Course:CSIS200/2024/The Power of Performance

Introduction

The LGBTQIA+ community has found ways around the rules sent in place against them. Society does not allow for members of the community to exist and have found a multitude of ways to make them and their history disappear. The community, however, have fought back against the system set in place to rid of their existence. In order to remain in the light, the people have found ways to gather and stick with one another while also providing a safe space for them to exist. This is the purpose drag and vogue has provided for the LGBTQIA+ community, especially the Black and Latinx folk in the community. The purpose of drag balls were to allow queer people to use the runway as a “makeshift theater on which, over the course of a long evening, the girls and the boys would stomp and pose and parade and dance attired in zoot suits or chiffon dresses or else very little at all.” These parties allowed for queer people to dress and express themselves as they needed from a lifetime of needing to hide who they truly are. These events had their own community surrounding it, making it surrogate home for many young POC queer people to confide and be around likeminded people who also needed a home away from home.

A fan bought from the queer electronic music group, Pixel Grip, with their song "Alphapussy" written across it.

This can be expressed through the use and popularity of the handheld folding fan used by many queer people whether at these events or outside. The use of the handheld fan is originally used for cooling people down but the LGBTQIA+ community now use it to express enthusiasm with its loud and piercing sounds when they snap close. There is a practical and fun way of using the fan within the community, it gained popularity in the community to cool oneself down while dancing. These fans are feminine, fabulous, striking, dramatic. As a tool, the artifact of the folding fan will be used to represent how the LGBTQIA+ community has used performativity and the show of drag and vogue has provided a community, form of liberation, and form of self-expression for the people who need that getaway and escape from the world around them.

History of Drag

William Dorsey Swann, first person to self-identify as 'queen of drag'

The origins of drag can be tracked all the way back to the ancient civilization and has theatrical roots. It started back when men would play female parts in theatre, committing to the part by wearing female garments, due to the ban on females performing. This practice was common and often encouraged and not seen as the way it is now. The beginning of how drag has evolved can be credited to drag balls, pioneered by Black and Latino performers. There are a lot of different arguments on the true origin of the beginning of drag, but the first documented drag ball was started by William Dorsey Swann, born on a plantation, wanted to host parties where people were found wearing satin dresses and fascinators and competed in cakewalks for prizes. Swann on many occasions was arrested for hosting many parties that were seen as controversial due to the guests being gay, queer and/or people of colour.

There are also connections of drag back to the Mesolithic-age from Central Asia and Siberia, shamans dressed and transformed themselves to different genders to perform rituals of healing and good luck.

These beginnings of drag have long since been modernised and seen as an art performance that has strayed from its start. It has become an art including non-queer folks and expanded but still holds and cherishes its origins.

History of Voguing

Voguing, named after the famous fashion magazine “Vogue”, originated from the Harlem ballroom scene, in the 1960s, by the LGBTQIA+ Black and Latinx community. This stylised form of dance is inspired by ancient Egyptian art and model-like poses has turned into a form of dance used to compete against other dancers for prizes, which drag queens/kings were known for doing, as mentioned previously. The combination of drag queens and kings with the voguing created a type of party called drag balls. Within drag balls, many competitors would vogue and this was their way of gaining a reputation for themselves and settling fights/beef. Voguing on top of the outfits and makeup has created a way for drag performers to express themselves within a safe community. There are different styles that have developed since voguing was created:

Old way: Dating pre-1990, characterised by “formation of lines, symmetry, and precision with fluid-like movement” with emphasis on “hard angles and straight lines” New way: Dating post-1990, incorporates elements of gymnastics and contortion and is characterised by complex angles, geometry, and lines. Vogue Fem: dating circa 1995 embodies feminine appearance and movements, including “basic elements: hands, catwalk, duckwalk, spins/dips, and floor” which was pioneered by transgender women. This is the most common style of vogue that is seen nowadays.

