Table Of Content‘The book is grounded in timely conceptual and methodological issues of theory in
sexuality and gender studies (namely: feminism, trans studies and queer theory),
which Kayte Stokoe analyses with sensitivity and nuance, ably drawing out the
strengths and weaknesses of different theorists and proposing their own, original
theoretical concept which is productive for those working at the intersection
of gender studies and literature and which could become an important critical
paradigm.’
– Lisa Downing, University of Birmingham, UK
‘Moving beyond the binaries so prevalent in discussions of drag performance,
this exciting book pluralises and diversifies the conversation about drag. Rather
than focusing on the usual conversations that pit drag against itself – arguments
that primarily examine it as either radical or reactionary - this book takes a novel
approach and emphases what drag does, how it operates, and importantly what it
produces. Concentrating on Anglo American and French contexts, the argument
pays particular attention to contemporary transfeminist perspectives and offers
drag studies stimulating new perspectives, languages and tools for future drag
conversations.’
– Stephen Farrier, The Royal Central School of Speech and
Drama, University of London, UK
Reframing Drag
Reframing Drag provides a critical survey of French and Anglo-American queer
and feminist theorizations of drag performance, placing these approaches in a
dialogue with contemporary drag practice and the representation of drag in three
literary texts. Challenging pervasive assumptions circulating in existing queer and
feminist analyses of drag performance, the author identifies and questions three
recurring ideas which have shaped the landscape of drag research: the argument
that drag performances either uphold or subvert oppressive gender norms, the
assumption that drag involves performing as the ‘opposite sex’, and the belief that
drag can shed light on gender performativity. Informed by a range of gender and
queer theory, this work contends that an intersectional, transfeminist approach to
drag performance can provide richer, more nuanced understandings of drag and,
unlike the ‘opposite sex’ narrative, acknowledges the gender diversity at work in
current drag scenes.
Kayte Stokoe is Teaching Assistant in French Studies at the University of
Warwick, UK. In the academic year 2019–20, Kayte is also a part time Visiting
Lecturer at the University of Birmingham.
Routledge Research in Gender and Society
Trauma, Women’s Mental Health, and Social Justice
Pitfalls and Possibilities
Emma Tseris
Wellness in Whiteness
Biomedicalisation and the Promotion of Whiteness and Youth
among Women
Amina Mire
Contemporary Muslim Girlhoods in India
A Study of Social Justice, Identity and Agency in Assam
Saba Hussain
White Masculinity in Contemporary Australia
The Good Ol’ Aussie Bloke
Andrea Waling
Motherhood in Contemporary International Perspective
Continuity and Change
Edited by Fabienne Portier-Le Cocq
Gender Violence in Ecofeminist Perspective
Intersections of Animal Oppression, Patriarchy and Domination of the Earth
Gwen Hunnicutt
Reframing Drag
Beyond Subversion and the Status Quo
Kayte Stokoe
Rape in the Nordic Countries
Continuity and Change
Edited by Marie Bruvik Heinskou, May-Len Skilbrei and Kari Stefansen
For more information about this series, please visit:
www.routledge.com/sociology/series/SE0271
Reframing Drag
Beyond Subversion and the
Status Quo
Kayte Stokoe
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Kayte Stokoe
The right of Kayte Stokoe to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Stokoe, Kayte, author.
Title: Reframing drag : beyond subversion and the status quo / Kayte
Stokoe.
Description: 1. Edition. | New York : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Routledge
research in gender and society | Includes bibliographical references and
index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2019026372 (print) | LCCN 2019026373 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781138312128 (hardback) | ISBN 9780429458446 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Cross-dressing. | Cross-dressers. | Female impersonators. |
Drag shows.
Classification: LCC HQ77 .S86 2019 (print) | LCC HQ77 (ebook) | DDC
306.77/8—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019026372
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019026373
ISBN: 978-1-138-31212-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-45844-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage LLC
Contents
List of figures ix
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction 1
1 Drag! How queer? 17
2 Performing femininity, performing feminism: Anglo-
American feminist responses to drag performance 53
3 French feminism and the Beauvoirian concept of
‘masculine protest’ 93
4 Exploring gender non-conformity and proto-queer parodic
strategies in the work of Rachilde, Virginia Woolf, and
Monique Wittig 115
Conclusion: reframing drag – beyond binaries 147
Index 177
Figures
1 Adam All and Apple Derrières at Boi Box ‘Fresh’, Copyright:
Emma Bailey 51
2 Marilyn Misandry, Copyright: Marilyn Misandry 91
3 Adam All – Butterfly, Copyright: Emma Bailey 159
4 Romeo de la Cruz – On Transgender Inclusion in the Armed
Services and in Society, Copyright: Emma Bailey 159
