Visual Studies

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Doing drag
A visual case study of gender performance and gay masculinities

J. Brian Brown

To cite this article: J. Brian Brown (2001) Doing drag, Visual Studies, 16:1, 37-54, DOI:
10.1080/14725860108583825

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Visual Sociology 16(1), pp. 37-54 © International Visual Sociology Association, 2001
Doing Drag
A Visual Case Study of Gender Performance
and Gay Masculinities
J. Brian Brown
Academic and public interpretations of drag
performance have been bound by the argu-
ment that drag queens reveal the non-essen-
tial nature of gender but still reinforce the
hegemonic gender order through portrayals
of emphasized femininity. I offer a fresh per-
spective on professional drag queen perfor-
mance by examining how it intersects with
the gay masculinity of an accomplished per-
former. By incorporating visual research meth-
ods, life-history analysis, and field observa-
tions, I find that drag performance is a salient
way to reify aspects of gay masculinity that
are otherwise rejected by the hegemonic gen-
der order. When alternative masculinities are
met with acceptance the hegemonic gender
order is subverted and masculinity can be
expanded in lasting ways. Researchers would
do well to treat sexuality as a key component
of gender in drag performances and the audi-
ence as an active participant.
H ow do men come to define and express
their masculinity? Outside of select aca-
demic circles gender continues to be conceptu-
alized as an essential component of biological
sex (e.g. male/masculine and female/feminine).
Thus, acceptable parameters of masculinity are
narrow and there can be serious personal
consequences for violating these parameters, a
salient reality for gay men (Baldauf 1998).
Connell (1987) calls this restricted masculinity
'hegemonic masculinity' and its basis is the
historical subordination of women and other
forms of masculinity, particularly gay masculini-
ties. However, Connell writes, "'hegemony' does
J. Brian Brown is a graduate student in the Sociology department at the Ohio State University. His research
interests include the social demography of non-traditional families, welfare policy, and fatherhood.
37
not mean total cultural dominance ... Other
patterns or groups are subordinated rather than
eliminated" (184). Efforts have been made to
recognize the historical and contemporary
diversity of gay masculinities (Nardi 2000) and
also men's performances of femininities across
cultures (Callender and Kochem 1983; Kennedy
1993), on the stage (Newton 1971; Baker 1994;
Senelick 2000), and in films and festivals
(Brubach and O'Brien 1999). One predominant
version of these performances involving gay
men is the professional drag show.
Professional drag performance developed
out of and still primarily exists within a gay
nightclub subculture. Yet, professional drag
queens are regularly sought out by the larger
gay community to support HIV awareness and
gay pride events (Seyfer 2000). Professional
drag queens, such as Rupaul and The Lady
Chablis, have even achieved celebrity status.
However, hegemonic masculinity attempts to
prevent alternative masculinities from "gaining
cultural definition and recognition as alterna-
tives" (Connell 1987: 186). As such, profes-
sional drag performance as it exists within the
gay community remains a stigmatized form of
theater and professional drag queens are con-
sidered deviants. One must wonder: What
alternatives to hegemonic masculinity might
drag performances and drag queens offer?
This paper offers a fresh perspective on the
analysis of gender, drag performance and
sexuality. I present a case study of a profes-
sional drag queen's experience with hegemonic
masculinity, his construction of an emphasized
38 Brown
femininity, and his performance of a gay mas-
culinity. Photographs, field observations, and
interviews with audience members lend depth to
the analysis. 1 find that drag performance
provides a context in which aspects of gay
masculinities can be articulated and supported.
Perspectives on Gender,
Sexuality, and Drag Performance
West and Zimmerman (1998) present gender as
an activity that is accomplished through social
interaction. They write, "... it is individuals who
'do' gender. But it is a situated doing, carried
out in the virtual or real presence of others who
are presumed to be oriented to its production"
(168). Butler (1999) extends their paradigm by
suggesting that the body becomes a facade
maintained through repeated imitation and
performance within a framework of hegemonic
masculinity and default heterosexuality. Drag
performance, Butler argues, demonstrates a
successful performance of gender outside of
compulsory heterosexuality and masculinist
frames. Yet, this subversive quality is dependent
"on a context and reception in which subversive
confusions can be fostered" (177). It follows that
drag performances are most salient within a gay
context, where the above frames are hardly
appropriate.
Among empirical analyses of drag perfor-
mance, Tewksbury (1993, 1994) finds that drag
performers navigate a disparity between their
drag identities and their actual identities, and
that they make a physical and social transfor-
mation for performances (1994). Tewksbury's
research supports an on-going argument that
professional drag performance gives evidence
for the social construction of gender, but simul-
taneously reinforces standards of hegemonic
gender. Tewksbury also makes little use of the
intersection between gender and sexuality.
Steven Schacht's (2000) ethnography of
drag performances continues the interpretation
that "through strict adherence to conventional
standards of female and male, combined with
the masculine embodiment of the feminine, drag
performance still results in a masculine hierar-
chy" (252). However, Schacht excludes the
audience as participant in the construction of
gender, does not present the performers own
interpretations of the performance, and by
studying drag performances organized around
publicly driven charitable events his setting was
not conducive to the subversive quality outlined
above.
Connell (1992) empirically elaborated on
hegemonic masculinity through the life-histories
of gay men he described as 'very straight gays.'
That is, men who pursue sexual relationships
with other men, but identify and present them-
selves more in terms of hegemonic masculinity
than the stereotypical effeminate-homosexual-
ity. By establishing gay lifestyles through
hegemonic performances of masculinity these
gay men present a contradiction that subverts
hegemonic masculinity. Connell's emphasis on
the development and maintenance of gay
masculinities in light of a hegemonic gender
order is a perspective lacking in the professional
drag queen literature and is applied here.
Data and Methods
This research involves the use of photo-elicita-
tion interviewing, life history analysis, and
participant observation. I photographed Jeremy,
a professional drag queen, during his backstage
transformation into his drag queen character
(Asia), his onstage performance, and his life
away from drag performance. The final interview
took place in Jeremy's apartment, lasted about
three hours, and was guided by these photo-
graphs.
The performance of gender is inherently
a visual topic and photo-elicitation aids in
capturing that quality. Proponents of photo-
elicitation have found that it emphasizes the
participants' perspective, encourages candid
responses, reveals issues that may have gone
unrecognized or misunderstood, and reduces
the interviewer-interviewee hierarchy by
creating a shared activity where the partici-
pant becomes an expert (Collier & Collier
1986; Clark 1999). In this case, they also
provide a fascinating documentary record of
the process and technology used by many
professional female impersonators.
 Doing Drag 39

