In
Barbara Ann Cole’s “Gender, Narrative and Intersectionality” the problem is
presented on how narrative can challenge gender normativity and binaries. Cole
writes about the fragility of the marginalized narratives: “narratives, as well
as having the potential to bring about change, can reaffirm existing
conceptions and marginalizations and keep in place ‘existing structures of
domination’” (570). These “structures of domination,” in this case gender
normativity, can hijack genderqueer narratives and assert an identity that fits
within the gender binary of masculine (male) or feminine (female). This theory
is discussed in Leila Rupp et al’s “Drag Queens and Drag Kings: The Difference
Gender Makes” when they write, “Some scholars view drag queens as primarily
reinforcing dominant assumptions about… gender presentation and sexual desire
because they appropriate gender displays associated with traditional femininity
and institutionalized heterosexuality” (277). In this case, the scholars
referenced are the “structure of domination” that is hijacking non-normative
gender narratives and re-ordering them to fit
into the normative sexual power structure of masculine and feminine. This
does not remain the case through Rupp’s case study in that the narrative of the
kings and queens is accurately
represented through their live shows. Cole discusses this process as the
“relationship between the researcher and researched is claimed to be one of the
strengths of narrative in that it represents, in part, the ‘voice’ of the
‘other’ person” (Cole 570). Furthermore, the king and queens enact this process
during the live shows with their audience; their performances (conducting in
front of a live crowd) place them in a researchable/dissectible position for
the audience, who can choose to either hijack the narrative, or they can choose
to “voice” the non-normative narrative of the “other” (genderqueer). Although
the existing sexual structure of power attempts to restrict non-normative
gender into binaries of masculine or feminine, genderqueer narratives can
redirect power and challenge binaries through gender fluidity and repurposing.
The genderqueer performances employ a variety
of tactics to create the gender fluidity narrative. In one such performance
“R.V. changed out of drag on stage… transforming himself from woman to
man. And… Kylie stripping entirely to ‘Queen of the Night’, leaving the
audience with a contrast between her blond wig, makeup, high heels, and
well-hung body” (Rupp 286). These physical narratives redefine gender binaries
by displaying different stages of gender transitions; this process creates the
gender fluidity that challenges the normative system. The effects of
genderqueer performances were evident on the audience when “one gay man
concluded that the labels of ‘gay’ and ‘straight’, like ‘man’ and ‘woman’, just
do not fit,” and another said, “it all kind of blends together a lot more so
than maybe what we want to live in our normal daily lives” (289). In each case,
the individuals had the gender binary narrative hijacked, and through a power
reversal, had a rewritten sense of the overall
gender narrative. The performances thus adopt a Foulcaudian sense of power by
utilizing it as a process to
restructure gender.
The
gender binary exerts a power structure over sexuality through many hierarchies
and narrative repurposing. However, power can always be viewed as a constantly
changing process that can be redirected (in the case of gender) against the
heteronormativity narrative. The use of gender fluidity is key to this process.
Non-normative genders can blur the definitions that the binary system
reinforces, and the narrative displayed by genderqueer performances does just
that. However, the existing structure of power is constantly forcing
non-normative narratives into compliance. The continued the success of gender
fluidity relies on the genderqueer narrative to remain their narrative.
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