In this sixth and final research session, many of my remaining questions were answered. I actually realized something about drag when I wasn't researching. I had previously been confused on what drag is, in reference to a drag queen or king. Drag is dressing up as the opposite sex--this is why the media counts Hairspray as drag. But a drag king or queen are who takes this to another level in creating shows, and truly being the queens or kings of drag.
I was pleased to understand this, and when starting my final session, I wasn't sure what I was going to research. But then I remembered that I had not learned anything about the transformation from male to female, or the other way around. I found a video on YouTube in which 4 men, called The Try Guys, become drag queens. Each man has a drag queen to guide them and help them create a routine. Mayhem Miller, a drag queen, states that drag "is an art form. It's like you're an actor playing a role" (0:48). The Try Guys come up with their characters and choose drag names, and began to transform. They shaved their legs, armpits, and chest hair, and learned how to walk in heels. They used glue sticks to cover up their real eyebrows, and an abundance of makeup was used to make them look like women. Like I had previously found in research, the men are still able to bring out their own personalities on stage and lip sync to a song of their choice. To look more like women, the men had to use padding for their chests and use corsets to shape their bodies. The most difficult part for all four men was tucking their genitals in so that they would truly look like women. One of the men, Ned, after performing his drag routine, stated that "once you put all of this on, you really become a different person" (7:05). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fgCfC3bM0U
I then found a similar video, made by the same channel, Buzzfeed, where women dress up as drag kings. I was not surprised by what I found in this video. A few of the drag kings stated that the queens are more popular and have a better reputation. Ella, one of the girls who was transforming into a drag king, stated that she had never heard of drag kings (0:10). The process of drag queens is similar, which involves plenty of makeup and choosing names and characters. They use fake facial and chest hair and also put socks in their pants to pretend to have a penis. They go through the long process of transforming and then put on their performances. Many of the girls were shocked at how much they looked like men. Ella, the girl from the beginning of the video, states that after the experience she realized that drag is "about elevating parts of yourself that you really don't get to express in every day life" (4:35). This quote stuck out to me because that has been a large part of my research. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK98jrF_0Og
This project has been an eye-opening experience for me. I have so much more respect for drag kings and queens than I ever did before. I admire their bravery for knowing who they want to be and not ever being embarrassed of that. I am happy to see so many videos on YouTube about drag and it is appearing more in the media, although that is mainly for entertainment purposes. I now know that each drag group has their own way of performing, and they really do seem like a family. I enjoyed watching the videos in this session because I got to see each participant gain that same respect for drag and what it takes to be a king or queen. I have thoroughly enjoyed every part of this research project and I am grateful that I had this chance to research these amazing groups of people.
Monday, November 23, 2015
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Research Session 5
For this post, I researched what drag is like in the media. I started my fifth research session with entering "RuPaul's Drag Race" into the Google search engine. I used the Wikipedia page--I checked to make sure that it had references at the bottom so I knew there were outside sources that went into the article. The drag race is a reality competition show in which contestants go through challenges and do runway walks to move forward in each episode. RuPaul judges the competition as a drag queen, but when the contestants partake in the challenges, he gives instructions and advice to them as a man (Wikipedia). The one part that I found to be true to drag is that the contestants can be any sexual orientation. The rest of the show doesn't seem to be what I had expected. In previous research, I had learned that drag shows actually have meaning behind them. This show was created for entertainment purposes and make drag look like something that is just for fun. I also searched YouTube in hopes of finding an episode, but instead found an entire channel created by the producers of the show in which the drag queens from past episodes are interviewed or participate in games. This promotes the T.V. show, which further proves that this form of drag is for entertainment purposes.
I did not find any information of movies or shows including drag kings. This shows me that drag queens are more accepted in society and they are what people think of when one says the term "drag." From the emotional reaction I had, I can tell that this project is influencing my thoughts on drag in the media.
