Rupaul's Drag Diaries

The “striptease” is still very much relevant and alive today as it was when it was first introduced to the world nearly 80 years ago. This timeless and provocative dance was the product of Gypsy Rose Lee, but by no means should one refer to her as a “stripper”. Doing so would be a great injustice to this iconic figure; it would be sacrilegious. Gypsy, born Rose Louise Hovick, brought more than sensual allure to the stage; Gypsy was intelligent, funny, and witty. An example of her immense wit and improve skills can be seen in how the striptease came into being. When the strap to Gypsy’s costume came undone during a performance, rather than run off stage in embarrassment, Gypsy noticed the positive audience reaction, causing her to implement the act into the focus of her performance.

Femininity is a concept whose attributes are contingent on the culture it is in—what one culture may consider typically feminine traits could largely vary from what another culture views as being feminine. While theater can sometimes subvert theses ideals and present women who function in ways that are not typically feminine, theater can often present idealistic representations of women who exemplify that culture’s ideals of femininity. Take, for example, the female characters in both Guan Hanqing’s Snow in Midsummer and Hroswit’s Martyrdom of the Holy Virgins. While both texts come from largely different cultural contexts—Snow in Midsummer was written in thirteenth century China for a general population whereas Martyrdom of the Holy Virgins was written in tenth century Germany as a closet drama—both texts have female protagonists whose rebellions exemplify feminine ideals of the respective cultures.

But if the former idea is extended to the latter, Butler clarifies that “to claim that all gender ... is drag is to suggest that ‘imitation’ is at the heart of the heterosexual project and its binarisms” (Butler

Sue Ellen Case perspective on "Classic Drag: The Greek Creation of Female Parts" is staggering. Her frame of reference is strictly feminist. She takes us to the beginning of fifth and six-century feminist movement all the way through the seventeen and nineteen century. For women, their "public life is the property of men and women are relegated to the invisible private sphere" (Worthen 166). There she begins to break down the-the absence of women in theatre. In the sixth century, men and females were both participated in theatre, unlike in the fifth century where women were void from the presence of theatre. The drag came about where men dressed as women in the theatre because it was taboo for a woman to perform on stage. Over the course of the years, there was an uphill-downhill battle between the sexes. There is no evidence as to why the removal of women from the stage first begin or why it was even considered. However, women have fought to get their voices heard for years on

These physical expressions through “processes of non-traditional literacy production, gender/race/sexuality articulation,” is presented in ways that outside of these spaces, would be “definitionally obscene,” much like the harassment and violence that transgender and gay individuals, along with drag queens, often encountered in 1980s hegemonic spaces (Gregory 28). “The irony is that the very real experience of difference, the heightened awareness that it brings, should help to create a disguise so immaculate that nothing remains but the in-joke of one 's private knowledge,” proving that successful gender performances are not innate nor natural, arguments that 1980s heteronormativity argued to justify oppressive power hierarchies (Hentzi 36). These performances exposed the truth of outside society’s discomfort and defensiveness of their beloved and seemingly meaningful gender, race, sexual, and class boundaries. This is because “if men can be women, blacks can be white, the poor can be rich, and gays or lesbians can be straight (and vice versa in each of these examples), then the necessity and inevitability of these boundaries become suspect,” and these boundaries can indeed be crossed and ceased (Schacht 148). 1980s balls ultimately could prove that “hierarchical borders that previously demarcated superiority and subordination would lose their omnipotent meaning” and these

Though its primary function is usually plot driven--as a source of humor and a means to effect changes in characters through disguise and deception—cross dressing is also a sociological motif involving gendered play. My earlier essay on the use of the motif in Shakespeare's plays pointed out that cross dressing has been discussed as a symptom of "a radical discontinuity in the meaning of the family" (Belsey 178), as cul-tural anxiety over the destabilization of the social hierarchy (Baker, Howard, Garber), as the means for a woman to be assertive without arousing hostility (Claiborne Park), and as homoerotic arousal (Jardine). This variety of interpretations suggests the multivoiced character of the motif, but

The article, “Drag Isn’t Like Blackface. But That Doesn’t Mean It’s Always Kind To Women” by self-proclaimed comedy queen Miz Cracker of Harlem addresses the author’s opinion on how drag is merely for entertainment purposes and a way of expressing one’s true self and that it is not offensive like blackface. Published online in an online magazine, The Slate Group on February the 17th, 2015, the author talks about the differences between drag and blackface, whilst giving the audience a better understanding through multiple evidences. Without being biased to either side, the author, who is a drag queen herself, chose to tell the audience to understand both parts of the argument without forcing them to pick sides. Her ethos, pathos and logos are

It studied the research question “What does different scholars and theorist say about Queer theory? Is it so that a man who Drags, actually want to become a woman, or do they do it just for fun? After the literature review which presented different scholars who studied the queer theory and also wrote about the connection with queer theory and drag, the paper analysed three scenes in RuPaul’s Drag Race using the following criteria: “the feminine” and “the masculine” in the show, Camp, more behind the drag and transvestites. The study found that RuPaul’s Drag Race both supports and tells about how the Drag Queens are being portrayed in today’s society, but also what kind of challenges they have in their life as well. It has curved away from the typical gender roles and shows that nobody can label or categorize a person’s