Field observations and informal audience gay men, where hegemonic masculinity exists
interviews were conducted at the nightclub largely in opposition to gay masculinity, yet gay
where Jeremy performs. I visited the club nine men are no more immune to this culturally
times for data collection and observed fourteen idealized masculinity than are heterosexual men
shows. I noted patterns of behavior among the (Connell 1987). We will see in the following
audience and performers, the general atmo- section that Jeremy's experience reflects this
sphere, and eventually became familiar to contradiction.
regular audience members. I also accepted During the week Jeremy is a waiter at a
invitations to social events, such as Jeremy's restaurant located in a major southeastern city. I
birthday party. began the final interview by presenting photo-
The primary site of this study is a gay graphs of him working at this job. Viewing the
owned/operated nightclub that caters to first photograph Jeremy assesses his appear-
younger adult gay men seeking a place to ance (Figure 1):
dance, drink, and socialize with other gay men. I have never really felt attractive as a guy, so
The drag shows take place in a large room I don't like the way that I look in that picture.
separate from a central bar and dance floor. The I am very critical of the way that I look. I
audience has ample seating, tables, and wait- think I look gay and I don't like that."
staff, and the performers have a backstage area His harsh criticism of his appearance
with dressing rooms and space to socialize. The reflects the contradictory intersection between
patrons are mostly gay men, but heterosexual hegemonic masculinity and the maintenance of
men and women can also be found. A cast of
about seven drag queens perform each week-
end. Most of them lip-sync to recordings of
popular songs and perform dance routines. The
performers rotate turns until each drag queen
has performed two or three times in a single
show. Some performers have had breast im-
plants or take hormone treatments, a few have
undergone full sex-reassignment surgery, some
live as women, others dress in drag occasionally
outside of the club, and others only dress in
drag at the club or a related event.
Jeremy has been performing drag profes-
sionally for nine years. He performs celebrity
imitations and has also developed his own
character named Asia. She is the epitome of
glamour and drama, a femme fatale that desires
it all. Jeremy has not had any hormone or
surgical treatments, nor does he plan to do so.
He has only occasionally dressed as Asia
outside of the club and emphasizes his life as a
gay man.
The Confines of Hegemonic Masculinity
Hegemonic masculinity creates contradictions
for many men who are unsatisfied with a con-
fined definition of masculinity, but who still want Figure 1: Jeremy at the restaurant waiting tables, (all
to be a 'man.' This is particularly the case for photography by the author)
40 Brown
an alternative masculinity. Jeremy desires to be
pretty but a 'real' man is not supposed to be
pretty. In accordance with hegemonic stan-
dards, a man that desires a feminine standard of
beauty (prettiness) must be gay, which disquali-
fies a male from being a man.
Jeremy knew he was gay early on, a
realization that coincided with social difficulty at
school. He reflects, "Although I tried, I was never
any good at sports ... I was made fun of for
being feminine, and people called me gay." Yet,
the dance routines and choreography in
Jeremy's drag performances speak to his
athleticism. Just as standards of beauty are
dictated by hegemonic gender, so too are
standards of "natural" talent or skill. These
experiences reflect the marginalization of
alternative masculinities though the stigmatiza-
tion of homosexuality and the devaluation of
femininity.
After escaping a harsh peer culture in high
school and experiencing the autonomy of
adulthood Jeremy began going to gay bars. He
was performing in drag onstage less than six
months later and has been doing it ever since.
He says that within the gay bars he found the
latitude to expresses himself, "Somebody just
asked me to do it (perform in drag) and I
thought it would be fun. I admired the drag
queens ... it wowed me." But he explains that he
had performed in drag early on:
When I was growing up I used to put on my
mom's clothes and my mom's heels and do
shows with my friends down the street.
(Nobody) thought it was anything weird
back then!"
Jeremy's experience illustrates that the
hegemonic gender order does allow men to
'pretend' or 'make-believe' with alternative
gender performances as long as default hetero-
sexuality is assumed. 'Real men,' however, do
not value traditional feminine standards of
beauty; to do so is to be defined as 'gay' and
not masculine. To Jeremy drag performance is
not pretend; it is one way he expresses his
masculinity. Jeremy qualifies the negativity he
expressed earlier about his masculine appear-
ance, and also gives us a sense that images can
portray standards to which we compare ourselves:
I am very comfortable with the way that I look
now. But there is something about looking at
a photo that makes me regress back to how I
really feel way deep down in."
The night club and his drag career provide
an outlet where it is acceptable for a man to
want to be pretty, yet he also maintains a job
away from the night club. He explains his moti-
vation for having a job waiting tables:
All of my friends at the bar met me while I
was Asia. They are the people that I hang out
with and started to spend time with. I started
to work there (the restaurant) so that they
would know me, not Asia."
Jeremy explains the distinction he makes
between the two jobs:
Back behind the scenes at (the restaurant)
it's really not any different. Because every-
body that works there is a fag just about. And
the ones that aren't hang out with all of the
fags. So, we all know each other and we all
talk alike and we can read each other... I put
on the show that the restaurant wants when I
am around people that can see me visually.
But behind the scenes its me because I want
people to know me."
This passage portrays his desire for people
to appreciate him as a gay man. It is also a
profound statement about how sexuality inter-
sects with the performance gender. Jeremy has
learned to perform hegemonic masculinity
waiting tables just as he has learned to perform
emphasized femininity during his drag perfor-
mances. In fact, many women find him attractive
as a man. He explains, "A lot of girls like the way
I look more than they used to, but I work on it ...
I work on it." As an example of this "work" he
shaves his real eyebrows and draws 'feminine'
eyebrows on to make his drag performances
more effective. As a result, he also draws on
his 'masculine' eyebrows. Hegemonic mascu-
linity often requires men to work on their
'manliness' even if they primarily identify with
an alternative masculinity. Jeremy seems
perfectly aware that masculinity and femininity
are both ongoing performances.

