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Drag refers to the wearing of a costume. In gay and lesbian cultures, the term most often designates cross-dressing: men dressing as women and women dressing as men. The term "drag queen" is often used, sometimes pejoratively, for males who appear in public wearing female clothing and make-up. In addition there are professional drag queens and drag kings (women dressed as men) who perform in costumes of the opposite sex. More generally, drag can refer to any kind of costuming, even that which is not cross-dressing, as in men clothed in "cop drag," "cowboy drag," "construction worker drag," etc. The term refers to self-conscious, ironic role playing that undermines rigid notions of gender.