Community

The huge part of creating a culture and being part of it is the people around you also part of the creation of the culture. The community surrounding drag and vogue play the biggest part in how it has become the way it is now. The part that keeps LGBTQIA+ members visible and to stick around is the recognition of one another and to create a home and place for everyone to be seen. Drag balls are held in houses and each house has a designated mother and father and everyone who attends are their children. This family-like dynamic became a lot of queer folks's chosen family and sought comfort in these houses and the mothers and fathers that ran it. Drag balls created “a sense of belonging for these people who are rejected and marginalized by society because they do not conform to the expectations of white heterosexist, patriarchal culture, what is called as dominant culture.” This creation of safety is made in order for people to present to others the way they want to showcase themselves and therefore perform the gender and person they want to be. The ability to flaunt it off in a dramatic and enthusiastic way is how anyone should be able to show off who they are. In a world where queer people are lumped into one category in the drag community they are able to express their individuality and explore it through fashion and makeup. That identity also being validated and celebrated as something that has always been rejected is rejuvenating for a queer person who had to constantly hide. Exploring one’s identity alongside fellow LGBTQIA+ people helps themselves find who they are in and outside of drag. As drag has many different styles and types, there is another within drag of trying to find who you are as a drag performer. Through these unique representations come opportunities for mentorship within the community and inspiration for people to be open to indulge in drag. There is a misconception that only gay men participate in drag, but the truth is drag is now seen as just a way of applying your makeup and fashion, to emphasize, drag is the exaggerated presentation of someone whether it be feminine or masculine. Many people forget drag kings are a big part of the community. There are people who are non-binary and dress more masculine or feminine but are neither a man or woman. An example of someone who is a drag queen who is not a gay man is Chappell Roan. As a queer woman, Roan has expressed how she is a drag queen despite the typical definition of being a queen is being a gay man dressing in extravagant women's clothing. In an interview she was approached by a queen, Crayola, and discussing how she needed to put on her makeup, while Crayola corrected her saying that Roan was actually a drag queen, not just a girl putting on some makeup and dressing up. Roan mentioned how when getting ready, she has to “transform” and that was what set up her popstar identity to also be a drag project/identity. This misconception of men only being able to do drag limits who is able to enjoy the art of the drag performance and who can become a part of the drag community. It creates normalisation of the community and allows it to integrate into the greater world.

Popular drag duo, Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova

Drag has now created a big fanbase surrounding the queens that have starred in RuPaul's Drag Race since 2009 which the audience have built a liking around their favourite contestants. The show has created a large following and resulting in drag being more mainstream alongside the exposure from social media no one could say they have not heard of RuPaul's Drag Race. These contestants on screen allowed for the visibility of queens and the drag community (with the competition of “lip sync for their lives” incorporating vogue) and finally put a spotlight on queer folk instead of hiding them away and hoping they just disappear.

Self-expression

Ballroom in the 90s, Chantal Regnault 1990

Drag and voguing is seen as a form of self-expression, specifically of one’s gender. There are many ways people can express who they are, but for many queer folk it is through performance. As gender is seen separate from sex, gender is up for everyone to explore and play with. Drag is a way anyone can do that. It is seen as a way for anyone to “expose the contradictions within the categorization of gender” and to impersonate any gender the way the performer wants and how they see that gender in their eyes. Performing in drag allows for the performer to “adjust their expectations of the characteristics and behaviors that accompany the performance of masculinity and femininity.” Drag provides many opportunities for performers to explore a gender that they have no personal experience being and embodying, but Baker and Kelly explore what drag does for drag kings, in the South. The authors report how it provides them the opportunity to imagine a different gender they felt more comfortable presenting in, make comparisons between their lives as women to the switch to a masculine identity, and through the experience of drag they are given resources about gender identity and relearn what gender is. Gender identity is something people are still learning is not attached to one’s sex and it is something flexible, hence gender expression can be seen as varying and does not follow a binary. Voguing allows for performers to really show their emotions through the dance and feel praise for being who they want to be and how they want to be seen. Drag breaks down all the barriers when it comes to how one can express themselves, there are no limits on who they can be and how they can act when they are on that runway. The fan specifically represents how there is a spectrum and large fan of what gender looks like and changing or dipping their toes in it can provide relief in their own identity. The fan being loud and obnoxious is how drag performers should be flaunting their looks and drag personas.

