Inked Mag Staff

July 25th, 2022

Drag Queen Tattoos that Exude Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent

Who's your favorite drag queen?

If you haven’t seen the massive boom in drag culture over the last ten years, where have you been?! “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has brought drag culture to the forefront of mainstream culture; however, it’s an art form that has been practiced for hundreds of years. Drag, in loose terms, dates back to early theatre traditions—as in Shakespearean plays and Elizabethan theatre all characters were played by men and boys. There are also plenty of examples of the precursors of drag being done in cultures and folklore around the world. Drag as a term is said to originate as a 19th-century theatre term, which referred to the performers’ long skirts dragging on the floor. The evolution of drag has been monumental, with drag queen tattoos now immortalizing the charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent of these iconic performers.

Throughout the 20th century, particularly in the later half, underground ball culture was a community for drag performers. This was best illustrated through the 1990 documentary “Paris is Burning,” which followed ball culture in NYC during the late 1980s. And in 2018, the American television drama “Pose” also shed light on Harlem’s ball culture and won numerous high profile awards.

RuPaul came into the public eye in 1993 with the release of their wildly successful single “Supermodel (You Better Work).” RuPaul would continue to gain acclaim over the years, becoming a spokesmodel for MAC Cosmetics in 1994 and hosting “The RuPaul Show” on VH1 from 1996-1998. Then, in 2009, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” was created and the world of drag was changed forever.

Although the reality competition series came from humble beginnings, it’s gone on to become one of the most popular shows on television. There have been fourteen main seasons of the American edition of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” as well as seven seasons of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.” The series has also gone global, with editions in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Thailand, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia/New Zealand, Italy and Chile. The franchise has also announced their expansion to Sweden, the Philippines and Belgium. As a whole, the franchise has been nominated for thirty-nine Emmy Awards and has won nineteen. RuPaul themselves has won six consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program.

Take a look at some of our absolute favorite tattoos of drag queens in the gallery below. Then let us know your favorite drag queen in the comments section on social media.

 

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