Dyamone Clark Article Review1 Blog Topic:Drag Culture

Verta Taylor & Leila J. Rupp (2004) "Chicks with Dicks, Men in Dresses," Journal of Homosexuality, 46:3-4, 113-133

　



In "Chicks with Dicks, Men in Dresses" Verta Taylor and Leila Rupp perform a case study of the drag queens at the 801 Cabaret in Key West, Florida which is the gay tourist destination. Their method is to use this group of drag queens to examine the gender and sexual identities. They examine the role of gender and sexuality in the process it takes to become a drag queen, and in the personal identities of drag queens. Their study is based on qualitative research methods, based on multiple sources of data they analyzed. Studies are drawn from life histories of the drag queens by observing their performances, talking to focus groups with the audience members the drag queens attract. Viewing the processes through which the 801 girls became drag queens, and their same-sex desire. They also analyze the personal identities and performances of the queens to show how theatrical performances and transgenderism are used to create drag queen identities. They define drag queens as gay men who dress and perform as women but does not want a woman's body or wish to be a woman. To start their research hey use a group of drag queens who work at a club in Key West, Florida. They start with background history of the eight men known as the 801 girls. They ask them about their past, and to share how they became drag queens. They look at the commonalities and differences among these performers, who come from different racial and ethnic backgrounds to see what it really means to be a drag queen. Most shared how they loved dressing in their mothers clothes as children, because it felt more comfortable to them. Uncovering stories from the past from these drag queens who all vary in age, pulled out common themes on how they feel they became drag queens. The next focus is on becoming a drag queen. They look at the stories and find three ways gender and sexual identity influenced how they came to do drag: gender transgression, masquerade, and same-sex sexuality. Gender transgression comes through dressing in feminine clothing. The men share how dressing up in women's clothing felt more comfortable to them, they wanted to be that. Masquerade comes from wanting to flaunt femininity by performing in an identity that can be removed. They then conclude that in each stories the most important fact is being sexually attracted to, and have a desire for men. They then say "Dressing in drag allows one to hide, attracts attention, expresses an in-your-face attitude, and makes clear the performative nature of gender" ( pg 121). The next focus is on what it means to be a drag queen: personal identities. They express that for some being a drag queen is about expressing a transgender identity" (pg 121). The authors conclude that each drag queen has their own path to there personal identity as a drag queen. Transgendered and theatrical identities emerge from each ones story. They propose that "Through their self-presentations and performances, they enact a collective identity that calls attention to the artificiality of gender and sexual binaries. In that sense they are indeed gender revolutionaries" (pg 130). After their collective research they conclude that drag queens fall between the division on masculine and feminine. In the study of the 801 girls they conclude that drag is a transgression and challenge to sexual order, or the gender norms of society. They create their own theatrical identity to capture their audience, and show they're neither a man or a women.

This article provided good information on my blog topic which is drag culture. The authors do research on a group of popular drag group in Florida, giving their background, and their views on what it really means to be a drag queen. Some of the focuses in this article relate to the course theme of sexuality and gender norms. In ways it realtes is how the drag queens don't consider themselves as man or women, they identify themselves as expressing their transgendered identity. It also shows how drag queens are considered outside of the gender norms of society, by being men dressing in women's clothes fro entertainment. This article relates to the reading by Susan Stryker, "An introduction to transgender." Most of the author's points about the 801 girls related with them having transgendered identities, which in the Stryker article she says how transgender people are those who move away from the assigned gender received at birth. In contrast Stryker describes how some people feel the need to get away from the expectations they are put in with the gender that was initially put upun them. Through Taylor and Rupp's research with the 801 girls, they conclude that the men felt more comfortable dressing up as a women. This article helped me with a lot of facts on the drag culture and what it is considered to be.
-Dyamone Clark