Drag is an act. Yet, an act of what? Can drag be discerned as imitation or critique of gender tropes through parody and exaggeration of heterosexual archetypes? Is it a complex and multidimensional performative act with subversive potential, or merely an expression of gender identity or desire? Is drag a radical political machination that can be used to denaturalise heterogeneous norms? Is drag is an object which casts a dense and expansive shadow from which implications of existing on the marginalised periphery of mainstream culture can be discerned? In this essay I seek to explore the motives and outcomes of drag, in Jennie Livingston’s documentary film Paris is Burning (1991), which records the activities of gay and transgender black and latino men aligned with the Harlem underground drag-ball circuit. …show more content…
Trophies are won by exact The men are fixated with the execution of ‘realness’ or precise replication of heterogonous social types such as executive or military realness and also occasionally minority types such as ‘bangee boy’ or ‘bangee girl’, which are terms directly routed in gay subculture. This realness is paradoxical. Precise replication occurs within a Ball context, which in itself contains codes that are strictly adhered to. The Ball culture is in itself a microcosm in which a reality is created. In this reality success and stardom is something that must worked for to be obtained. There are levels, hierarchies, a distinct
Without brave women activists like these, awareness of racial and sexual identities may not have the powerful presence it does today. The Collective’s Statement served as a fervent mission to demolishing all oppressive practices and helped to forge movements within our current society. Today’s
In her article, “A Scar is More than a Wound: Rethinking Community and Intimacy through Queer and Disability Theory”, Karen Hammer examines how Jess’ traumatic experiences in Leslie Feinberg’s Stone Butch Blues becomes the foundation for her and other transgenders to find “community and intimacy” (160). In doing so, Hammer expertly highlights Jess’ constant need to establish a home of acceptance to combat the violence she faces throughout the novel. Therefore, Jess uses her traumas to form connections with other transgenders to provide a sense of community. However, Hammer fails to acknowledge the consequences of forming a community based on shared experiences of violence. Jess expresses these consequences in her willingness to give up on the
An intersectional examination of the challenges of African Americans reveals that there are various factors that aide in the oppression of this group. Race, gender, and sexuality are all interlocking aspects to the challenges face by Black men and women. Three scholarly pieces that examine these interconnected issues and the affect that they have are “The Combahee River Collective Statement”, Black Sexual Politics by Patricia Hill Collins, and “Hip-Hop Feminist” by Joan Morgan. Each of these text argue for an understanding of Black people, and specifically Black women, in a manner that does not put race before gender and sexuality. While “The Combahee River Collective Statement” and Black Sexual Politics both seek to examine gender and sexuality
Personal narratives are a crucial tool for highlighting the unique challenges and perspectives that members of marginalized populations encounter while grappling with their experiences. In "When Brooklyn Was Queer," Hugh Ryan effectively weaves a web of individualized experiences to construct a realistic and intricate portrayal of Brooklyn's LGBTQ+ community's history. These stories give a specific perspective on the realities of queer people in Brooklyn and illustrate how depictions of queer people diverge from those of non-queer individuals. The author places an emphasis on how race, class, and gender have intersected throughout queer history. The stories of queer people of color, queer individuals from working-class origins, transgender
In Black Men and Public Spaces, Brent Staples handles the stereotyping and ridicule he receives from white individuals serenely. Staples vividly describes one occasion in the essay when a woman was on the same street as him, she looked back at him and observed him, and then she began to run. It was the
In this essay, I will be discussing the debate and conversation surrounding the topic of Blackface, and what does that mean in media and to the black people, and how they are being misrepresented by whiteness. Through the analysis of Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, what is understood about Lee’s exploration of Hollywood’s representational politics, double consciousness and racial interpellation. And also, with support from the film and readings, how does Lee frame characters from a gendered perspective. Blackface, as known in today’s context and one from when it was conceptualized, is understood to white people’s construction of blackness, in the same breath trying to paint out and mould what the black experience could be. When dealing with the concept
The article reveals the racism that gay men and women deal with within the black culture. It speaks on, an unspoken action that is ignored in the African American community. Lorde (1984) speaks about the African American women smuggles as a lesbian, Icard (1986) speaks no how the African American male is seen an inferior. Loiacano
Television series Friday Night Lights pioneers their accurate representation through the character of Jason Street. Authors Butterworth and Schuck identify how the series fails to align with culturally idealized, traditional representations of men. Foote, Justin Gus, et al break down how different authoritative figures affect how boys view their masculinity. Cherney and Lindemann explain the role that participating in sports have in reaffirming that conception. Building upon that notion, Kerr describes the role that the culture of football has had in forming idealizations of masculinity.
The film documentary Paris is Burning is a complex film portraying the lives of African American men who are gay and transgender. The characters are Dorian Corey, Pepper LaBeija, Venus Xtravaganza, Willi Ninja, Octavia St. Laurent, Freddie Pendavis, and several others. This film focuses on how these men support each other and find happiness by embracing their culture. The film uses rhetorical strategies, such as pathos to allow the audience to respond emotionally, logos because this is a documentary about the lives of real men who are rejected by society, and ethos the integrity of this film comes from the whole film crew and the director Jennie Livingston who is openly lesbian (Clark). Livingston made a film that showed the audience a community that has its own cultural norms who are outlawed by everyone but themselves.
The earliest forms of traditional drag were practiced and seen as lighthearted amusement in the late 19th century and the early 20th century through entertainment and performance. Drag during this period was utilized as a creative release for self- expression and a way to make a societal statement. But in society’s perspective, a drag queen couldn 't be distinguished from a transgender individual and cross-dressing and being homosexual are intolerable behaviors during the 20th century therefore society immediately branded drag queens as transgender individuals. But drag queens had the vivacious sprits and the desire for the right of self-expression in any way, shape or form. Drag queens became the mockingjay for pariahs.
Her audience and shows flourished with both whites and blacks, peacefully mingling together to behold Ma’s performances. In this era taut with fear over race, both whites and black adored her. Ma Rainey showcases queerness through
In Staging Race: Black Performers in Turn of the Century America, author Karen Sotiropoulos sets out to describe black artists and their art as “ constitutive of and emblematic of their own generation” (1). Centered in the years post-Civil War and during the dawn of the Jim Crow laws in the late 19th century, Staging Race focuses on the advancement of African American artists in the flourishing cities in America. Artists held the stage in America’s growing entertainment and commercial sector. However, author Sotiropoulos is meticulously in reminding readers that although there were possibilities for advancements, there were still prevalent struggles among artists. Facing racial violence, segregation, disenfranchisement, and social Darwinism,
Sampson Paquette Professor Edwards ENGL101C 9-13-2016 The Dance The essay: “Silent Dancing” By Judith Ortiz Cofer reflects on the transitional period in her life where herself and her immediate family made the move from Puerto Rico to the Big Apple, otherwise known as New York city. The timeline for the essay was set in the 1950’s where cultural fusion and blatant racism ran rampant in the streets.
Black feminism issued as a theoretical and practical effort demonstrating that race, gender, and class are inseparable in the social worlds we inhabit. We need to understand the interconnections between the black and women’s
However, in the late 1950s, the “tease” part vanished as it outlived its usefulness, and having been ravaged by time was shortened to “stripping” or traded in for the euphemistic “exotic dancing”” (Shteir 2004, 1). “Nudity in the theatre became both a symbol of free love and a mark of men’s oppression of women, and topless and bottomless dancing…” (Shteir 2004, 5). Since then, this kind of demure performance turned into explicit stripping and nude lap