This is the most thorough and broadvisioned work on female masculinity that i have yet seen. This earlier work explores the lives and performances of contemporary male impersonators. Female masculinity download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Jack halberstam is professor of english and director of the center for feminist research at usc, teaching courses in queer studies, gender theory, art, literature and film. A typical drag show may incorporate dancing, acting, standup comedy, and singing, either live or lipsynching to prerecorded tracks. Following upon female masculinity, halberstam offers her observations on drag king life in the drag king book 1999, which is paired with. Providing the first fulllength study on this subject, halberstam catalogs the diversity of gender expressions among masculine women from nineteenthcentury prelesbian. Why have drag kings not been as numerous or as popular as their drag queen counterparts in popular culture. And as halberstam clearly demonstrates, female masculinity is not some bad imitation of virility, but a lively and dramatic staging of hybrid and minority. Halberstam emphasizes that a butchs ability to pass as male in certain situations may predicate her survival, such that the camp of drag is a luxury that the passing butch cannot afford 234. Critical histories of the present by jack halberstam 24 jan 2018. Drag kings make visible the ways in which masculinity as much as femininity is a sort of theatrical performance, says judith halberstam, a professor of english at ucsan diego and author. Judith halberstam, an academic who has charted and championed the rise of drag king culture in such books as female masculinity 1998 and the drag king book 1999, did much to theorize drag king performances in particular and, more broadly, to outline their significance to queer culture and the unsettling of traditional masculinity. Judith halberstam academic dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Transgender bodies, subcultural lives by judith halberstam 2005, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay. The book profiles many different performers, among them san franciscos largerthanlife elvis herselvis and new yorks mackdaddy dred, and presents interviews with drag kings alongside descriptions and. The book explores representations of transgender and queer bodies, looking at an expansive range of cultural texts from the 1990sfrom fictionalized accounts of the murder of brandon teena to the influence of drag king culture on british comedies like austin powers to the archive of queercore music. The drag king book judith jack halberstam, del lagrace volcano, del lagrace volcano on. Halberstam teaches courses in queer studies, gender theory, art, literature and film. Judith halberstams work, in film and literature is arguably some have the most provocative and academically influential of the times. To research lesbian drag culture, halberstam attended several drag king contests, in which he saw many types of drag performances. The drag king book by del lagrace volcano goodreads. Another instance that was particularly illuminating was halberstams approach to masculinity and performance, in which she blurs the lines that exist between performing and being through an analysis of performers at a drag king contest. Female masculinity signals a new understanding of masculine behaviors and identities, and a new direction in interdisciplinary queer scholarship. The title of this book is female masculinity and it was written by judith halberstam, jack halberstam. See all 2 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. She also turns to low theory, looking at a range of representations. Halberstam primarily focuses on the topic of female masculinity and has published a book titled after the concept.
This book is a fairly academic discussion on the phenomenon known as drag kings women who crossdress and perform as men the opposite version of drag queens. Mackdaddy, superfly, rapper gender, race, and masculinity in the drag king scene in my last life, i was a mackdaddy. By judith jack halberstam the drag king book paperback paperback july 31, 1999 4. Judith halberstam s in a queer time and place both validates and admires the beauty of the transperson as well as the genderqueer in this new era of identity performance. Others may know halberstam as an acclaimed professor of english and, until this year, director of the center for feminist research at the university of southern california.
The drag king book tells you everything youve wanted to know and more about the lives and performances of contemporary male impersonators. Venus boyz, with judith halberstam, del lagrace volcano, dianne torr and many other drag kings and masculine females. The drag king book by judith jack halberstam photgraphy del. The drag king book paperback august 15, 1999 by judith jack halberstam author, del lagrace volcano author, photographer. The academic business of dissecting drag king and other transcultures has started with excellent work by kate bornstein, halberstam and jay prosser, but here moves an important step further. Volcano, del lagrace and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices.
In his first book since the critically acclaimed female masculinity, j. Halberstam emphasizes the need to accept actual drag kings perceptions of themselves while also applying the drag king performances to halberstams own theoretical analysis. Halberstam is the author of female masculinity, the drag king book, skin shows. He presents a series of case studies focused on the meanings of masculinity in its dominant and alternative forms especially female and transmasculinities as they exist. It is an incredible portrayal of the partnership between trans issues and gay and lesbian issues that i applaud with a full heart.
The drag king book by judith jack halberstam, 9781852426071, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Gender, race, and masculinity in the drag king scene jstor. Lavishly illustrated with over 100 photographs, it presents profiles and interviews with many different drag kings alongside descriptions and analyses of actual shows. Serpents tail firm, combining the photos of del lagrace volcano with the text of judith halberstam, this is the first book to chart the explosive rise of the drag kings. Nov 23, 20 another instance that was particularly illuminating was halberstams approach to masculinity and performance, in which she blurs the lines that exist between performing and being through an analysis of performers at a drag king contest. The drag king book 9781852426071 by halberstam, judith jack.
