Existing and resisting: Drag resiliency in rural Appalachia

The rise of Queerphobic policies and rhetoric, including drag bans and attacks on transgender youth, uniquely impacts rural communities, including rural Appalachia, where Queer-affirming resources are limited, and conservative anti-Queer politics are prevalent. Nonetheless, in the rural Southwest Virginia region of central Appalachia, drag artists routinely organize and perform a variety of shows. With theoretical understandings from drag pedagogy (Keenan & Hot Mess, Citation2020) and a pedagogy of pride (Azano & Whitten, Citation2025) undergirding the study, we explore pedagogical implementations from rural drag artists and performances that are leveraged in rural communities. Using narrative inquiry, we attended nearly 30 drag performances from Spring 2024-Fall 2024, taking fieldnotes and recording observations, and interviewed nine drag artists, who represent an array of intersectional rural identities. We identified four key understandings about the power and promise of rural drag in rural communities as it (a) serves as a educational tool; (b) provides a source of confidence and resilience; (c) builds community and kinship centering safety and joy; (d) as disruptor monoliths of rurality.