Minnesota State University, Mankato Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects Capstone Projects 2017 Drag Performance and Femininity: Redefining Drag Culture through Identity Performance of Transgender Women Drag Queens Cristy Dougherty Minnesota State University, Mankato Follow this and additional works at: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds Part of the Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Dougherty, C. (2017). Drag Performance and Femininity: Redefining Drag Culture through Identity Performance of Transgender Women Drag Queens [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/730/ This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects at Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. Drag Performance and Femininity: Redefining Drag Culture through Identity Performance of Transgender Women Drag Queens By Cristy A. Dougherty A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In Communication Studies Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota July 2017 Title: Drag Performance and Femininity: Redefining Drag Culture through Identity Performance of Transgender Women Drag Queens Cristy A. Dougherty This thesis has been examined and approved by the following members of the student’s committee. Thesis Defense Completion: 7/21/2017 ________________________________ Advisor: Dr. Sachi Sekimoto ________________________________ Committee Member: Dr. Christopher Brown ________________________________ Committee Member: Dr. Justin Rudnick ________________________________ Committee Member: Dr. Nick Clarkson 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you— To my committee for helping me access my full potential as a scholar and a researcher. To my in-department committee members, Justin Rudnick and Christopher Brown for encouraging research that is socially significant, social justice oriented and technically meticulous. To my thesis advisor, Sachi Sekimoto, for being an excellent role model and teaching me about the intricacies of good, critical research and her guidance in my search for doctoral programs. To my outside committee member in the gender and women’s studies department, Nick Clarkson, who provided me with a wide scope of readings, information and ideas that I would have never known existed without his guidance and support. To my main pillars of intellectual and emotional support, Quinton C. Neal and Emilee Shearer. There were many moments throughout this process in which I doubted my intellectual skills and emotional capabilities in Academia. You make me a stronger woman, and an even stronger academic. I appreciate the nights you were willing to engage in insightful theoretical discussions about my project, as well as the nights I needed to step away from the project to decompress. To my participants who were willing to be interviewed in this project. Our discussions were an enriching experience and I appreciate your willingness to engage in an insightful co- creation of knowledge. Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to engage in these discussions. This project wouldn’t have been able to happen without you. Thank you for your time and energy. To my loved ones, who encouraged me to make the most out of my education. To my mother and my father, Bonnie Tell and Jarrod Tell, who simultaneously nurture me and push me 2 to reach for success. You are both the most important individuals to me. To my dear friends, Krysta Hovendon and Christiana Hennings. You played such an immense role in my love of social justice and my identity. You encouraged my academic curiosity and my desire to teach by simply helping me truly accept who I am. To my partner and one of my best friends, Alexander Hauger, for respecting my space throughout this process and supporting me through the difficult times that could have easily impeded my research. You kept me working persistently and unapologetically, and your belief in me, despite these hardships, motivate me throughout my academic endeavors. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................6 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................7 Biological Restrictions in Drag Performance ................................................................7 Redefining Femininity in Drag ......................................................................................9 Purpose of Study ..........................................................................................................11 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................13 Gender as Performance ................................................................................................13 Gender and Sexual Variance ..................................................................................16 Performance of Femininity ....................................................................................18 Drag Queen Performance .............................................................................................20 History of Drag Performance .................................................................................21 Drag as a Medium of Subversion ...........................................................................25 Drag Performance and the Gender Binary .............................................................28 Trans Identity Performance..........................................................................................32 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................39 Qualitative Research and the Critical Approach ..........................................................40 Positionality of the Researcher ....................................................................................42 Participants and Recruitment .......................................................................................44 Procedures and Data Analysis .....................................................................................44 Thematic Analysis .......................................................................................................47 CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS .......................................................................................49 Transgender Women: Using Drag Performance to Unpack and Reaffirm Gender Identity ............................49 Gay Men Drag Queens: Using Drag to Take on Feminine Identities Through Storytelling ..............................56 Drag Performance and Aesthetics: Establishing Intention and Purpose for Performances of Femininity ..........................59 You Do Drag? What are You? Drag Performance and Assumptions Regarding Gender Identity ................................70 Using Drag to Attain Social and Political Visibility ....................................................74 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION .....................................................................................79 Implications..................................................................................................................79 Who Am I? The Search for the Self in a World with Predetermined Understandings and Expectations of Gender ..........................................................................................80 Gender and Location: The Shifting of Gender Performance Through Context and the Erasure of Self-Ascribed Identity ..........................................................................81 Femininity is not the End Goal: Femininity as a Medium of Gender Expression and Ascribed Identity ....................................................................................................83 Limitations ...................................................................................................................86 Future Research ...........................................................................................................88 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................90 APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................94 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................96 4 ABSTRACT Viewing gender as a performance reveals how gender identity is shaped and formed. There is currently tensions associated with drag queen performance as an act of subversion and transgression from the heteronormative definition of gender and drag as a perpetuation of heteronormative definitions of gender. There is also