Drag kings "down under": an archive and introspective of a few Aussie blokes

The mid 1990s saw an explosion of Drag Kings in many major and smaller cities throughout the world. While documentation of this has largely occurred through publications in the USA and UK, the Internet and smaller publications have demonstrated a phenomenon that has arguably re-ignited feminist debate. In Adelaide, Australia, Ben Dover and His Beautiful Boys set the annual lesbian and gay festival alight. This chapter describes this performance to set the stage for exploration of some of the workings of 'race' and ethnicity in the creation of persona, choice of name and naming that is brought to Drag King performance. Drawing on interview material the chapter suggests that just as Drag Kings and kinging has been a useful and provocative site for closer and deeper understandings of genders, bodies and sexualities, Drag Kings and Kinging may also provide a useful site for unraveling some of the minefield that is race and racism.     

Lesbian drag kings and the feminine embodiment of the masculine

Part of an ongoing ethnography of an imperial sovereign court I am undertaking, this chapter explores the world of the lesbian drag king and the gendered performance she undertakes in this realm. Taking a relational, situational approach to understanding gender, the lesbian drag queen of the court is also examined in terms of how "her" image and actions give gendered meaning and confer import to the lesbian drag king. Note is also made of lesbian court members' often contradictory gendered relationships with the gay men in this setting: gay drag kings and gay drag kings. Although embodying a masculine persona in image and action has enabled some lesbian drag kings to successfully challenge the often sexist actions and reign of the gay men of the court, it has also resulted in some lesbian drag queens being subordinated in the process. Thus, as much as lesbian drag kings subvert existing gender hierarchies they also sometimes recreate them in the pursuit of situational power.     

Drag queens' use of language and the performance of blurred gendered and racial identities

Building on Barrett (1998), this study provides a sociolinguistic analysis of the language used by Suzanne, a European-American drag queen, during her on-stage performance in the southeastern United States. Suzanne uses wigs and costumes to portray a female character on stage, but never hides the fact that she is biologically male. She is also a member of a predominantly African-American cast. Through her creative use of linguistic features such as stylemixing (i.e., the use of linguistic features shared across multiple language varieties) and expletives, Suzanne is able to perform an identity that frequently blurs gender and racial lines.     

Rethinking gender segregation and gender inequality: Measures and meanings

It is often assumed that occupational segregation by gender is readily interpretable as an index of inequality between men and women in the labor force. Although this view has been challenged, the development and dissemination of analytic tools that could test this assumption have been limited. This article reviews two methods for identifying invidious and noninvidious components of gender segregation and develops a third approach that overcomes some limitations of the other two. Each method is applied to a data set that consists of observations from 22 countries covered in the International Social Survey Program. The results are compared and contrasted, and several conclusions emerge. First, occupational segregation is not completely interpretable as occupational gender inequality. Second, the methods differ in how large they estimate the invidious (vertical) component to be. Third, each method produces measures of invidious and noninvidious segregation that can be predicted statistically from other characteristics of the countries in question. The article ends with suggestions about the circumstances under which the various approaches may be the most useful.     

Drag king magic: performing/becoming the other

This chapter seeks to theorize drag king practice through the lenses of alterity, liminality, and performance theory, while attempting to complicate and reinvigorate discussions of identity raised by drag. I examine the ways in which drag king performance plumbs the concept of "the Other," and forces confrontation with a complex field of desire. Contemporary "queergirl" existence negotiates a range of desirable and desiring Others, from the polarities (i.e., butch-femme) unique to queer structures of desire, to the desire of those on the cultural margins for the power of those at the center, and vice versa. I employ anthropological theories of performance, mimesis, and liminality to establish a framework through which drag kings may be viewed as crucibles of this desire and agents of this power exchange. By performing maleness, drag kings expand and redraw the definitional boundaries of the male, interfere with the cultural power of mainstream maleness, and simultaneously transfer some of this power to themselves as queer women. At the same time, drag king existence forces a renegotiation of queergirl desire to encompass a range of masculinities. By performing/becoming the Other, drag kings engage in a practice of magic which transforms both margin and center.     

Seeing double,thinking twice: the Toronto drag kings and (re-) articulations of masculinity

Through a close reading of the performances of masculinity by the Toronto drag kings, this chapter argues that drag king shows parody the hyper-masculine star at his most contradictory and dialogic. Given that drag king performances parody both the contradictions of masculinity on stage, and the productive technologies of the star, king performances are essentially both meta-theatrical (performances about performing where lights, music, body language, dance all make the man) and meta-performative (performances which are at once conditioned by the performative reiterations which enable a fiction of identity in the first place). Finally, I explore the rather abstracted question of what cultural work the category of "drag king" does. I argue that it is a term which articulates a series of productive but necessary slippages in and through the contradictory and dialogic practices of identification. The bottom line is this: drag kings are situated in and play with the ironic no man's land between "lesbian," "butch," "transman" and "bio-boy" where the sell evident is neither.     

Prime-time narcos: the Mafia and gender in Colombian television

Through a content analysis of 532 programs screened on various national television networks in Colombia, this paper examines portrayals of women in the country’s narconovelas, fictional series derived from the telenovela genre that resonate forcefully with the public. We do so in order to gain a better understanding of their role in representing gender in Colombia. Relevant topics include: the widespread violence against women in a traditional, patriarchal country, the ineffectiveness of policies targeting gender discrimination, and ideologies of machismo and Marianismo. These practices are discussed as factors that may prevent women’s social empowerment and participation in the workforce and politics of the country. Our results show that, as per Colombia’s prevailing social relations, narconovelas demonstrate a gendered power imbalance and mestizo heteronormativity via macho plots that glamorize violence against women. Women are rarely key characters in narconovelas, and when they appear, they are dependent on men, and attain status through men or their families. In addition, the genre represents continuous verbal and physical aggression against women, especially if they belong to ethnic or racial minorities.     

