Queer Culture: Gays and Dolls

Queer culture has been around for a long time. Originally the term queer just meant strange or odd, before becoming a slur that was primarily targeting gay men. Eventually over time the word ‘queer’ became reclaimed and nowadays has a neutral connotation to it. Queer culture comes in a plethora of forms and representations.

Since being queer was, and still is, partially seen as outside of the norm, queer communities have had to look for other ways to keep the culture alive. A huge part of this is the cult classic movies. Now, up until recently queer identities were either not given the opportunity to shine in Hollywood or they were stuck with strictly stereotypical portrayals. But there are still films that resonant with queer individuals.

A huge part of the connection between the queer community and the film world is escapism. Like in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, without being outwardly stated to be queer the film and it’s characters hold a lot of importance within the community. Films like this with characters like Frank-N-Furter are able to bring an indescribable feeling for lots of queer viewers. You of course can’t forget about the musical aspect and how that greatly has been a medium steeped in queer culture. 

The Wizard of Oz, Death Becomes Her, I’m Just a Cheerleader, Jennifer’s Body, and the list continues. Each of these films holds a huge place in the hearts of queer people everywhere. While not every one of these films explicitly deals with and talks about queerness, there is still a factor that appeals to people, that factor being camp.

Camp is the playful use of irony, exaggeration, and aesthetics. The movies listed above all play to this extremely well. Witches in bubbles and teenage girls possessed by demons, these films take the absurd and make them relatable for a lot of audiences and connect deeply to queer viewers. 

The epitome of camp and queer culture combined lies in drag performances, both queens and kings. As the famous drag queen RuPaul says, “We’re all born naked, and the rest is drag.” Drag is gender performance, and has been a staple of queer culture for decades and has only become more mainstream. From shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “The Boulet Brothers' Dragula” to artists like Chapelle Roan’s drag influences, drag has grown in notoriety and become a representation of queer communities.

As drag has become more recognized in the media, there has also been an uptick in drag queens being cast in musicals on and off Broadway. Queens like Jinkx Monsoon and Latrice Royale are being cast in productions of “Chicago” and “Little Shop of Horrors”, respectively. But it doesn’t stop there; shows like “Drag: The Musical” opened off Broadway in 2024, starring many famous Drag Race alumni and produced by Liza Minnelli. Even though it seems as if drag performances are newer, this isn’t necessarily true. Characters and roles such as Edna Turnblad from “Hairspray” and Miss Trunchbull from “Matilda” have always been played by men in drag.

Another queer subculture that has grown to see mainstream success is ballroom culture. The ballroom scene was created by black and brown, gay and trans people, where houses are created and community is found where people were previously segregated and barred from joining other communities. Shows like “Pose” and “Legendary” gave glimpses into this world within their three seasons each.

A common theme found within queer culture and media is the creation of communities and found families. Not every person who comes out can find love and acceptance from their biological families, so finding those people in the world who care for you is crucial. There is no ‘queer community’ rather there are queer communities that may overlap but these groups allow for queer individuals to live their lives with people they relate to.

With these trying times we have to want to uphold queer culture, as well as create new pinnacles. We need to be able to speak up for our rights and fight for them. There should be no fear in going to a gay bar, there should be more lesbian bars, period. Seeing characters played by queer actors and that not being their entire character needs to be the norm.

Written by Clark Gérôme