The Art of Gender Play: Breaking Gender's Boundaries

The Art of Gender Play: Breaking Gender’s Boundaries

—    curioshittii

With the sudden popularity of Rupaul’s Drag Race, more and more people are getting hooked to the ‘queer’ culture of the queers, whilst embracing the idea of gender play as an art form and a social movement.

   I was one of the many people who was influenced by Drag Race's immense popularity. At first, it started out as a curious drive; what was it with this show that made it a forefront of 21st century entertainment?

Alongside the gay “yas-es,” innuendos, camp-themed runways, and outright shade towards fellow contestants and other popular figures, Rupaul’s Drag Race showcases the complexity of drag; and is a documentary of how the LGBTQIA+ community retaliates towards societal discrimination; it tells various stories of gay oppression, the influence of drag to fashion, and how predefined by society gender roles are.

Rupaul's Drag Race has showed us that there are no rules to expressing one's self— the queens who bravely auditioned and competed on the said show is making a statement by raising their middle fingers to the rules of gender by dressing up as females (or males), whilst honoring the contributions of former queens and kings who preceded them, just like Marsha P. Johnson who insinuated the Stonewall Riots. 

Growing up, I was specifically told not to wear anything that is colored pink, and that I should not play with Barbies as they are only for girls. I was told that such was an act of homosexuality, which sparked further conflict the moment I realized that I indeed had feelings of attraction towards fellow males. Homosexuality or being “queer” in general is seen by many as something unnatural, and growing up, I had no one to look up to nor confide along with. I had to pretend as if I was not effeminate at all— I felt lonely; I felt wrong and unnatural, but to see these queens perform in such a grandiose setting where they stay true to who they are, it sparked the emancipation of myself from the shackles of society’s definition of what I should and what I should not be—if society didn’t define how we should be, our personalities wouldn’t be repressed, and drag queens and the show itself has proven that no matter what you like and who you are, it is important to stay true to yourself.

WHY DO WE LOVE RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE?

         Simple, because it tackles issues that are normally stigmatized by society. In its debut season, a challenged that aimed to raise funds for Mac Cosmetic’s Viva Glam campaign that aims to help raise awareness on HIV was ensued and was won over by an HIV positive gay male who was praised for bravely admitting on national television that he was indeed a carrier of such. Another example of such is how the queens of season 9 tackled the brutal shooting towards the LGBTQIA+ community on a bar. The queens not only discuss how liberating it is to do drag and how they feel free to be themselves and do things that they normally do not do as a male or a female, but they also touch on topics that are usually unknown to the oblivious.

Drag is not only a form of female (or male) impersonation, it is the graffiti of the body; it breaks boundaries and unsettles the people's hearts through gender play. It is a mask where we are able to free ourselves from a facade designed to conform to society's provisions; it is a manifestation of our will to be true to ourselves, to show who we really are.