You Better Work! Drag Queen Performativity and Visibility on #dragqueen TikTok

The 2000s brought the proliferation of drag culture in the United States with RuPaul’s Drag Race , drag brunches and drag cabaret performances. In addition to the televisual, specifically reality television, drag queens also have gained visibility on a plethora of social networking sites like TikTok. Moreover, TikTok has gained rapid popularity with young adults since its international inception in 2016. Given that a large majority of TikTok users are in a pivotal stage of identity development, it is crucial to explore and analyse how marginalized groups, such as drag queens, present themselves and who has visibility on the platform. By applying visual thematic analysis and quantitative content analysis to #dragqueen and #drag TikTok videos, I found that TikTok as a platform makes White femme drag the most visible form of drag, and hegemonic performances of femininity (which are racialized and associated with Whiteness) are more likely to gain higher levels of engagement.