I then put "drag in movies" into Google and found a list of movies that I had not expected to see. I was assuming I'd get results such as Rent or Kinky Boots because those movies have obvious examples of drag. While these did come up, I also saw movies such as Hairspray. This shocked me because that movie does not include any drag shows or include men dressing as women as part of the plot. However, the media defines it as drag because the role of the mother is played by a man. This does not influence the plot, but is used to keep the audience interested. It struck me that the media things of drag as a man or woman dressing up as the opposite sex. But my previous research has shown me that it is more than that. There is a community and culture that goes along with it. It is not something that people strictly do for fun. A man dressing as a woman for comedic effect should not count as drag, in my opinion. http://www.imdb.com/list/ls057512964/
I did not find any information of movies or shows including drag kings. This shows me that drag queens are more accepted in society and they are what people think of when one says the term "drag." From the emotional reaction I had, I can tell that this project is influencing my thoughts on drag in the media.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Research Session 4
In this fourth research session, I used the Sage Journals website that I had been using previously to find information about drag performances, http://sex.sagepub.com/content/13/3/275.full.pdf+html. I've had a very positive experience with this website, but after this session, I've used all that it has to offer. I researched both drag queen and king performances in this session so that I would be able to compare and contrast the two. I began with performances by the Disposable Boy Toys. A DBT member states that "our gender performances may resemble or be connected in some way to our gender identities on stage, but they are valid performances nonetheless" (285). Most of their shows begin with a political feminist statement, and they focus on showing masculinity and femininity. They use songs to get their messages across. One show in particular addressed coming out as transgender. The DBT performances include more serious issues but also keep the mood light and the audience entertained.
The 801 Girls take a different approach to drag performance. They start off by telling the audience that they are not trying to pass as women, but are gay men. They act in a more masculine way and do things such as not shaving their legs. Some flash the audience; others change out of drag costumes onstage to show the transformation from woman to man. The article states that the 801 Girls "work to undermine the divide between heterosexual and homosexual" (286). They bring audience members onstage of different sexual orientation and arrange them in positions showing different sex acts. They focus on the idea of 'try it, you might like it' (287). They also go out into the audience and try to arouse straight men. Like the DBT, they focus on challenging the audience's views. However, the two groups are different in that they "send different messages about what queer genders and sexualities look like" (287).
I had used another website in this session to look more into other drag groups, but I can no longer find that website. There are some downsides to online research! However, this has not slowed down my research; it has just led me to choose my sources a bit more carefully.
The last part of this session has made me interested in what drag is like in the media. I plan on finding new websites or using social media to find opinions on drag. The first website that I had used was very useful to me, but I look forward to discovering new articles to further my research.
The 801 Girls take a different approach to drag performance. They start off by telling the audience that they are not trying to pass as women, but are gay men. They act in a more masculine way and do things such as not shaving their legs. Some flash the audience; others change out of drag costumes onstage to show the transformation from woman to man. The article states that the 801 Girls "work to undermine the divide between heterosexual and homosexual" (286). They bring audience members onstage of different sexual orientation and arrange them in positions showing different sex acts. They focus on the idea of 'try it, you might like it' (287). They also go out into the audience and try to arouse straight men. Like the DBT, they focus on challenging the audience's views. However, the two groups are different in that they "send different messages about what queer genders and sexualities look like" (287).
I had used another website in this session to look more into other drag groups, but I can no longer find that website. There are some downsides to online research! However, this has not slowed down my research; it has just led me to choose my sources a bit more carefully.
The last part of this session has made me interested in what drag is like in the media. I plan on finding new websites or using social media to find opinions on drag. The first website that I had used was very useful to me, but I look forward to discovering new articles to further my research.
Monday, November 16, 2015
Research Session 3
For the third research session, I read about individual accounts with drag. This interest was sparked by my previous research. I used the same two websites as before because I had been finding useful information from them. http://sex.sagepub.com/content/13/3/275.full.pdf+html This website is the Sage Journals article where the three women did studies on the two different drag groups. While reading it, I took an interest in one individual who calls herself Sushi. His mother states that "he would leave for school dressed in normal clothes and change into an outfit made up of his father's pajamas and her mother's kimono" (281). This was his beginning with discovering who he wanted to be. Sushi came to drag because he wanted to be a woman, but switches between male and female pronouns. He calls himself a "flaming queen." Sushi sometimes identifies as transgender, but always as a drag queen. Sushi has considered being transgender because he's attracted to men, but describes himself as being "some place in between a woman or a man" (281). I was not able to find any additional information about Sushi in this article, but I was pleased with what I did find. I had wanted individual accounts of being a drag queen, and I was able to get that.
I had more success in researching an individual drag king using the other website, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00831.x/full. This article, written by Maite Escudero-Alias is about MilDred Gerestant. I did search her name on Google to make sure that she does indeed exist. She is one of the first black drag kings. This article focused on what she does in her shows, which interested me. This has prompted my next research session to be about drag queen and king performances. MilDred performs different black stereotypes to show the audience how bad or hurtful stereotyping can be. She has traveled around the world with her show titled D.R.E.D. which stands for Daring Reality Every Day, and is also based off of her name. She switches genders in her performances and changes characters, giving them personalities. For example, her character Shaft is a violent man who pursues black women and does not have the best morals. These characters are often inspired by songs. MilDred strongly believes in having both a masculine and feminine side. She states that her shows "make people think more about race, gender, and sexuality" (Escudero-Alias). The article also states that other drag kings notice how hard she works. She defends individual's rights and their freedom to express themselves.