Figure 2: The "shit-work" of gender performance.
Figure 2 was taken in Jeremy's dressing
room located in the backstage area of the
night-club. His 'transformation' takes about
an hour and he starts by putting on old shorts
that he wears during the application of his
make-up. Referring to Figure 2, he expresses
disdain for the whole process:
Even the thought of this moment is
horrible. You have to go in and this is just
the shit-work, I wish I could just wiggle my
nose and (the make-up) would be on my
Doing Drag 41
face and I would feel pretty. I don't like
that picture."
Even though his performance gives him
a context to express his gay masculinity, his
standard of beauty is based on emphasized
femininity. Jeremy recognizes that empha-
sized femininity also has its constraints and
achieving it requires effort. He elaborates,
"Turning myself into Asia is a killing process,
but when you are done! Don't get me wrong, I
feel pretty when 1 am done."
42 Brown
Figure 3: "My face is a blank canvas... "
Constructing an
Emphasized Femininity
This section elaborates on Jeremy's experience
constructing an emphasized femininity. He
describes the overall process of putting on
make-up, wigs, and feminine clothes like an
artist might describe painting a picture. Looking
at Figure 3 he expresses confidence and control
regarding his ability to manipulate his perfor-
mance of gender:
I can see what is going through my head,
'How am I going to paint my face tonight?
What am I doing?' ... My face is a blank
canvas and I paint what I want on here.

