An Exploration of Gender, Sexuality and Queerness in Cis- Female Drag Queen Performance
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School of Media, Culture & Creative Arts Faux Queens: an exploration of gender, sexuality and queerness in cis- female drag queen performance. Jamie Lee Coull This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University November 2015 DECLARATION To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgment has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. Human Ethics The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) – updated March 2014. The proposed research study received human research ethics approval from the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (EC00262), Approval Number #MCCA-12-12. Signature: Date: 20/11/2015 i ABSTRACT This PhD thesis investigates the cultural implications of cis-women performing female drag, with particular focus on cis-female drag queens (aka faux queens) who are straight-identified. The research has been completed as creative production and exegesis, and both products address the central research question. In the introductory chapter I contextualise the theatrical history of male-to-female drag beginning with the Ancient Greek stage, and foreground faux queens as the subject of investigation. I also outline the methodology employed, including practice-led research, autoethnography, and in-depth interview, and provide a summary of each chapter and the creative production Agorafaux-pas! - A drag cabaret. The introduction presents the cultural implications of faux queens that are also explored in the chapters and creative production. This includes excavating notions of cultural queerness, performative and cultural transactions between cis-women and gay male drag queens, the language used to define women in female drag, and the ways that faux queen performance can maintain the challenge of queer and resist heteronormativity through engagement with feminist camp. Chapter One examines the theoretical framework in which we might consider an engagement or intersection between heterosexual and queer identities, and therefore questions the possibility that straight-identified faux queens may be queered as a result of their performance practice. Chapter Two reviews the labels used in academic and social/cultural fields to describe cis-female drag queens and looks closely at the challenges of negotiating cis-gender iterations of drag performance that are more traditionally a form of cross-dressing. Chapter Three focuses on a discussion of ways that faux queen performances might work to maintain the challenge of queer and resist charges of dominant reincorporation – or what Moe Myer has termed ‘camp trace’ (Myer, 1994). The creative production Agorafaux-pas! is presented as a play-script and live performance iteration. In addition to the play- script, the live performance of Agorafaux-pas! offers a form of alternative access to the script and overarching theoretical/critical exploration of the research question. While a written script might function as a descriptive and creative text open to various readings, the live work makes accessible the physical, aesthetic and camped elements intended for the work and also communicates the research in a way that is ii accessible to a wider variety of audiences. The concluding chapter shows how the creative production is imbricated within the theory and analysis of the exegesis, outlines the research conclusions, and contextualises suggestions for future research with regards to the project as a whole. KEYWORDS/PHRASES Faux queen, bio queen, drag queen, cis-gender, cis-women, gender performance, drag performance, gender performativity, female drag, queer, queerness, culturally queer, heteroqueer, hyper-femininity, queered femininity, femme, camp, feminist camp, camp trace, feminist humour. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Parts of this exegesis have been published elsewhere during the course of my doctoral work.1 This project has been made possible by the help and support of many people, some of whom I will not be able to adequately thank here in the acknowledgements. I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to my principal supervisor Dr Helen Merrick who has been entirely supportive, encouraging and excited about my work since taking over as my supervisor in 2013. Her advice and guidance has been a tremendous resource for me and has facilitated my development and growth as an artist-researcher. Although Helen and I have never once been in the same room during this project, I am extremely thankful for the outstanding level of remote supervision she was able to offer me as I pursued a visiting scholar residency in the United States. I will sincerely miss our regular Skype meetings, and hope that we might work together again in the future. Additionally, my co-supervisor Dr Leah Mercer, and previous supervisory team, Dr John Freeman and Dr Ken Miller, provided invaluable guidance. I am particularly grateful to Ken who was especially influential in helping me to shape my research project in the early stages of development. Thank you to everyone who I met with in San Francisco. I will always remember and revere the warmth with which you welcomed me into your community. I would like to list all of your names here, however if I had only to choose one, I would pick Tria Connell (aka Bea Dazzler), who above all made my research trip to San Francisco a success and a delight. The live performance of Agorafaux-pas! would not have been possible without my fabulous cast and crew of volunteers. I extend immense gratitude to the cast: Cara Snyder, Cassy Griff, Stephanie McClure and Lockie McKinna; and crew: Avery 1 Parts of this thesis are included in the following publications: Coull, J. L. (2014). Control & Surrender: Negotiating the Risks and Rewards of Online Performances and Images. The International Journal of The Image, 4(3), 37-48. Retrieved from http://ijx.cgpublisher.com/ Freeman, J. (Ed.). (2015). Remaking Memory: Autoethnography, Memoir and The Ethics of Self. Oxfordshire: Libri Publishing. iv Dame, Melissa Rogers, Erin Collins and Faith Ambrosini. I wholeheartedly appreciate their enormous effort and commitment to Agorafaux-pas! I cannot thank this incredible team of people enough, and I feel indebted to them for their support. I also wish to thank Dr Catherine Schuler and the Department of Women’s Studies at The University of Maryland College Park who accepted my request for residency as a visiting scholar in 2014-2015. WMST supported the production of Agorafaux-pas! by providing much needed in-kind support such as performance and rehearsal spaces, and digital media resources. I am so thankful to Curtin University and the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts for supporting my project and allowing me to pursue a topic for which my passion and enthusiasm has only increased throughout the duration of the program. Over the course of my enrolment I have been a grateful recipient of an Australian Postgraduate Award, Curtin Research Scholarship, Research Performance Index Grant, and two Curtin University Postgraduate Student Association Conference Grants. Finally, I want to recognise the support of my family (both human and furry). My parents Julianne and Peter always prioritized and valued quality education for me and my sister, and encouraged us to pursue our passions. I am so grateful for all of the sacrifices they have made so that I could have access to excellent schooling with talented teachers. Many aspects of my personality that I consider to be my strongest skills were modelled for me by both my parents. Moreover, my mum is the ultimate drag mother and so much about Agorafauxbia reflects her influence on me. This project would be nowhere without the immense support of my husband and great hunk-of-spunk Lockie McKinna. Over the course of this project he has worked tirelessly and without complaint as research assistant, camera-person, performer and proof reader. He has been so profoundly involved in the research and creative practice that it’s likely the project would have fallen apart without him. He is truly the most incredible, interesting and amazing person on the planet and I am so grateful that he still wants to be married to me after all I have put him through during my PhD work. Thank you so much Lockie and I love you. v It is also tradition in my house that furry family members are duly acknowledged. My cats have been curled up beside me as I wrote this entire thesis. It may be because my computer fan emits heat, but I prefer think it is because they love me. Your sweet faces and calming purrs lift my mood when I feel like the sky is falling. You are my most special companions. And to all others who have played a role in the making of this PhD thesis, thank you so much and may the faux-orce be with you! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. ii KEYWORDS/PHRASES ........................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... vii INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................