Great article. :-). One very minor point of clarification. Gay men are not suddenly doing drag. Drag shows have been a big part of gay and lesbian culture in the U.S. and Europe since at least the early 20th century. (See the film Cabaret for a portrayal of drag in 1920s and 30s Berlin.)

Many of the patrons of the Stonewall Inn in 1969 New York City called themselves drag queens. Some of them would probably call themselves transgender today, but others were pretty much gay men and lesbians doing drag performances for fun and income, just like today.

When I was coming out in the 1980s, drag was more prevalent in gay culture than it is today, if only because so many more gay bars existed. Not all gay bars featured drag shows, but most did. Because specialized bars are no longer the community necessity for lesbian and gay people that they used to be, finding a drag show to attend on a Saturday night is not as easy.

Probably what has changed is public recognition that drag exists. Ru Paul's global hit show is one reason. Another reason is that lesbian and gay people no longer shelter inside bars for community life. We don't feel we have to. So drag shows now happen in public places where you didn't used to see them.

So while the number of drag shows happening has decreased very significantly since the 60s, 70s, and 80s; conservative society is more aware of the shows.