Figure 4: Dealing with 'imperfection.'
Jeremy's assessment of his body contains
a level of criticism and attention to detail not
often expressed by a 'real' man. After all,
Jeremy's routine performance has legitimated
the way he thinks about and describes his body
within a context that makes little allowance for
bodily imperfections. His detailed and lengthy
comment in response to Figure 4 demonstrates
the level of attention he places on his body:
I have greasy skin, it is not like greasy,
greasy, but its oily. It can be. I want my skin
to be as dry as possible. I don't use shaving
Doing Drag 43
I • •
cream or anything like that, I use soap and
water, I wash it with soap and water. I don't
use any kind of facial product, just soap and
water. Because of that, it has dried my skin
out, which I like, I don't have to deal with oily
skin anymore. I use this because it moistur-
izes my skin while I am working. So when I
take it off I use baby oil, and my face is
really greasy. So I wash it with soap and
water. I wash it twice: first to get the dirt off,
and open my pores. Then again to get into
my pores and dry my skin back out. Its not
like crusty dry ...
44 Brown
Figure 5: Idealized femininity and the media.
Emphasized femininity is a cultural ideal
that is routinely reinforced by television shows,
magazines and other popular media. Like the
rest of us, Jeremy does not exist outside of
these forces and his subjective standard of
beauty coincides with an idealized femininity
often portrayed by these sources. Jeremy
recounts the inspiration for the eyebrows he is
creating in Figure 5:
I always look at covers of magazines at girls
to see what they look like, to see what the
latest eye make-up looks like ... There was
this picture of this one girl on a Hustler
magazine. This woman had her eyes painted
in a way that I had never seen before and I
thought it was the coolest thing in the world.
I bought the magazine, ripped the cover off
and threw the magazine away! So I brought it
into work and I tried it, and I loved the way
that it looked ... So when I was looking at
myself in the mirror I was thinking about that
girl in the Hustler magazine."
Jeremy's ability to apply the same stan-
dard of femininity that is present in a magazine
designed to illicit sexual desire from hetero-
sexual men and then successfully apply that to
his own body questions the essentialness of the
hegemonic gender order.

Figure 6: "Natural beauty."
Emphasized femininity is an ideal that
readily brings frustration for anyone with the
impetus to achieve it. Minor bodily 'imperfec-
tions' become magnified and small details
become major obstacles to achieving this
idealized beauty. Jeremy's standard is high and
he puts a lot of energy forth to obtain the
unattainable. He is pleased with the progress he
has made by Figure 6, but he obsesses over a
minor 'flaw.' In this passage one can see how
his dissatisfaction with a droopy eyelid becomes
a point of departure for assessing his entire
career as a drag queen:
Doing Drag 45
The only problem that 1 have with my face is
that my eyelid thing, that arch, it sags a little
and 1 hate it. There is no cosmetic surgery
that they can do to fix it... I have these
exercises that I do where I hold these
muscles back, it pulls my lid up ... I'll get
lazy and let it down and I look in the mirror. I
want to look pretty, but I don't. It is bothering
me. / want to look pretty and to not have to
work at it. I want it to be natural beauty. But
it is hard work ... When it is not fun anymore
I will quit."
46 Brown
Figure 7: Jeremy applies fake eyelashes.
Since Jeremy has no intention of physi-
cally becoming a woman, altering certain parts
of his body to approximate emphasized feminin-
ity presents a challenge. However, one should
note that these procedures are no more extreme
than what many women go through on a daily
basis. First, Jeremy places great emphasis on
his eyes and his ability to create 'womanly'
eyelashes. He elaborates:
I don't feel like a woman until I have my
eyelashes on. Women naturally have longer
and prettier eyelashes. When I perform, the
music comes through my body, the words
come out of my mouth, but the feeling and
the story comes out of my eyes. Whenever I
see a really pretty woman 1 always see
eyelashes, and beautiful eyes, the way they
show off, that is pretty to me.
He remarks that women have pretty
eyelashes and therefore he is not a woman until
he too has pretty eyelashes. Of course, women
also use make-up to emphasize their eyes.
Jeremy goes a step further by wearing fake
eyelashes, and uses the sharp end of a sewing
needle to apply them (Figure 7). He explains
that he does not consider this to be nearly as
dangerous as it appears:
I share this room with another performer. I
always freak her out with this part because
this is a sewing needle ... I take it and stick it

