"As far as I'm concerned, being any gender is a drag"

Patti Smith’s statement touches on the complexities and burdens that often accompany gender identity. She suggests that being categorized by any gender, male, female, or otherwise, carries its own constraints, expectations, and societal pressures. Gender becomes something imposed, rather than freely chosen, often dictating behavior, appearance, and even aspirations. There is a sense of performance or costume, reminiscent of the term “drag” as used in performance art, where someone adopts a persona, one that is not entirely their own, but rather shaped by social convention.

Her words echo the frustration many feel when boxed into narrowly defined gender roles. Traditionally, society prescribes certain behaviors, attributes, and limitations depending on one’s perceived gender. For women, this may mean contending with expectations about femininity, passivity, emotional expression, and appearance. For men, it often means suppressing vulnerability, espousing strength, or avoiding activities deemed “unmanly.” For those who are non-binary or gender-nonconforming, the drag extends further, as they struggle against a system that may not offer them recognition or space at all.

Smith’s commentary also evokes the liberating potential of questioning or even rejecting imposed gender norms. By equating gender itself to “drag,” she undermines the idea that any gender expression is inherently more authentic than another; all are in some ways acts of conformity, shaped by external expectations. Instead of promoting a specific way to be, her statement invites a broader discussion about authenticity, identity, and self-expression beyond artificial categories.

Furthermore, her perspective is rooted in the punk ethos, a resistance to authority and insistence on individuality. She highlights that real freedom comes not from fitting into predefined boxes, but from shedding them, or at the very least, recognizing the artifice involved. There is a longing here for a world where everyone can move beyond obligatory roles, living more genuinely, unburdened by societal constructs of gender.