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California State University, Northridge CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Drag Queens: Re-Envisioning the Meaning of Family and Community A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology By Andrea Montes Alvarado August 2017 SIGNATURE PAGE The thesis of Andrea Montes Alvarado is approved: _______________________________________ ____________ Lauren McDonald, Ph.D. Date _______________________________________ ____________ Michael Carter, Ph.D. Date _______________________________________ ____________ Moshoula Capous-Desyllas, Ph.D., Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to first thank my mother, Luisa Maria Alvarado, and my brother, Geovanni Lopez, for inspiring me and supporting my academic career. They have sacrificed so much over the years to allow me to reach my goals and for that, I want to thank them. Their guidance and support have helped me become the person I am today. I also want to thank my brother for introducing me to drag at a very young age. His strength inspires me every day. Secondly, I would like to thank the Sociology graduate program at California State University Northridge for allowing me the honor to learn from such amazing faculty and helping me become the academic I am today. The faculty has taught me so much about sociology and who I am as a sociologist. They have helped me cultivate my skills and focus my interests. I want to specifically thank Dr. Amy Denissen for mentoring me since I began the program and providing me with a model for who I want to become. The way Dr. Amy Denissen talked about my thesis project with such excitement inspired me. She was such an amazing and passionate professor. I am so happy I was able to complete the thesis project we started together, but I am incredibly saddened that she was unable to see it completed. I am forever grateful to have meet such an amazing human being and I hope I am making her proud. Thirdly, I would like to thank my fellow graduate students for keeping me grounded throughout this process. I could not have done it without all my friends in the program. I want to specifically thank my cohort member Jennifer for keeping me company during all our late nights writing papers and finishing our finals. Jen kept me grounded all throughout this process and for that, I would like to thank them. I would also iii like to thank Marilyn for being one of the most supportive people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She was always there for me and willing to go to lunch with me when I needed to talk. I wholeheartedly believe Marilyn was an instrumental person in me completing my thesis since she allowed me to call her every time I panicked over my thesis. Lastly, I would like to thank Karen for always being there for me even though we were not in the program at the same time. She was so supportive throughout my thesis process and continues to mentor me as I move forward in my career. Ultimately, I would like to thank the graduate students and faculty at CSUN for helping me grow as a person and academic. Fourthly, I would like to thank all the individuals who allowed me the privilege to interview them and share their stories in my thesis. They opened up their lives to someone they did not know and for that, I am forever grateful. I could not have done this without them. Additionally, I want to thank the participant Geovanni for inspiring my interest in drag queen dynamics. The way he presents himself in drag is mesmerizing and his drag house inspired my focus on drag houses. I would also like to thank my brother’s friend outside of the drag community for being so willing and helpful in recruiting drag queens to my study. I am humbled by all the help I have received. Fifthly, I would like to thank my thesis committee members Dr. Lauren McDonald and Dr. Michael Carter. Dr. McDonald and Dr. Carter stepped up for me and opened themselves up to learn a topic foreign to their areas of interest. Dr. McDonald went above and beyond in order to help me complete my thesis, from looking up references to letting me sit in her office venting about my thesis experiences. I cannot thank her enough for that. She made my thesis stronger and the process easier. I would iv then like to thank Dr. Carter for being part of my thesis committee and being one of the most dedicated mentors I have had. He is one of the more influential professors and mentors I have had in my sociological journey. He opened up his door to me since I began the program and he is dedicated to helping me reach my future goals. Lastly, I would like to thank my thesis committee chair Dr. Moshoula Capous- Desyllas for giving me the chance to pursue this research study. I cannot thank her enough for going out on a limb for me and becoming my thesis chair. As my thesis chair, she encouraged me to look at my thesis in different ways that made it stronger. She has supported me immensely throughout my thesis process, specifically when I felt overwhelmed. Her kindness and dedication to my thesis humbles me and reminds me of what privilege I have had to work with her so closely. I will always be grateful to her for her guidance and support. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page .................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Locating Myself .............................................................................................................. 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 5 Challenging Gender Norms ............................................................................................ 5 Audience Participation and Perception ....................................................................... 6 Drag Identity ................................................................................................................... 8 Use of Language ....................................................................................................... 10 Motivation into Drag................................................................................................. 13 Reproduction of Normative Gender.............................................................................. 14 Drag Kings and Challenging Normative Gender ...................................................... 15 Drag Houses and Families ............................................................................................ 17 Ballroom Culture ...................................................................................................... 18 Alternative Families and Kinship Literature................................................................. 21 Procreation and Childrearing .................................................................................... 23 Laws and Regulations ............................................................................................... 24 Chosen Families ........................................................................................................ 25 Incorporation of the Literature ...................................................................................... 27 THEORETICAL APPROACH ......................................................................................... 29 Doing Gender ................................................................................................................ 29 Queer Theory ................................................................................................................ 31 Theory Incorporation .................................................................................................... 33 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 34 Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................... 34 Research Questions ................................................................................................... 34 Case Study .................................................................................................................... 34 Source of Data............................................................................................................... 35 Qualitative Interviews ............................................................................................... 36 Recruitment Method ..................................................................................................... 37 vi Ethical Considerations .................................................................................................. 38 Sample Demographics .................................................................................................. 39 Portrait of the Participants ........................................................................................ 42 FINDINGS ........................................................................................................................ 44 Participants’ Definitions of Drag .................................................................................
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