Drag performances have a long world history and have seen much contemporary popularity through pop culture avenues such as the television program RuPaul’s Drag Race and movies such as To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar and The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. On the other hand, gender scholars have spent many years debating the origins of modern drag. While some say that modern drag emerged in the late 1900s, others claim that modern drag actually emerged following the Stonewall Riots. (Taylor and Rupp 2003). There is ample literature on drag queens and/or their performances. Many authors write about how drag reinforces stereotypes about gay men, how it can be misogynistic, and how it reifies the masculine/feminine, male/female, hetero/homosexual dichotomies. In contrast, some scholars assert that drag performances can break down dichotomies associated with gender, sex, and sexuality. Drag research has gone through many stages beginning with a fundamentalist approach taken by Ester Newton in the 1970s to a performativity approach taken by Judith Butler in the 1990s; often these foundational pieces gave a perspective of dragging as deviant (drag queens) within a deviant status (LGBTQIA+). Though, as mentioned previously, drag research is missing discussion of drag minority communities and of whether these individuals feel they are connected with their community. The one exception, although not solely on the topic, is Taylor and Rupp’s work with the

tended to fall into certain binary patterns: female-to-male (FTM) crossdressing was typically empowering, benefitting the disguised heroine while raising enlightening questions about the constructedness of gender; male-to-female (MTF) crossdressing, conversely, spoke to cultural anxieties about effeminacy, seduction, and degeneration. (193)

M. Butterfly is an award winning play written by David Henry Hwang in 1988. In this play, a young French diplomat by the name of Rene Gallimard, falls in love with a man whom he believed to be a woman, by the name of Song Liling. This play is based off of a real couple who's real names are Bernard Boursicot and Shi Peipu. Rene Gallimard sees Song Liling, for the first time at an opera show. After they begin seeing each other, he gives her the nickname of “his butterfly”.

Paris is Burning is a documentary about the ‘ballroom culture’ of LGBT and black cultures. It was shot in the mid-80s in New York, but it was released 1990. Through the film and the characters, many aspects of this culture are explored. Things like ‘realness’, ‘balls’, and the different concept of ‘family’ that the members of this community have, allows us to see and learn more about the drag community and what is like to see the world through their eyes. Besides all of these aspects, the film main focus is gender identity, theme that has also bring about many opinions about what gender is and what does it mean to be a woman. Some of the questions that the film has raised are if to be a woman is to be born like one or is just to look like one.

The second factor that has influenced the popularity of drag is the recent increase in the voice of the LGBTQ+ community. Seeing that the majority of drag queens are either gay or transgender men to women, the gay community and drag culture go hand in hand. An article for the Huffington Post explains that “a series of events that happen in cities big and small that celebrates being gay in a straight world. It’s a powerful symbolic action that started after the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City when gays fought back against police brutality. Since then Gay Pride, which is usually the whole month of June, has expanded around the globe” (Wong 1). Now that more eyes and ears have turned toward the LGTBQ+ community, more people are starting to learn about concepts such as drag. Society is starting to understand that it is much more than sparkly outfits, but rather a creative outlet and a place where men can display an identity that they are confident in.

In Shakespeare's plays Twelfth Night and As You Like It both of the lead female characters dress as men. Both plays are comedies and the change in gender is used as a joke, but I think it goes much deeper. A woman can become a man, but only if it is not permanent. The affect of the change cannot be too great because she must change back to female once everything is settled. They are strong female characters, but must become men to protect themselves and ultimately solve the problem of the play. In the book Desire and Anxiety: The Circulation of Sexuality in Shakespearian Drama Valerie Traub calls the characters, "the crossed-dressed heroine who elicits and enjoys

Now this is where I destroy the idea that only queer men do drag. Drag is extremely inclusive and anyone can join in on the fun. For example we have drag kings, bio queens, even young aspiring queens like 8 year old Lactacia are welcome. Drag kings can be defined as women and dressed as men for performance and entertainment. Performers like Landon Cider, Robin Heartz, and Spikey Van Dykey. Bio queens on the other hand are women dressed as an exaggerated idea of being female. Women such as Tayla Macdonald, the girls of Drag Coven Aka Courtney Conquer and Ja’mie Queen West, and Lucy Garland are well known in the community. As for Lactacia, the 8 year old drag queen the young queen have recently blown up in the media and the world of drag. Lactacia and their mother recently did an interview with Elle Magazine where they were asked how the 8 year old got into drag, like many others including myself it all started with a little show called Rupaul’s Drag Race. Drag Race is a reality competition show where they find the next drag superstar. Much like Americas Next Top Model, but with much more charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. Through the growing popularity of the show it is spreading the art of drag and the magic behind it. Not only has casted a spell on Lactacia and I, but millions of others as well.