The Drag Queen Anthology
The Absolutely Fabulous but Flawlessly
Customary
World of Female Impersonators
(2004) Harrington Park Press - 251 pp. with Index
Edited by Steven P. Schacht, PhD
Department of Sociology, Plattsburgh State University of New York
with Lisa Underwood
Department of Sociology, Plattsburgh State University of New York
About The Book:
Examine the cultural and political implications of
male-to-female gender performance!
The Drag Queen Anthology: The Absolutely Fabulous but
Flawlessly Customary World of Female Impersonators examines the
phenomena of male-to-female gender performance and the people
who live it. This provocative collection of original essays explores
the possibilities, limitations, ironies, and controversies surrounding
men who perform as women to an audience that knows the truth but
celebrates the illusion. The book?s contributors call on
extensive backgrounds in sociology, anthropology, theater, literature?even
military studies?and use a variety of approaches to address
common themes and genres of presentation, performance, and style
in a wide range of historical settings and cultures.
The Drag Queen Anthology explores female impersonation
in the past and present, addressing the often-contradictory cultural
impulses found in the performance of femininity. The book examines
the important issues of this unique form of gendering, including
the cultural and sociopolitical implications of drag, the symbolic
cultural ideals associated with women, the impact of the performer?s
social identities on his performance, and the reactions of the
GLBT, straight, and feminist communities to drag. The book looks
at traditional drag performance, challenges accepted perceptions
about female impersonation, and exposes the notion of the effeminate
drag queen as an outdated myth.
The Drag Queen Anthology examines the important issues of
male-to-female gender performance, including:
- how drag queen performance is used to attain situational
status and power
- how drag queens challenge contemporary notions of gender
- what embodiment occurs when men undertake performances of
femininity
- how drag queen performance is viewed as a theatrical presentation
of self
- what representations of drag queens in film suggest about
current gender relations
- why communities organize around drag queen performers
- how drag queen performance differs on-stage and off
- how male-to-female gendered performance intersects with performances
of sexual identity, social class, race, age, and ethnicity
The Drag Queen Anthology: The Absolutely Fabulous but
Flawlessly Customary World of Female Impersonators is an indispensable
resource on drag?s core elements of performance and parody
and how each affects contemporary notions of gender.
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