This session was more difficult than the previous two because I had to really focus on the individuals and trying to find as much information about them as I could. By this point in my research, I have begun understanding more about drag. At the beginning, I hardly knew anything about drag. I've been learning about the background of drag and how one comes into it. I've realized that each person has a different reason for coming to drag, and they all have different ways of showing who they are. To finish this post, I'd like to end with a quote from MilDred found in the Escudero-Alias article.
"Remember to always love yourself and find your true path. Life is too short to be afraid." (MilDred Gerestant).
I had more success in researching an individual drag king using the other website, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00831.x/full. This article, written by Maite Escudero-Alias is about MilDred Gerestant. I did search her name on Google to make sure that she does indeed exist. She is one of the first black drag kings. This article focused on what she does in her shows, which interested me. This has prompted my next research session to be about drag queen and king performances. MilDred performs different black stereotypes to show the audience how bad or hurtful stereotyping can be. She has traveled around the world with her show titled D.R.E.D. which stands for Daring Reality Every Day, and is also based off of her name. She switches genders in her performances and changes characters, giving them personalities. For example, her character Shaft is a violent man who pursues black women and does not have the best morals. These characters are often inspired by songs. MilDred strongly believes in having both a masculine and feminine side. She states that her shows "make people think more about race, gender, and sexuality" (Escudero-Alias). The article also states that other drag kings notice how hard she works. She defends individual's rights and their freedom to express themselves.
This session was more difficult than the previous two because I had to really focus on the individuals and trying to find as much information about them as I could. By this point in my research, I have begun understanding more about drag. At the beginning, I hardly knew anything about drag. I've been learning about the background of drag and how one comes into it. I've realized that each person has a different reason for coming to drag, and they all have different ways of showing who they are. To finish this post, I'd like to end with a quote from MilDred found in the Escudero-Alias article.
"Remember to always love yourself and find your true path. Life is too short to be afraid." (MilDred Gerestant).
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Research Session 2
In this second research session, I focused on drag kings. I used the same website as in the first session, http://sex.sagepub.com/content/13/3/275.full.pdf+html and found more useful information. I learned about the difference between drag queens and kings and how they come to performing. In the study of the drag king group the Disposable Boy Toys, from Santa Barbara, the article states that "in contrast to the drag queens, the drag kings tended to experience identity transformation as a result of performing as a drag king" (282). The drag queens had already explored their gender identities before drag and came to it as a result of that. However, drag kings experienced different paths of identification. Many of the drag kings joined the group for an opportunity to perform or to be with their friends that were involved. The DBT helped the members realize their gender identity and understand any pre-existing questions about their identity. In the study with the DBT, almost all of the participants identified as strictly female, but later on, half said they were 'genderqueer', 'FTM', or transgender. I then questioned what the first two terms were. Genderqueer means that they "claimed an identity outside of the male/female binary" (282). This continued to answer my question on gender restrictions in the previous session. I have realized that there really are no rules to it. A person is able to explore and realize their gender identity on their own. This continues with the next term, 'FTM', which stand for "Female to Male." This is when a person is in the process of changing their identity. Lastly, transgender referred to a wide range of identities, which included the other two terms.
Once the drag kings had developed an understanding as of who they wanted to be, some began claiming labels such as "butch" or "ambiguous masculinity" (284). The drag queens did not go through such a complicated process of discovery because they came to drag as a result of understanding who they were. The article goes on to say that "drag has historically been an assertion of gay existence. Drag kinging is a relatively recent phenomenon" (284). This helped me to further understand the differences between drag queens and drag kings. These differences lead to performing gender and sexuality in their own ways. The DBT members focus on challenging/informing the audience on class, race, body size, gender, and sexuality. They also have an anti-racist perspective.
I wanted to see if their were any other sources that I could use, so I went to the McIntyre Library website and searched "drag kings." At first I had trouble finding something useful. (The first article was on drag racing.) I almost gave up, but luckily found an article from a book titled "The Journal of Popular Culture," found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00831.x/full. I found an interesting quote that states " As the effects of queer globalization become stronger, it seems that gender categories are blurring not just on the fringes of society but in mainstream media as well" (Escudero-Alias). This intrigued me because it states what had been on my mind about gender restrictions and that there really are none. In my third research session I am going to focus on individual accounts of drag, and this new article contains the information that I need.
