Boston’s Drag History from A to Z
A new pop-up exhibit from Queer History Boston!
This exhibit will make its debut at The Living Archive Honors (so get your tickets!) and then will be available to display on loan after that.
For more info about borrowing this and other Boston LGBTQ+ history exhibits from QHB, please email info@queerhistoryboston.org, thanks!
The history of drag is full of contradictions:
It’s part art, part protest, and part celebration—just like drag itself.
“Drag”—a term that can't be simply defined—is a performance art that often plays with gender. Drag defies gender roles, invites audiences into humor and joy, and endures as a form of queer expression. Boston’s drag history ranges from cross-dressing Puritans to ballroom houses, from RuGirls to drag king troupes, and so much more.
This exhibition is not a complete history of drag in Boston (or beyond)—it’s a highlight reel sharing photographs and stories from community contributions to Queer History Boston’s archives.
Conceptualized by Vivian Parkin DeRosa
Lead Writer: Toni Armstrong
Writing and Research: Izzy Astuto, Joan Ilacqua + Mik Hamilton
Designed by Matisse DuPont
Readers: Matisse DuPont, Emily Silk, Mark Krone, Linor Fernandez Alesina, Eli Yung + Fig Zimmerly
