Law's a drag

A NETWORK TO DISCOVER AND IMPROVE DRAG ARTISTS' LIVED EXPERIENCES OF LAW


Our Research

We are a network of drag artists and legal academics, of all genders and levels of experience, who want to research and fight against the injustices faced by the drag community.

One of our researchers, James, stood in front of a colourful powerpoint slide containing some information on our ethos and methods

A group of participants and researchers at one of our events taking a selfie in front of the law's a drag logo whilst holding glasses of wine

Get Involved

We make sure we pay artists for their time and expertise at our collaborative events. The more drag artists we speak to, the more representative our research can be. Join us!


Our Events

Take a look at our previous events, read about future plans, and learn about how we’re working together to make research that can lead to positive change in the lives of drag artists.

Two of our researchers, Rosie and James, having just death-dropped in front of the large "SLSA" letters on stage at an SLSA conference

The drag artist, Pop Tart, with striking white make-up, pink dress, red faux-fur shawl, and red beret, posing for a lip-sunc smackdown event.

Speak to us

Meet one of our drag artists, Pop Tart, and meet some of our academics: James, Rosie, and JoyOr reach out via our contact form

Our Research


Law’s a Drag is a network of over 40 drag artists and academics, mostly in the UK but with a growing overseas presence. We’re working together to discover more about the injustices that drag artists face, and how we can collaborate to fight for real change.Some artists are put off when they read about “law.” Negative experiences, or connotations with police and crime, can deter some artists from feeling that Law’s a Drag is “for them.” But we talk about drag and law in all sorts of different contexts: venues not paying on time, safety at gigs, getting legal advice, copyright of music and images, discrimination based on race or gender status, and many other issues that affect artists. What’s more, our events aim to be fun, inclusive, and enlightening experiences for all artists who attend!We don’t want to define what “drag” means. It’s up to artists (drag kings, drag queens, and nonbinary artists of all ages and levels of experience) to live, perform, and experience “drag.” We welcome artists regardless of race, age, gender, disability, socio-economic status, nationality, or faith. We protect the trust that drag performers place in us, allowing for anonymous input from them, and making our research processes as transparent as we can.We place artists in the driving seat. We don’t want our legal academics to be telling artists what research they need, or how to go about it. We’ve run several events in which we’ve asked drag performers to share the areas of law they want to discuss, the methods they want us to take, and how they finally want that research to be shared. We operate strongly on the principle: “Nothing about us, without us.”We want to grow our network, to be as inclusive and representative as possible, so that more artists can have their say on what research they want us to undertake. Then, we can use that research to make a case to policymakers and lawmakers to seek positive change - we ultimately want our work to have real impact for drag artists.

Get Involved

As well as research events, where we pay artists to come and chat to us about their thoughts on law and injustice, we also run community hangouts where we can chat informally about these topics, and about what Law’s a Drag can do to help artists.Our drag artists have raised so many interesting areas of law that they encounter in their working lives, including contracts, access to justice, privacy, freedom of speech, insurance, discrimination, policing, harassment, safeguarding, defamation, copyright, dispute resolution, and many other issues.Artists we have worked with in the network include:

Angel
Witch Blair
King Little
China
Tyrone John
De Castro
Just Jack
Miss Dee Licious
Miss Mindy Pendent
Pop Tart

AJ-47
Tommy Gun
China
Vee Dagger
Cory Ander
Ian Cell
Vita Boheme
Dan Glibits
Rose Quartz
Donna the Domme

and more…

Our Events


Community hangouts

Selfie of Rosie Fox and James Greenwood-Reeves in the corner of a bar, smiling and giving peace signs. Rosie has platinum and pink wavy hair, winged eyeliner, and a coloureful floral dress. James has dyed blonde hair, a big gay moustasche, and is wearing a

We want to have more informal gatherings in Leeds city centre to meet other drag artists, talk about what we do, catch up with old friends, and chat about future plans for Law’s a Drag. It’s nice just to meet with some friendly drag artists and some academics from the team outside of the university campus. If you want to join one of our community hangouts, just get in touch!


UPCOMING Winter 2024 - Research Principles Lab

Rosie and James, having just death-dropped in front of the large "SLSA" letters on stage at an SLSA conference

We’ve applied for Socio-Legal Studies Association funding for an event in December 2024, in which we will sit down with artists and discuss principles for future research. We want to talk about a) what areas of law need investigating, b) what research methods our artists want us to use, and c) how we can guarantee drag artists have oversight over the entire research process, for maximum transparency.Contact us if you would like to be emailed with more information about this and future events!


Previous events

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Speak to us!


Reach out directly to one of our amazing drag artists or academics below, or get in touch via our contact form.


The drag artist, Pop Tart, with striking white make-up, pink dress, red faux-fur shawl, and red beret, posing for a lip-sunc smackdown event.

Pop Tart

Pop Tart is a Leeds based drag artist who has performed around Yorkshire, supporting a number of RuPaul's Drag Race performers and releasing their own music in 2024. Reach out to Pop if you're a drag artist who's thinking about joining the network!


James Greenwood-Reeves

James is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Leeds. He’s interested in Pride and protest, drag as a form of dissent, and drag artists’ lived experiences of law and injustice.

James taking a pre-pride selfie: big gay moustasche and stubble, pink vest and short, pink polka dot hat, smiling and giving a peace sign

Dr Rosie Fox, taking a selfie at pride. Pink, platinum and blue coloured hair, pink lip and winged eyeliner, sparkly stars on a black dress

Rosie Fox

Rosie is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Leeds. She’s interested in legal education, including innovative ways of sharing ideas about law and justice, and how drag artists can inspire creative ways of teaching and learning.


Joy Twemlow

Joy is researching her PhD at the University of Durham. She’s interested in legal phenomenology, or how people understand and experience law in their daily lives, and how drag artists can use their creativity and expertise to challenge our presumptions about law.

Photo of Joy stood outside some marble buildings on a sunny day, in a lilac body suit, with long brown hair and a friendly smile

Contact Us

If you want to join the network, have topics you want to discuss, have ideas about how LAD should conduct its research, or anything else on your mind, please let us know here!