I’ll Bet “Shakespeare” Is a Drag Name

 Update, March, 2023: Tennessee has outlawed “drag shows” in public places and Florida has made it illegal for teachers to “say gay” or teach subjects that might “confuse” children about real, and therefore complicated human behavior. I suppose, then, it’s only a matter of time until both states, in their evangelical fervor, decide to ban Shakespeare—ALL of it— since all of Shakespeare’s female roles were performed by males (boys, at that) in, er, “drag.” 

Moreover, special opprobrium will undoubtedly be reserved for As You Like It—in which, as one scholar notes…”the crossdressing scheme is very complex, as we encounter a boy actor who plays a girl, who pretends to be a boy, who performs in the role of a woman. Moreover, there is a direct reference to the real sex of the actor playing Rosalind towards the end of the epilogue. Rosalind steps out of her role, the male actor has just finished playing a part of a woman and addresses the audience in his own voice announcing what he would do if he WERE a woman…” (Lucie Johnová, Charles University, Prague) 

These facts—should they ever become widely “known” in the dim reaches of bible land—could trigger an alarming resurgence of stocks and pillories in public squares (or Walmart parking lots). Crossdressers and playwrights beware (doesn’t matter how famous you are). 

I’ll bet “Shakespeare” is a drag name.