The 2024 election is gearing up to be a tense and difficult battle, drawing out activist groups who want to inspire folks to go to the polls. One of those groups is drag queens.
As states around the country ban drag-related events and mount increasing attacks on transgender Americans, the creation of the Drag PAC—starring six prominent drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race—stands as a counterattack. American author Andrew L. Erdman believes now is a turning point for action, with LGBTQ+ activists not willing to sit quietly and be put back into the closet.
Drag PAC’s mission is to empower LGBTQ+ voters and allies to vote to protect LGBTQ+ rights across America. With a user-friendly website containing information on voter registration, political updates and volunteer opportunities, it’s one of a few drag queen-based organizations pushing for political action in the 2024 election. The organization will present a large drag show in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention.
Although other non-PAC drag-related groups do already exist, such as Drag Out The Vote or Drag Me To the Polls, Drag PAC became the first official political action committee headed by queens in March 2024. Drag PAC is registered as a hybrid PAC, meaning it can accept unlimited contributions to finance independent expenditures through one bank account but is limited on the amount it can give to candidates on a second bank account.
In the PAC’s announcement video, queen Monét X Change referred to the 2024 election as “the most important election cycle for queer people’s rights and freedoms in our lifetime.”
Erdman’s latest book, Beautiful: The Story of Julian Eltinge, America’s Greatest Female Impersonator, looks back at some of the early history of what’s now known as drag. He said the current climate of “this explosion of gender hysteria” is not unlike what happened at the time of Eltinge, who lived from 1881-1941.
Referencing political writer Masha Gessen, Erdman said he thinks people are still scared of variety in gender and sexuality because of their “anxiety about change.”
“What it allows people to do is enact this narrative of, ‘We need to go back to a time when things are better,’ even though it’s a time that never really existed,” he added.
Erdman said the “genie is way out of the bottle” in terms of LGBTQ+ representation more than it has ever been in his own lifetime, with visibility and public acceptance reaching new highs than in past decades. To him, that’s why anti-LGBTQ+ forces are fighting to try and quell these movements more forcefully—through laws, rhetoric and any means of control.
Cathy Renna, communications director for the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, said organizations such as Drag PAC’s existence represent an “all hands on deck moment for [these] communities” with anti-LGBTQ and specifically anti-trans legislation passing in states across the country,
“I think one of the most important reasons is in terms of representation, the drag community has been very much under attack,” she said of Drag PAC’s creation. “We need everyone as involved as they possibly can be to get out the votes.”
On July 24, the Task Force Action Fund endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. This marks the first time it has endorsed a candidate since its founding, when it endorsed Jimmy Carter.
Following Harris’ introduction into the race, Renna said she’s seen more people get energized and involved with politics. She said the uptick in donations, volunteering and more represents the queer action needed heading into the election and no matter which administration wins.
Looking at the impact of Drag PAC, Renna said she hopes the energization of LGBTQ voters continues as they see folks that look like them pushing for political action.
“This is the idea that we are pushing back attempts to erase our community in one way or another,” she said.
Renna said that overall, the cultural needle being pushed towards LGBTQ acceptance likely has something to do with children coming out and realizing who they are earlier in life. This, she said, creates a reckoning of ideals for everyone surrounding them—including parents, schools and faith communities—and forces them to come face to face with these experiences.
Erdman also pointed out how history dismantles arguments that “kids are trans because other kids are.” When people see those who look like them and share similar experiences, they feel empowered to be their authentic selves, he said.
Erdman said that’s during Eltinge’s era, Eltinge was known to subvert gender norms yet remained popular because he “stayed within the lines.” Nowadays, many artists and activists don’t pay attention to staying within what’s socially acceptable and have the confidence to step outside those former boundaries, he said—although people’s rights are still under attack in many ways, the wider conversation is much more inclusive.
Although Erdman’s research showed Eltinge never specifically sought out a specific subculture of LGBTQ+ folks or performers of his time, they still existed in his era. As those movements gained momentum, they started approaching a move to mainstream culture.
Erdman said nowadays, whether it’s through technology or a larger sense of awareness, more people are realizing their identities and are no longer only limited to the experiences around them.
“I think what’s happening now for any number of reasons is there’s a throwing down of this idea, that it’s understood that we’re going to stay,” he said. “We want our seat at the same big table as everyone else because we deserve it.”