You may not know it yet, but doing drag and being transgender are NOT the same thing. Drag is a type of performance art. Transgender is a type of gender identity. As Drag Race as a competition, and it's contestants, have evolved over the last 14+ years, we've seen more and more Transgender Drag Performers compete and WIN! But you may still have some questions about what it all means, or are unsure of how it makes you feel. Today's episode we chat through our thoughts on Transgender People in Drag, and how it's important to support everyone.

Here's a wealth of information from a representative from Planned Parenthood:
Drag performers make the act of expressing gender — through their stage name, clothing, makeup, hair, and how they perform on stage — highly creative, exaggerated, and/or theatrical. Many drag artists perform on stage as a character who has a different gender identity than their day-to-day life.

Artists who perform in drag are often called drag queens, drag kings, or drag performers. Drag queens perform in hyper feminine costumes — often with glittery, colorful makeup. Drag kings perform in hyper masculine costumes — often with added facial hair.

A person of any gender identity can be a drag performer. Drag is known for being an art form that comments on gender norms in imaginative ways.  Sometimes this is done through lip-syncing, skits, comedy, impersonations, or dance.

Being transgender, however, is not a performance. Transgender is a gender identity. Identifying as transgender is about who you are every day. Transgender people experience their gender in a way that’s different from the gender the doctor gave them on their birth certificate when they were born. In daily life, trans folks express their gender just like anybody else — through their name, pronouns, clothing, hairstyle, how they talk and move, and more.

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