“The Purest Form of Me”: Identity, Performance, and the Struggle Against Heteronormativity Among Polish Drag Queens

Abstract

This article analyses how drag performance impacts processes of identity discovery and development outside of binary constructions of gender and sexuality. Our analysis is based on in-depth interviews conducted with 15 Polish drag queens, including those with non-binary and transgender gender identities and bisexual or pansexual sexual identities. Participants emphasized that they faced social and environmental pressures to conform to binary categories of gender and sexuality, which impeded the process of discovering non-normative identities. Performing in drag was a breakthrough in this process, changing how participants perceived themselves and enabling performers to express an authentic self on stage without restraint. Thus, drag performance served as an “identity laboratory” in which individuals had the opportunity to explore and push the boundaries of their identities. This research shows that drag holds transformative and therapeutic potential and can be a space for exploring non-binary gender or sexual identities. The findings are significant in the Polish context, where the drag community remains understudied, and LGBTQ+ individuals continue to face discrimination.