Jack halberstam examines the significance of the transgender body in a provocative collection of essays on queer time and space. Before joining usc she was an associate professor in the department of literature at the university of california at san diego ucsd. Drag kings are mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of an individual or group routine. Drag kings often perform as exaggeratedly macho male. Judith halberstam and del lagrace, the drag king booklondon. Judith halberstam judith jack halberstam, 2011 judith halberstam 15.
In a series of essays, interviews, and photographs, judith halberstam tries to get to the heart of drag kinging. The drag king book has been reissued to coincide with volcanos new book femmes of power. Jack halberstam is professor of american studies and ethnicity at the university of southern california. Of course, the volume is also certainly influential from an academic perspective, particularly in the area of gender studies. In female masculinity judith halberstam takes aim at the protected status of male masculinity and shows that female masculinity has offered a distinct alternative to it for well over two hundred years. Volcano, del lagrace and a great selection of similar new, used and. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Buy the drag king book main by judith jack halberstam, volcano, del lagrace isbn. Judith halberstam is professor of english and director of the center for feminist research at usc.
Halberstam has explored drag, queerness, gender and queer theory, art, literature and film in a competitive manor within the academic sphere while challenging academia to take on these issues as legitimate. Illustrated with nearly forty photographs, including portraits, film stills, and drag king performance shots, this book provides an extensive record of the wide range of female masculinities. Female masculinity judith halberstam, jack halberstam. Gender, race, and masculinity in the drag king scene. This book, the first to chart the explosive rise of drag kings, combines the photographs of 100 of drag kings from london, new york, and san francisco del lagrace volcano with the text of judith halberstam. Female masculinity by jack halberstam 9780822322436. Gothic horror and the technology of monsters, and a new book from nyu press. Drag king contest halberstam queer masculinities in focus over a period of a year, i spent time in new york and london attending. A quick and quirky account of gender variability american studies now. Gender, race and masculinity in the drag king scene,social text, 5253 fallwinter 1997. Illustrated with nearly forty photographs, including portraits, film stills, and drag king performance shots, this book provides an extensive record of the wide range. Halberstams writing style and her use of plain language make her book accessible to the layperson, meaning that the book has a degree of popular appeal. Judith jack halberstam used the concept of female masculinity to describe the ways femaleassigned people may accomplish masculinity 2005.
Lavishly illustrated with over 100 pictures by transgender photographer del lagrace volcano, the drag king book is a striking testament to the multiple forms of gender variance today. She has also appeared in venus boyz 2001, a popular documentary film by gabriel baur on drag king culture. You may know his name as judith, but hes been going by jack since the drag king book, and, he says, its stuck. Some queer scholars have taken her work to be reinforcing heterosexuality and traditional gender roles as well as trying to define the concept of femaleness. Jan 01, 2008 judith halberstam, in her book female masculinity, has gone some way to elucidating some of the elaborations of female masculine presentations, as well as presenting taxonomies of drag king performers.
David halberstam 1934 2007, american journalist and author. Gothic horror and the technology of monsters, female masculinity and coauthor with del lagrace volcano of the drag king book. That scholarly pompitude and highbrow style she writes in is boring at times. Masculinities introduction to women, gender, sexuality. Halberstam defines masculinity as the connection between maleness and power, which femaleassigned people access through dragking performances, butch identity where femaleassigned people appear and. In this section, halberstam considers possible explanations as to why drag king culture is not as widespread as drag queen culture. Judith halberstams new book, female masculinity, is an extraordinary and studied work that carefully presents an analysis of gender, and more specifically, masculinity, without oversimplification or narrow definition. In the broader cultural sphere, she has made contributions as a gender and queer theorist and author. Female masculinity books gateway duke university press. Judith halberstam, in her book female masculinity, has gone some way to elucidating some of the elaborations of female masculine presentations, as.
It was published by duke university press books and has a total of 329 pages in the book. Jun 23, 2003 drag kings make visible the ways in which masculinity as much as femininity is a sort of theatrical performance, says judith halberstam, a professor of english at ucsan diego and author. The drag king book paperback august 15, 1999 by judith jack halberstam author, del lagrace volcano author, photographer 4. Halberstam, rather than lumping all of the performers together under the label of drag king, goes on to. Judith halberstam is professor of literature at the university of california in san diego. Rio by bianca del rio the diva rules by michelle visage female masculinity by j.
The drag king book del lagrace volcano, judith halberstam. Female masculinity by jack halberstam, paperback barnes. A first look by judith halberstam 1999, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. Halberstam is the author of in a queer time and place. Judith halberstam born 15 december, 1961 is professor of english and director of the center for feminist research at university of southern california.
423 1469 1170 307 21 400 1442 1349 23 1466 1352 379 717 18 942 608 1391 1151 698 428 958 1135 400 1223 1085 1 454 87 223 61 1455 1435 1235 1538 737 749 46 471 1287 779 1457 874 65 1016 635