La retórica ambivalente de la performance drag king: estereotipos y parodia de la masculinidad en un contexto anglosajón
Abstract
Most studies on the drag king phenomenon agree on signaling the subversive component of drag kings’ performances of masculinity simply because they dislodge the notion of masculinity from the domain of biological men, thus disrupting the “sex/gender binary” traditionally in force in most spheres of academic research, culture and society. Although such a gender disruption may be defined as subversive per se, my point of departure here is that drag kings’ acts cannot be univocally read as ubversive, for they can also be seen as the reinforcement of hegemonic masculinity. This may be so because of the inherent ideological instability and ambivalence of many of the strategies they use, such as stereotypes, camp aesthetics, drag performance or parody. Moreover, the present essay puts forward that the latter interpretation mainly originates when the queer codes and signs through which drag kings’ masculinities are enacted fail to be read as such. Then, in order to fully assess whether drag kings’ performances are politically effective or not, a careful consideration will be given not only to the content but also to the context in which these queer performances emerge and to a brief theoretical discussion of the abovementioned strategies.Downloads
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