Drag Social Media Influencers as Opinion Leaders: Their Role in Promoting Drag Entertainment in India

The last few years have witnessed a significant increase in the promotion and integration of drag culture into mainstream art and performance. In India, drag shows are now seen in famous clubs, hotels and private parties. These events attract diverse audiences, not just the queer community. Drag performances have been studied extensively, but not as social media influencers (SMIs). Drag artists today can promote drag shows and, in the process, drag culture. This chapter attempts to demonstrate how a drag SMI creates follower engagement, forms persuasion and promotes drag shows, adopting the hierarchy of effects (HOE) model. The chapter extends HOE in the context of drag shows as promoted by drag SMIs, using netnography and in-depth interviews to identify the process followed by drag SMIs. The results indicate five stages: attention and curiosity, desire and conviction, participation, event activation, and nurturing and prospecting.