being performers as at this point in history. Blackface in minstrel shows emerged in , but became more established with the creation of the character of
Jim Crow, which was first performed in 1828. In the 19th century and early 20th century minstrel show female impersonators did not attempt to present the illusion of femininity, but rather lampooned cisgender women through a comic representation of women that did not attempt to completely remove the actor's masculine physical traits. Minstrel show female impersonators often employed sexist and racist stereotypes within bawdy humor to make fun of women, often black women, in
blackface. This type of humor continued on the
vaudeville and
burlesque stage.
Vaudeville and 20th century female impersonators as a female impersonator in the Fascinating Widow, early 1910s The broad comedic stylings of the minstrel shows helped develop the
vaudeville shows of the late 1800s to the early 1900s. They were known to perform song and dance routines with multiple outfit changes. started in
vaudeville in the late 19th century, and became a
Broadway star; portraying the title role in the musical
The Doings of Mrs. Dooley at the
Grand Opera House in 1902. Other vaudeville female impersonators included
Gilbert Sarony as his female character Giddy Gusher,
Neil Burgess as the Widow Bedotte, and the
Russell Brothers who portrayed Irish maids. At this time being a female impersonator was seen as something for the straight white male, and any deviation was punished. ==See also==