Drag Gender: Experiences of Gender for Gay and Queer Men who Perform Drag

“I wouldn’t say that I’m overly campy”: The socio-cultural subjugation of femininity within gay socio-sexual applications

The prevalence of femmephobic attitudes amongst gay, bisexual, and queer (GBQ) men is well-reported, yet under-discussed employing femme theory. Femmephobia, or the socio-cultural regulation of femininity, is common within GBQ online socio-sexual applications, yet more research is needed to analyze the different ways femmephobia takes place within GBQ socio-sexual applications predominately used by GBQ men. This study analyzes qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 79 participants who described their experiences using socio-sexual applications and interacting with online outreach and health information workers. Participants described the different ways femmephobia and the regulation of femininity manifests within GBQ socio-sexual applications and how such forms of regulation relate to self-presentation and the privileging of masculinity within GBQ socio-sexual applications. Participants further described how femmephobia and the denigration of femininity intersected with anti-Asian racism online.

Making intelligible the controversies over femme identities: A functionalist approach to conceptualizing the subversive meanings of femme genders

Quite a number of heated arguments have been put forth in the controversy about the meanings and appropriate uses of femme identities. In this article, the authors apply a functionalist theoretical framework, developed to explicate the links between gender and gender identities, to reframe the disputes about femme gender. They position two femme identities as responding to distinctive forms of oppression-one that centralizes the affirmation of gender diversity in the face of cisgenderism, and one that centralizes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) femininity to counter femmephobia. They consider the subversive functions of the two identities in terms of unmet needs across four domains. These needs include the need for authenticity in identity (psychological domain); for the prizing of socially devalued characteristics (cultural domain); for security and affiliation (interpersonal domain); and for aesthetic desirability rather than shame (sexual domain). Instead of seeing the two femme identities as at odds, they see them as serving some shared functions, but also distinctive functions in resisting stigma of varied forms. The framework can be applied to other forms of femme-inity (and other genders) to distinguish the varied meanings inherent in gender identities and facilitate research that advances gender theory.

Predictors of disordered eating and acceptance of cosmetic surgery among drag queen performers

In this study, we examined the relations between drag queens' gendered performance styles and body change attitudes and behaviors. We also examined potential mediating and moderating variables in these links via two moderated mediation models. Participants consisted of 192 drag queen performers who completed a web-based survey. Hyper-feminine but not gender fluid drag was positively related to disordered eating, acceptance of cosmetic surgery, internalization of cultural standards of beauty, and upward appearance comparison. Both internalization of cultural standards of beauty and upward appearance comparison mediated the hyper-feminine drag and disordered eating link. Beauty internalization also mediated the hyper-feminine drag and acceptance of cosmetic surgery link but upward appearance comparison did not. We discovered two significant conditional indirect effects, in which the indirect effect of the hyper-feminine drag on both disordered eating and acceptance of cosmetic surgery via internalization of cultural standards of beauty were stronger for those with high levels of drag identity salience. Finally, we found a conditional direct effect, where hyper-feminine drag predicted acceptance of cosmetic surgery among drag queens with high and average levels of drag identity salience but not low levels.

A Psychosocial Genealogy of LGBTQ+ Gender: An Empirically Based Theory of Gender and Gender Identity Cultures

In this invited article, I present an inclusive theory of gender that clarifies its interconnections with gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality. To support this functionalist theory, I summarize findings from an extensive body of mixed methods research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other (LGBTQ+) genders in the United States. I use a feminist-intersectional lens to empirically base and historically situate a theory of gender that is grounded in research of LGBTQ+ communities (butch, femme, bear, leathermen, transgender, drag queens, and family/house systems). I define genders as either sets of personal qualities within a culture associated with physiological sex or sets of qualities that evolve in reaction to limitations of existing genders. The evolution of genders functions to meet needs in four domains: (1) psychological: an experience of fit between a core aspect of self and a gender construct; (2) cultural: the creation of an LGBTQ+ culture that asserts sets of gender characteristics, which were denied and stigmatized within preexisting cultural norms; (3) interpersonal: the communicating of affiliation and status to enhance safety; and (4) sexual: an erotic embodiment of signifiers of these needs via an aesthetic that structures sexual attraction. I detail how each function affects identity, security, belonging, and personal and social values. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index