Figure 8: Jeremy's tuck.
into my eyelash right at the root next to my
lid. She is always scared ... somebody is
going to come along and startle me ... stab
myself into the eyeball. It is easy, I have
never come close to sticking myself.
If there is any part of the male anatomy
that represents masculinity it is the penis (Bordo
1998, 1999). For many men the thought of
tucking one's penis between one's legs is
enough to cause discomfort. However, this is
mild discomfort compared to the pain and life-
long injuries many men experience and cel-
ebrate during 'manly' activities such as boxing,
football, and manual labor. Despite all the
machismo about penis size and activity the
Doing Drag 47
actual penis is rarely displayed; it is more often
measured in mythical proportions than in
standard inches (Lehman 1998). Still, hiding the
penis symbolizes a denial of hegemonic mascu-
linity, and as Jeremy points out, with a little
ingenuity and practice it is an easy procedure
that is relatively painless (Figure 8):
This is my tuck! ... This is a shirtsleeve and a
pantyhose leg. I tie a pantyhose leg that has
been put through a shirtsleeve around my
waist and wear it like a panty ... You know
how when your arm falls asleep and it burns?
That is what it does. When I first did it I did it
too tight or with duct tape ... That is how they
(the other performers) showed me how to do
it. I didn't know how to do it... back then.
48 Brown
Figure 9: "A nice and natural looking chest.'
If the penis is symbolic of masculinity then
breasts are the likely female equivalent for
femininity. Breasts are nearly always on display,
and unlike the penis, this makes them a vulner-
able target for judgement and criticism by both
men and women. The constraints of gender
hegemony require more than simply having
breasts to be feminine. Jeremy's assessment of
Figure 9 reflects this cultural obsession through
his own standard of beauty. His ability to add
padding and adjust the placement of his breasts
mirrors women's increasing options to achieve
more 'natural' looking breasts:
I am always looking at women's chests.
Asia's figure is a lot curvier than it was when
I first started doing drag nine years ago. In
this photo I was looking into the mirror trying
to imagine how my chest is going to look
like when I get the rest of the clothes on. It is
really important to have a nice and natural
looking chest. Just like me, everyone else is
always looking at titties.
Jeremy's hair is cut in a short masculine
style. Wearing wigs solved the problem of
having long hair, but he still had to learn to style
it. Keeping up with feminine hairstyles is no
easier for Jeremy than it is for a woman. Fash-
ion is hardly natural, yet Jeremy's ability to
keep up with these hairstyles enables him to
create a 'natural' looking femininity. Jeremy
explains this while looking at Figure 10:
I learned how to do hair from a professional
hairdresser that used to work downtown. I
think I have gotten pretty good at it and my
hair looks pretty natural. I am using about
six wigs regularly, but I guess I own well over
one hundred. I go through hair phases like
most women do.
 Doing Drag 49

Figure 10: Styling

Asia's hair.

Figure 11: The completed face of Asia.

50 Brown
Figure 12: The completed body of Asia.
This section and the last illustrate Jeremy's
reliance on creating an emphasized femininity to
express feelings of beauty both generated and
limited by his gay masculinity. Up to this point
his actual performance has been left vague.
Overlooking Jeremy's performance ignores
what has made drag so salient in his life. After
all, constructing gender is hard work and the
payoff is the performance.
Drag Performance
and the Expansion of Masculinity
As stated earlier, the way gender is done de-
pends upon the context and if the participants
are in tune with this context. The people watch-
ing the drag shows at the night club where ,
Jeremy performs are a "committed audience"
(Newton 1971:63). That is, they are in tune with
and engage the context Jeremy relies upon to
express himself. In this final section I examine
the actual stage performance, his interaction
with the club-goers as both Asia and Jeremy,
and his experience with drag performance
outside of the club.
The audience members show their support
for Jeremy and the other drag queens through
their attendance, attention, clapping, and
offering of gratuities. During a performance a
steady stream of audience members approach

