The
reading “Chicks with Dicks, Men in Dresses” discusses drag queen subculture and
explains the components that are present in such a social context. Taylor and
Rupp strive to conclude on whether drag queens are more gender-conservatives or
more gender-revolutionaries. Specifically, if drag queens conform to the
displays of traditional femininity and institutionalized heterosexuality or if
these individuals are presenting a hybrid gender that blur the boundaries between
male and female. After expensive research, Taylor and Rupp believe that this
drag culture demonstrates a third gender; one in which is neither male nor
female, but rather a gender in between. Thus, showing that drag queens are in
fact gender-revolutionaries.
There is a lot of confusion associated with
distinguishing drag queens from transsexuals and transgender individuals.
Before reading this piece of literature, I too was baffled by the differences.
However, the simplest way to think about it is that transsexuals are people who
go out in public as the opposite sex, live as if they are the opposite sex, and
would transform their bodies permanently to represent the opposite sex. On the
other hand, drag queens are only putting on a performance as the opposite sex. Drag
queens are simply performers, enduring a transgender life for a specific period
of time. They do not live their full lives as females, but rather gay males.
They participate in drag culture because they can be very expressive and
embrace a theatrical identity. As a whole, “drag is an act, not a lifestyle.”
My main question is: if drag queens do not present one of the traditional
binary genders, then what is their gender considered to be? Also, why does this
third gender make so many people uncomfortable? In my opinion, this third
gender is one that represents males who want to express excessive feminine
traits, but do not want to represent those traits all the time. They still want
to be masculine and have a penis, but they do not want to be constricted by the
binary traditional gender system that looks at males as being abnormal if they
show feminine traits. People might be uncomfortable with drag culture because it
makes it difficult to determine the sex of an individual. The fear of feeling
attraction toward an individual representing a specific gender, but then having
reproductive organs that are opposite of that gender is freighting for most
people in this society. Here is a clip from Jerry Springer that shows the
reaction of two heterosexual males being told their significant other is
actually a male.
This is the reaction that
many people would have if they were attracted to an individual that identifies
with a gender that does not represent that gender’s traditional sex. People may
fall in love with a person who identifies with the gender they are attracted
to, but if their sex is not that person’s desired sex then they may
automatically throw away their feelings toward that person. If individuals were
more accepting of these people who identify as a gender different from their
sex, the binary system in place today could be broken. There is an example of
an individual who is open to new explorations that go against traditional
views.
Though drag queens only
express the female gender at specific times and these individuals in the clips
may be transgender all the time, treating it as a lifestyle, there are
important conclusions that can be stated from these clips. First, that
contemporary society looks at people not showing their traditional genders as
abnormal and second, that there is hope that one day “third genders” or people
deviating from the norm may be more accepted.
Drag queens, transsexuals,
transgenders, intersexes, and all others who do not represent the norm in
society fall between these two curves. There is a possibility that one day, everyone
represented by this diagram will be accepted by society.
I too was slightly unclear of the definition of Drag Queen before reading this piece. In our culture the term is thrown around rather casually in media and everyday life, often times making a mockery out of the culture. The intense shame that is projected at this men says a lot about how our society views women. It is so shameful to trade in masculinity for femininity and baseball caps for lipstick that make closed-minded people act out irrationally towards Drag-Queens. I have witnessed the experience of men thinking another drag queen was attractive and then discovering they were actually male first hand at a Lady Gaga concert. She was walking across the street, looking fabulous might I add, and a group of men wearing baseball garb started whistling and cheering for her scantily clad body. That is, until she got closer and they realized she was, in fact, male-bodied, in which they started to yell derogatory and degrading things at her and telling her she was "not right" or "f***ed up". It is disgusting how people react to those expressing their own identity and a more open minded society would make it a safer place, both physically and mentally, for all gender-benders.
ReplyDeleteAlong with Taylor and Kate, I was unclear as well about the actual definitions and differences between drag queens and transgender individuals and others. I was undereducated on this topic, and haven’t had much life experience on the topic of drag queens either. I thought that these readings and images that were assigned really were able to give a more inside look at what it is like to identify and be a drag queen, and did a good job of clarifying the differences and educating those who do not know much about it such as me. I really think a lot of problems like discrimination or not excepting others such as drag queens, stems from lack education or wrongly educating people about topics such as these.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement that you said about the third gender being men wanting to express feminine traits but not all the time. Drag queens in my opinion are very hard to read because they aren't necessarily gay men. Some drag queens actually dress up them way like you said just as a act and do it for fun. It doesn't match their sexual orientation or tell individuals in society that they are gay men because they could be otherwise. Drag queens don't want to be fully view as the opposite sex so that's why they don't make any changes to their biological makeup. Instead its only appearance using clothes and makeup.
ReplyDeleteI was about to say what Jarrod said. That the gender performance of drag doesn't necessarily mean that the individual is homosexual. I use to watch the show RuPauls Drag Race with my roommate and yes many of the men were homosexual but not all. As we have said in class because gender is a social construct it can change, we saw how in Mexico the definition of gender is a bit more fluid, as is the case with "ladyboys" in Thailand. There are places where third genders are accepted. I don't think I would classify Drag as a third gender though, because it is a performance and not a gender, gender performativity is perhaps most obvious in Drag but there are things individuals do everyday to a lesser extent where they perform actions in order to achieve and perform gender. Drag has been around a long time and with certain TV shows and live performances bringing it more into the general public eye, this year the Macy's Day Parade featured Drag Queens, perhaps we are moving toward a more tolerant and accepting society.
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ReplyDeleteBefore reading the article I was also unclear about the definition of a drag queen and the differences between that and a transgender individual. I used to think that they both had the same definition but just used “drag queen” more as a slang word to transgender. Now knowing the true definitions, I agree with what Cara said how she wouldn’t classify drag as a third gender because it is a performance not a gender like being “transgender” is. Being educated about these terms is important also because like Lucas said people may not be as accepting to drag queens or even a transgender because they don’t know the true definition of what these individuals are and what they do. These readings gave me a better explanation and view of how others identify themselves.
I think the concept of identifying drag queens as a third gender is an interesting one, but I have to agree with Cara that it seems problematic. Because the Taylor and Rupp piece focused on men who perform as women, we probably tend to forget that “drag kings,” or women who dress up as men in the same way that drag queens dress as women, make up a tangible subculture as well. Should they be considered a “fourth gender?” After all, one might suggest that there are key differences between drag kings and queens that set them apart from one another, so classifying them both as the same gender would probably just serve to confuse. More than anything, I think that today’s piece serves to reinforce the idea that gender is a spectrum and cannot be accurately represented by a small set of labels. That drag queens perform or illustrate how we “do” gender, I can agree with. However, I do not believe adding a single category to the gender binary is a sufficient means of capturing their identity.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your commentary on the defining attributes of a drag queen! It certainly is both a confusing and controversial subject. I had always assumed that drag queens and transgender men were basically one in the same- a man attracted to other men, who identifies more as a woman than his actual gender. As you stated in this blog, that actually isn't the truth. Often times drag queens are gay men who have a flair for the dramatics, they have no desire to live as a woman, but it's fun to play one for a couple of hours. What I thought was very compelling were the pictures by Leland Bobbe of the men's faces half in drag, half as they appear normally. As you can see from the natural side of their faces, these are men living as men, the drag side showing their artistic expression in the form of gender bending. These portraits are different from those of a transgender man, who would most likely prefer to be seen in a full face of makeup, portraying himself wholly as a woman, not just half of his face. It's a very interesting and important distinction to make and one that more of society should be familiar with.
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