Who attends drag events and why? A motivation segmentation study of South African audiences

Abstract

Traditional theatre genres appear to compete for audiences in a competitive post-modern culture. This is most likely owing to the availability of a wide range of more popular entertainment- and leisure activities. Drag events, which have just recently become acknowledged as part of mainstream arts and culture, appear to be one such activity. This could explain why the attractiveness of these performances among audiences has largely been empirically overlooked. This study intends to fill a gap in the literature on performing arts, hospitality, and leisure by looking into audience members' motives for attending drag events and categorizing them into market segments. The findings offer significant insight into the leisure behavior of people who attend drag events, as well as suggestions for attracting the right people with the correct message and ensuring that products and services produced for and promoted to these audiences satisfy their specific needs.