the stage and offer money to the drag queen.
On a busy night there is often a line of five or
more people in front of the stage. The perform-
ers take the money and throw it towards the
back of the stage or secure it into their bras.
Often times the drag queens will caress an
audience member's hand or face, give him or
her a hug or kiss on the cheek, whisper some-
thing in his or her ear, or even flirtatiously ignore
him or her altogether. Jeremy sums up his
perspective on why tipping is such a routine part
of the performance, "They appreciate the time
we spend to look beautiful. They know that we
aren't making much and by tipping us they are
saying they support us." The reflexivity that
exists between the audience and Jeremy
through the way they do gender together and
use this context reinforces each others' experi-
ence of gender. For Jeremy, the tipping and
other forms of audience approval legitimizes
drag as a way to articulate aspects of his gay
masculinity.
Most of the audience members that offer
gratuities are male and the vast majority of
those with whom I spoke identified as gay or
bisexual. However, heterosexual men and
women also tip the performers. I spoke with a
woman in her early twenties who was at the club
with her boyfriend. She had tipped one of the
drag queens and I was later able to speak with
her. When asked why she tipped the performer,
she said:
I just love their acts! I think it is so amazing
how much effort they put into looking like
and behaving like women ... I just wanted to
give her a few dollars to show that I loved the
show.
This young woman's tipping directly
supports the drag queens' performances, and
she indicates that she accepts the doing of an
alternate gender by using a female pronoun to
refer to the performer. A heterosexual male
offered a similar response when I spoke with
him after he had tipped a performer:
I just really get a kick out of the shows. I have a
lot of gay friends, and I appreciate people who
are different. They (the performers) are really
good, and I like watching them.
Doing Drag 51
Although the heterosexual audience
members express support for the show and even
a general awareness of the role of sexuality in
the performance of gender, it was when I spoke
with the gay men that the subversive quality of
drag became salient and well-articulated. It was
evident in their responses that the drag queens
represent an expression of their gay masculinity.
This man's sentiment sums up what I heard
from other gay men:
You see, a lot of us gay guys have a strong
female side. We want to look pretty and we
walk like girls. It's not that we want to be
female, we just feel close to that part of our
personality. When I look at the stage, I see a
person who feels the same way.
Further, the following passage illustrates
how drag performance gave a male audience
member the context and support he needed to
announce his gayness more publicly:
Up to that point only a few people knew I
was gay and I guess I had been looking for a
way to come out to more people. That
weekend I went to the drag show with my
close friends and they gave me a few dollars
to tip the drag queen. You know, I was
standing in front of all of these people
holding this money out - feeling like a major
fag - when the drag queen leaned down and
in my ear said 'Thank you. You're beautiful
baby.' Now, I don't know if that drag queen
knew it, but she made it a little easier to
stand in front of all those people and feel o.k.
about being gay.
At the least, these latter passages suggest
that audience members are in tune with and
cooperate in creating an arena where gender is
done in alternative ways. At the most, the
audience members suggest that drag perfor-
mance has reinforced their everyday experi-
ences of alternative masculinities. The audience
members actively do gender with Jeremy and
the other performers and sexuality is a central
frame for this interaction.
There are several show-times each week-
end evening and there is a gap of about an hour
between these shows. During this time Jeremy
mingles throughout the club as Asia. Jeremy
says that this is an important time for Asia to
52 Brown