Once the drag kings had developed an understanding as of who they wanted to be, some began claiming labels such as "butch" or "ambiguous masculinity" (284). The drag queens did not go through such a complicated process of discovery because they came to drag as a result of understanding who they were. The article goes on to say that "drag has historically been an assertion of gay existence. Drag kinging is a relatively recent phenomenon" (284). This helped me to further understand the differences between drag queens and drag kings. These differences lead to performing gender and sexuality in their own ways. The DBT members focus on challenging/informing the audience on class, race, body size, gender, and sexuality. They also have an anti-racist perspective.
I wanted to see if their were any other sources that I could use, so I went to the McIntyre Library website and searched "drag kings." At first I had trouble finding something useful. (The first article was on drag racing.) I almost gave up, but luckily found an article from a book titled "The Journal of Popular Culture," found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00831.x/full. I found an interesting quote that states " As the effects of queer globalization become stronger, it seems that gender categories are blurring not just on the fringes of society but in mainstream media as well" (Escudero-Alias). This intrigued me because it states what had been on my mind about gender restrictions and that there really are none. In my third research session I am going to focus on individual accounts of drag, and this new article contains the information that I need.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Research Session 1
In this first research session, I was not sure what to expect. I had hoped to find a great source that would help me to gain the information I needed, and that is exactly what I found. I began by using the search engine at the McIntyre Library page, http://www.uwec.edu/library/. I searched what I first wanted to research: drag queens. Since I am researching both drag queens and kings, I knew it would be better to start off with just one and work from there. I had a very positive experience in this session. I found a website, http://sex.sagepub.com/content/13/3/275.full.pdf+html , an article titled "Drag Queens and Drag Kings: The Difference Gender Makes." This was written by Leila J. Rupp, Verta Taylor, both from the University of California, and Eve Ilana Shapiro from Westfield State College. They studied two groups: the 810 Girls from Key West Florida, who are drag queens, and the Boy Toys, consisting of drag kings, from Santa Barbara, California. This study was done to understand the differences and similarities between drag queens and kings. For this first research session, I only focused on drag queens.
The authors give the definition of a drag queen as "gay men who perform in women's clothing, although they are not necessarily female impersonators." (276). This led me to question the difference between those who are transgender and drag queens. Luckily, the article had this answer for me. One can be a drag queen but does not have to be transgender. However, transgenders can perform in drag as either kings or queens. To continue with the question of gender, there are also females who perform as drag queens, who are then called "bio queens." I then began to question if gender was a restriction at all. When the article talked about why drag queens go into drag, I learned that "queens tend to come to drag in part as a resolution of gender identity issues" (277). Both kings and queens show resistance to gender structure. There really are not any restrictions to who can do drag and who can't. Race, age, or class do not matter.
I then wanted to look more into the reasoning behind people coming to drag. (This made me very excited to look into drag kings as well.) The 801 Girls say that some of them used to dress in their mother's clothes when they were young boys, and that they showed signs at a young age of being interested in "girl things" such as playing with Barbie's. Some went into drag just for fun; others did it so they could "create an identity that they could put on and take off" (280). Others say that drag is related to their interest in straight men. They believe that if they can dress as a woman and have the assets, then straight men will be attracted to them. Drag also gives a transgenders a chance to explore what it would be like to be the opposite sex. Some get into drag because it gives them a resolution to their gender identity issues.
The authors give the definition of a drag queen as "gay men who perform in women's clothing, although they are not necessarily female impersonators." (276). This led me to question the difference between those who are transgender and drag queens. Luckily, the article had this answer for me. One can be a drag queen but does not have to be transgender. However, transgenders can perform in drag as either kings or queens. To continue with the question of gender, there are also females who perform as drag queens, who are then called "bio queens." I then began to question if gender was a restriction at all. When the article talked about why drag queens go into drag, I learned that "queens tend to come to drag in part as a resolution of gender identity issues" (277). Both kings and queens show resistance to gender structure. There really are not any restrictions to who can do drag and who can't. Race, age, or class do not matter.
I was very pleased with the information that I found during this research session. This gave me a base and understanding of drag queens, and I am looking forward to continuing the research to drag kings. I hope to find more sources that have individual accounts of drag experience so I can learn about their stories.
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