Live like a king, y’all: Gender negotiation and the performance of masculinity among Southern drag kings

Abstract

This paper draws upon interviews with 27 drag kings in the South to examine why individuals perform drag, the range of performance experiences, and how drag kinging challenges dichotomous ideas about gender. We use these interviews to demonstrate the importance of context in understanding the drag king culture. We clearly show that in the South the performance of masculinity in the form of drag differs from other areas of the country. Our findings indicate that Southern drag kings, in general, do not overtly challenge the gender status quo as previous research assumes. Rather, they turn to drag as a safe and fun outlet for female masculinity and as a place to test the waters of transsexuality. Despite their often individualistic rationales, we argue that the act of performing drag still challenges the gender order and enables others to engage in political thought and push for change in our society.

The Geography of Research on LGBTQ Life: Why sociologists should study the South, rural queers, and ordinary cities

“…Work by historian Brock Thompson () on queer Arkansas suggests that Southern cultural norms of pageantry support public visibility of cross‐dressing and drag. Sociological work on drag in the South is limited, apart from Rupp and Taylor () ethnography of a drag queen cabaret in Key West, Florida, and Baker Rogers' work on drag kings in the South (Baker & Kelly, ). Both studies illustrate the importance of context in understanding the role of drag in individuals' lives.…”

Drag as a Resource: Trans* and Nonbinary Individuals in the Southeastern United States

“…Although respondents’ gender and sexual identities vary, all respondents in this study have identified as a drag king at some point in their lives. Drag kings are “any person who performs masculinity within the context of a drag show or contest” (Baker and Kelly 2016, 48). This broad definition captures a community, history, and culture that Halberstam (1997, 106) explained is “necessarily multiple.” Drag kinging in the United States began largely within lesbian subcultures in the 1990s and provided an outlet for women to perform masculinities (Halberstam 1997, 1998).…”

“…This broad definition captures a community, history, and culture that Halberstam (1997, 106) explained is “necessarily multiple.” Drag kinging in the United States began largely within lesbian subcultures in the 1990s and provided an outlet for women to perform masculinities (Halberstam 1997, 1998). While historically masculinities were viewed as nonperformative—as the norm to measure other gender performances against (Butler 1990)—today drag kinging has become more widespread and provides an outlet for people of various gender identities and sexualities to explore masculinity in a safe and entertainment-focused context (Baker and Kelly 2016; Piontek 2002; Rupp, Taylor, and Shapiro 2010; Shapiro 2007).…”

Intimate attunements: Everyday affect in Sydney’s drag king scene

“…These dual approaches have become entrenched in the theoretical and empirical accounts that followed and coalesce as a recognizable field of study. As a result, subsequent work on drag kinging can be divided into the analytic categories of performer and audience: as either a performative practice of gendered or sexual identity (Barbé i Serra, 2014; Grey, 2011; Halberstam, 1997, 1998; Hanson, 2007; LeBesco et al., 2002; Shapiro, 2007), or as a destabilizing political strategy derived from queer cultural membership (Baker and Kelly, 2016; Braziel, 2005; Escudero-Alías, 2011; Halberstam, 2001, 2003, 2005; Hobson, 2013; LeBesco et al., 2002; Pauliny, 2013).…”