Drag began out of necessity, although that’s not to say its participants didn’t enjoy it. When Shakespearean theatre was shiny and new in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the stage wasn’t just a place of entertainment. It had strong links to the church and with that came rules that only men could tread the boards. If that play you were in featured a few female roles, then it was up to a couple of the men in the cast to dress as members of the opposite sex so the story didn’t suffer.
Explanation:
The word ‘drag’ is believed to have theatrical origins too. The dresses men wore to play female characters would drag along the floor.
