ABSTRACT
This chapter uses interviews with Drag Race fans to examine their reasons for participating in drag subcultures. These interviews revealed that many participants view drag subcultures as a liminal space for self-discovery and exploration. This liminal space helps individuals overcome vulnerable experiences of mental illness, political oppression, and low self-esteem related to their liminal sexual and gender identities by offering a carnivalesque space that focuses on belonging, empowerment, and acceptance. These interviews also found that contrary to popular belief, those that do not identify with liminal sexual and gender identities act as allies to LGBTQ individuals in drag subcultures.