Commentary on the treatment of gender variant and gender dysphoric children and adolescents: common themes and ethical reflections

This commentary offers preliminary ethical reflections on the range of treatments for gender variant and gender dysphoric children, adolescents, and young adults described in the preceding five clinical articles. After clarifying the terminology used to discuss these issues, this commentary reviews several common themes of the clinical articles. Focusing on ethical values of informed consent, full disclosure, the minimization or avoidance of harm, and the maximization of life options, the commentary expresses concerns about various treatment options endorsed by some of the articles. In particular, this commentary focuses on how these practices problematically reproduce social prejudices and stereotypes and how they fail to acknowledge and embrace the multiple pathways for expressing one's gender. It also compares and contrasts the ethical issues related to gender variant and gender dysphoric youths and youths who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer.     

Research on gender in demography: Limitations and constraints

This paper explores the issue of gender in demography, focusing on the question of why we don't know more than we do about the role of gender in demographic processes. Our lack of knowledge is partly explained by demography's research and policy focus on the two questions central to the field in recent decades, fertility decline and the relationship between economic and demographic change. The focus on these issues – sometimes at the expense of other research questions and issues – has meant that some social processes surrounding demographic change, including the role of gender, have not received the attention they deserve. Understanding gender's complex relationship to social behaviors, such as demographic behavior, requires attention to social/cultural context and to power. Demography needs to expand our knowledge of gender through the development of new research questions, research designs, and methodologies. Doing so will give us new insights into demographic processes.     

Recycling in multi-family dwellings: Increasing participation and decreasing contamination

This study explored the promotion of recycling in multi-family dwellings. An experimental design investigated four behavior change techniques: biweekly postcards giving specific feedback to each dwelling unit as to quantity and contamination of the recyclables, newsletters giving general information on recycling and the amount recycled by the city as a whole, written pledges committing households to recycle for a specified period, and volunteer coordinators who distributed information and answered questions from residents. The effectiveness of these techniques was compared against that of a control group. The findings suggest that volunteer coordinators are not an effective intervention technique in multi-family dwellings, and that feedback and commitment techniques are useful mainly for managing contamination in medium sized complexes. The data also suggest that the size of a multi-family dwelling complex significantly affects the amount of recyclables collected and the level of contamination. Smaller complexes with less than ten units recycled up to three times the amount on a per unit basis as complexes with more units. Smaller units also had fewer problems with contamination in their recyclables. Several explanations are offered for the poor participation and performance in larger complexes.     

Clinical management of gender dysphoria in children and adolescents: the Dutch approach

The Dutch approach on clinical management of both prepubertal children under the age of 12 and adolescents starting at age 12 with gender dysphoria, starts with a thorough assessment of any vulnerable aspects of the youth's functioning or circumstances and, when necessary, appropriate intervention. In children with gender dysphoria only, the general recommendation is watchful waiting and carefully observing how gender dysphoria develops in the first stages of puberty. Gender dysphoric adolescents can be considered eligible for puberty suppression and subsequent cross-sex hormones when they reach the age of 16 years. Currently, withholding physical medical interventions in these cases seems more harmful to wellbeing in both adolescence and adulthood when compared to cases where physical medical interventions were provided.     

Total work and gender: facts and possible explanations

Time-diary data from 27 countries show a negative relationship between GDP per-capita and gender differences in total work—for pay and at home. In rich non-Catholic countries, men and women average about the same amount of total work. Survey results show scholars and the general public believe that women work more. Widespread average equality does not arise from gender differences in the price of time, intra-family bargaining or spousal complementarity. Several theories, including ones based on social norms, might explain these findings and are consistent with evidence from the World Values Surveys and microeconomic data from Australia and Germany.     

Labour mobility and regional disparities: the role of female labour participation

Unemployment rates, as well as income per capita, differ vastly across the regions of Europe. Labour mobility can play a role in resolving regional disparities. This paper focuses on the questions of why labour mobility is low in the EU and how it is possible that it remains low. We explore whether changes in male and female labour participation act as an important alternative adjustment mechanism. We answer this question in the affirmative. We argue that female labour participation is very important in adjusting to regional disparities.

Community engagement in the Aboriginal Families Study: Strategies to promote participation

Background

Aboriginal women and families are under-represented in Australian research on pregnancy and childbirth. The Aboriginal Families Study aimed to investigate the views and experiences of a representative sample of women giving birth to an Aboriginal baby in South Australia between July 2011 and June 2013, using methods designed to respect Aboriginal culture and communities.

Education and gender bias in the sex ratio at birth: Evidence from India

This article investigates the possible existence of a nonlinear link between female disadvantage in natality and education. To this end, we devise a theoretical model based on the key role of social interaction in explaining people’s acquisition of preferences, which justifies the existence of a nonmonotonic relationship between female disadvantage in natality and education. The empirical validity of the proposed model is examined for the case of India, using district-level data. In this context, our econometric analysis pays particular attention to the role of spatial dependence to avoid any potential problems of misspecification. The results confirm that the relationship between the sex ratio at birth and education in India follows an inverted U-shape. This finding is robust to the inclusion of additional explanatory variables in the analysis, and to the choice of the spatial weight matrix used to quantify the spatial interdependence between the sample districts.