maintain what he calls "public relations." In fact, it. Very glamorous, and very beautiful. When
she is somewhat of a local celebrity. He explains I see this picture I can see somebody taking
why people like Asia and what he enjoys about a picture of me lip-synching at the Oscars.
this off-stage performance: At the end of the interview I asked Jeremy
Oh, she's a bitch and they love that! Don't if he wanted to share any final thoughts. He
get me wrong, I'm a sweetheart and they again stresses the distinction between perform-
know that... They love to look pretty and so ing emphasized femininity and preserving his
do I, and that is my pretty time with them, masculinity, yet there is ambiguity in the way he
and this is their spotlight time with me. They expresses how these two experiences intersect:
look forward to it just as much as I do. I love
to feel pretty and they make me feel pretty. As far as it goes it is a job, a career. Not a
life-style. I don't ever want to be a woman ...
The gender performance between Jeremy If I started worrying about what other people
and his fans and friends away from the stage think about me I would be too busy trying to
further supports Jeremy's use of drag to articu- make other people happy. I love what I do. It
late his gay masculinity. However, Jeremy still is glamorous, totally fun, full of drama, it is a
places importance on aspects of his masculinity soap opera. It is my life and I like it. It has
that are confined by Asia's emphasized feminin- taken a long time for me to get to where I
ity. After the last show he enjoys being at the want to be. I am happy. I feel successful.
club with his friends as Jeremy. He says, "It is a
time to party and have a good time with my
friends. I've done it already with Asia."
While Jeremy emphasizes the separation
between his job as a drag queen and his life
away from the club the following passage
suggests that the actual division between 'what
he does' and 'who he is' is less than clear:
There was this boy that I was dating and he
loved Reba McEntire ... he thought I should
do Reba as a character because I would run
around the house and make fun of Reba [by
imitating her] whenever he would be watch-
ing videos and performances of her. One
Sunday night they (the club management)
were trying to get more people in and so
they had a celebrity show ... I thought I
would do (Reba McEntire) and I did it.
This is not to imply that Jeremy secretly
wants to become a woman, but rather that his
routine performances at the club has given him
a broader context for the way he experiences his
masculinity outside of the club. Further, despite
Jeremy's support at the night club his reflection
upon Figure 14 shows a desire for a much
broader acceptance of the way he expresses his
masculinity:
This is my favorite picture! I live for this
picture. What I really love about it is that it is
completely elegant. I feel really beautiful in Figure 13: Jeremy as Asia as Reba McEntire.

Figure 14: "Lip-synchingat the 'Oscars'."
In one respect there is separation between
'playing' a woman on stage versus wanting to
physically become a woman. There is no reason
to doubt this. At the same time, his routine
performances of emphasized femininity are also
a salient and acceptable context for Jeremy to
express himself in a way that masculinity does
not permit. In this respect he does care what
people think, and these performances have
given a context to and expanded his experience
of masculinity. That is, drag performance has
reified his gay masculinity and effectively
subverted the hegemonic gender order.
Discussion
Much of the discourse on gender in professional
drag performance has been bound within a
paradox where professional drag performers
simultaneously denaturalize and reify gender as
essential (see also Dolan 1985). Certainly, one
Doing Drag 53
might be led to conclude that Jeremy's remark-
able performance denaturalizes the gender
binary while simultaneously reinforcing it
through his focus on emphasized femininity.
However, Jeremy's experience also suggests
that drag performance gives him a salient way
to articulate his gay masculinity, and thus
expands his experience of masculinity.
Focusing on Jeremy as a gay man is
significant since previous studies of drag perfor-
mance focus almost entirely on gender.
My analysis lends support to Butler's (1999)
argument that sexual identity is central to how
gender is done and that drag does subvert the
hegemonic gender order. This study is also more
in line with West and Zimmerman than was
previous research on drag performance and
gender by considering the audience an active
participant in the social construction generalize to
all professional drag queens, nor was my inten-
tion to compare Jeremy's experience to other
54 Brown
men engaged in drag performance. Rather, it is to
demonstrate at least one way an alternative
masculinity has gained support and subverted the
hegemonic gender order. Through an in-depth
photo-elicitation interview and the accompanying
photographs and field research we can briefly
'see' into the intersection of alternative and
hegemonic gender (Nardi 2000).
A particularly useful direction for future
studies for drag performance would be a more
in-depth examination of the audience. In forth-
coming work, Rupp and Taylor (personal
communication) conduct focus group interviews
with audience members at drag performances to
show that the subversive quality of drag perfor-
mance is not lost on the audience and has
lasting effects within the context of a broader
social movement. I also suggest future studies
of drag performance be nested more deeply in
the homosexual community where the drag
queens directly challenge gender hegemony in
skits and stand-up routines.
By seeking to understand Jeremy's experi-
ence of gay masculinity, I was given new insight
into my own experience of gender. This paper is
not only about a drag queen, or even a gay
man. It is about a man finding a way to express
his masculinity because men as a category are
too diverse and men's individual experiences
are too complex to be contained by hegemonic
masculinity.
Acknowledgements
J. Brian Brown wishes to thank Jon Rieger,
Verta Taylor, Patricia Gagne, Tim Curry, and the
anonymous reviewers.
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