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.
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