Gender Performativity

From toys, to clothes, to hobbies and interests, societal norms dictate and reinforce binary gender roles throughout our entire lives. We can see this very clearly when comparing the things we buy our girls and boys, even our moms and dads.

Manifestations of Gender-Fucked Times

Gendered items like the ones pictured above send distinct messages that men and women are unequivocally different. While boy toys stress physical skills and toughness, girl toys stress domestic skills and beauty.

We can see the same trend in the gift cards for mom vs dad. It is as if dads don’t also go shopping for clothes at Macy’s or enjoy a good spa day, and mom’s don’t also shop at Lowe’s or enjoy sports like TopGolf.

Even the clothes available to girls and boys differ dramatically. We can see that girls clothing tend to be smaller and more tight fitting compared to the boys, thus emphasizing aesthetics vs practicality. It is as if girls will not also be running and playing like the boys, so they don’t need clothes that are made for comfortability and physical activity.

Exposure to gendered products like these manifest into adulthood by shaping our hobbies, interests, careers, emotional expression, and social interactions.

Ways Drag fights for YOU

Drag…

• Uproots traditional gendered color schemes
• Promotes a playful and fluid expression of gender
  • Clothing is about personal style and taste – NOT an obligation to binary norms.
• Promotes the idea that clothing is NOT integral to one’s identity.
• Encourages pursuit of activities, hobbies, careers, passions, that may have previously been deemed inappropriate based on one’s gender.
• Highlights the theatrical nature of all forms of gender expression, offering more opportunities for gendered self-expression at all ages.

The Bottom Line:

Pageants, Ballrooms, shows, and the overall art of drag has been a vital space for the queer community, especially for queer people of color. For generations it has played a significant role in challenging societal norms, promoting inclusivity as well as a sense of belonging. Today, drag continues to thrive and evolve and is enjoyed by people of all gender expressions, identities, sexual orientation, race, and abilities.