Identifier

etd-04112016-134534

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Geography and Anthropology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Drag queening men, typically gay men who perform femininities for entertainment, use makeup, padding, injections and other tools to change their bodies for performance. I focus on the backstage activities of drag performers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, rather than conventional observations from the audience, to explore the negotiation, construction and implications of these bodies, both physically and discursively. Through autoethnographic accounts and participating in my own drag performance, I highlight the often unseen, less frequently discussed aspects of drag queening in order to lessen the distance between the efforts of performers and the stage. Drag queening men’s bodies are a queer assemblage that contests the heteronormativity of the male body. Drag performer’s corporeal crafting suggests the body is a multitude of coexisting processes that can be transgressive, but may still reify racist structures and heteronormative gender politics they seek to combat.

Date

2016

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Regis, Helen

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.913

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