Liberation Through Performance

Drag Kings, Ryan Duffin 2019

Drag and voguing has opened a door for the LGBTQIA+ community to be seen as people within a society that shuns them for who they are and how they appear. From Swann hosting secret parties and being arrested on multiple occasions for them to drag being a mainstream form of entertainment that has expanded outside of the queer community. There is a history behind the rise and popularity of drag and vogue. It breaks boundaries within the community and makes sexuality and gender fluid and flexible, outside of the binary that still exists within the community. When it comes to drag and vogue there are no limits and people are free unlike how queer people are able to exist in a society that is primarily white, heterosexual, cisgender, and patriarchal. Society will continue to fight against the LGBTQIA+ community for wanting equality and recognition of their existence. The queen of drag and drag balls, Swann, as a queer Black person has experienced the intersectional challenged that come with being a double minority and they have found ways to fight against the system and despite people hunting their head, they still managed to create a place of safety and fought for the liberation of queer folk. Smalls makes a comparison to the popular vogue dance, death drop, to how Black people are dropping dead due to their race. To draw a parallel to African-Americans being hunted, queer people are experiencing the same tragedy. For queer people of colour they are experiencing a double tragedy, but found ways to keep the communities alive and helped them survive to see how it has become now.

The community in the modern day are continuing the fight for visibility and that is why the introduction of RuPaul’s Drag Race opened many doors for the queens and kings to expand beyond the ballrooms and to be seen as not only the performer, but the creator. “By being made visible through creative industries practices, LGBTIQ+ individuals and, in this case, drag queens and kings are naturalized both as producers of real and symbolic capital through immaterial, affective, and other forms of labor and as consumers of products made through such forms of labor.” These individualistic forms of progress open the path for queer people to create their own way through the world and can expand to break down the systems that have kept them trapped in the binary. “Drag has the potential to deconstruct heteronormativity and challenge traditional gender roles” and can diversify and educate other people on the system that holds everyone down. Queer people have been able to be seen and recognized due to the foundation the pioneers have laid for them and continue to reach once impossible and unrealistic goals and making them into reality.

Conclusion

The fan is a symbol for many things for the queer community, it is an object used to cool oneself off during a performance or while being a room surrounded by the brothers, sisters, and siblings of your chosen family, everyone partying, feeling unstoppable and free. It can be seen as a way for people to pay attention to them when they are begging for freedom and liberation from the system created to keep them from being who they truly are. While also connecting everyone together who enter a space and need the support in a world that is cruel and meant to keep you down. It is a sign for hope for those who seek it and a safety item. Drag and vogue are the things that keep people alive and happy, being a way to become one with themselves and exploring every aspect of themselves in the safety of their house's family.

Drag and voguing are powerful forms of self-expression that bring the spotlight to the strength and creativity of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially for Black and Latinx individuals. These art forms have created safe spaces where queer people can explore their identities, form chosen families, and celebrate who they are despite societal rejection.

From their roots in drag balls and voguing competitions to their modern influence in mainstream media, these traditions have broken down inflexible gender norms and given a voice to marginalized communities. They celebrate individuality, a symbol of resistance, and a reminder that art and performance can drive acceptance, visibility, and change in society.

Author's Bio

Ivy Hoa (she/they) is a third year UBC Psychology student. As part of the LGBTQIA+ community and constantly fighting for the rights and visibility of her community, it has always been important to them speak up for what it right for herself, but the other people close to her. They have always been passionate about the history and current state of the queer community, always willing to discuss the implications of societal standards for the community. With her own experience being a Asian-Canadian queer person, they have been through the dirt with coming to terms to her sexuality and gender identity. The passion Ivy has pushes her to continue educating the people around them and herself on the struggles and successes of the people who have experienced similar challenges and them.

Having taken interest in drag and voguing, she wanted to explore the side of performance, once being a dancer, wanted to take a deep dive on the particular genre of vogue. With its rising popularity, they wanted to learn more about the origins and see what it once was and its evolution. Alongside drag's rapid rise as well the interconnectedness between the two were hard to not research and learn more about. Inspiration was taken from the personal fan owned, by an alternative band, passion surged through her to take the time to discover more.