Abstract
Gay men who are feminine in their gender expression, or gay “sissy boys,” are paradoxically loved and loathed in American culture. Drag queens, a Queer subculture where gay sissy boys don costumish clothing and makeup, transgress gender, and entertain masses, are similarly adored and despised. This Queer chic phenomenon coupled with the reality of Queer oppression creates a challenging, yet exciting window of pedagogical opportunity for Queer faculty in higher education. Using an autobiographical lens, editorials, and drag colloquialisms, the author's unique academic perspective as a gay sissy boy and drag queen will exemplify and analyze 1) how gay sissy boy outrageousness and authenticity can be disarming, alluring, and empowering for students and 2) how drag can illuminate student learning and growth in spite of themselves and their masks. Couched in critical theory, social reconstructionism, and existentialism, the author presents the “DIVA Pedagogy” model to highlight how Queer camp culture can activate student engagement about diversity, social justice, and activism.
“I have a master’s degree in fierce.” –Raja Gemini
TopClick Those Social Identity Slippers
As a newly hired tenure-track Assistant Professor of Social Work at a former military college in Pennsylvania, I swished my way into the cafeteria during my first week to shockingly see the Stars and Bars hanging there—seemingly with pride. In that moment, I wasn’t sure how I would be received. Now, as a tenured full professor, as a magical drag queen, as former Faculty Chair of our Faculty Council, as a flaming sissy boy, as an accomplished scholar, as a quintessential geek, as an award-winning teacher, and as an unapologetic gay man, I can tell you.
I think the best way to start is with an excerpt from a recent biographical lecture:
You see, I was always … different. In fact, for over two decades, I learned how to be a good liar. In a world where gay sissy boys are met with hostility, rejection, and violence, I learned how to hide. The closet is a lonely place, but it taught me that embracing authenticity is a form of resistance to injustice. And here’s the Horcrux: Before people even meet me, they often think I’m gay, not because of whom I love, but because I am feminine in my mannerisms and characteristics—even in my voice. People often confuse someone’s masculinity or femininity with their sexual orientation. I am gay … and I am effeminate in my gender expression. And that inextricably linked combination proudly makes me a gay sissy boy. They cannot be separated. It is an identity that has taken me years of personal work to celebrate—in spite of the shaming messages that this world hurls at gurls like me. (Satterly, 2018)
Those messages didn’t stop in my adult professional—or personal—life. The hypermasculine and sexist culture of higher education—where manly men publish more and successful women earn less—is fertile ground for homophobia and loathing of the effeminate man. It seems there is no greater threat to small men than other men who transgress the gender sacred wearing purple knee-high boots. And I did so—with flare, glitter, and lipstick. As such, let me introduce you to Professor Clitoris J. Umbridge.
My drag persona, Professor Clitoris J. Umbridge, was birthed five years ago in response to the social injustices and pathological divisiveness imbued in the Trump Administration. With a magical flavor of narcissism and sadism, Clitoris rails against bigotry in her teaching, advocacy, and research. Unapologetically Queer, raw, and passionate, she speaks Truth to power, spills tea for the inquisitorial student, and casts a spell of enlightenment on all who cross her path. I must not tell lies—she simply enjoys punishing those who ignore the realities of social injustice. “You won’t need any ink” (Yates, 2007, 00:39:12).
As you can see, drag transgresses and defies convention—as does my drag name. Rowling’s (2003) Professor Dolores Umbridge, a self-loathing narcissistic witch, systematically crushes critical thinking in her classroom, rigidly enforces proper uniformity and conformity in student thought and behavior, and brutally punishes student dissent by literal bloodthirsty means; Clitoris is the antithesis of Dolores. My drag is fiercely grounded in centering student positionality, honoring student experience, railing against systemic oppression, squashing faculty arrogance, and speaking truth to power within educational institutions.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Drag Queen: Members of the drag community who artistically embody and express themselves through makeup, fashion, and musical performance.
Gay: A sexual orientation; Cis- or transgender men who are emotionally, psychologically, and sexually attracted to other cis- or transgender men.
CAMP: Queer cultural expressions that capture sardonic over-the-top humor, pop-cultural allusions, and/or scathing wit.
Queer: A fluidic umbrella term referring to non-heterocentric sexual orientation, non-ciscentric gender identity, and/or varied gender expressions. An unconventional identity and sociological frame that resists rigid categorical labels.
Drag: A Queer micro- and macro- systemic unconventional play of gender identity and expression through artistry, performance, community, advocacy, education, and entertainment.
Sissy Boy: A gender expression identity marker that celebrates feminine expression in either trans- or cis-boys.
Sisters: Drag queens’ colloquial term of affection. Sometimes members of a drag family.
Queer Chic: The valuing, commodification, and/or fetishizing of Queer people and the Queer community.
Drag Family: A cluster of drag queens who socialize, support, and educate each other. A drag family is often led by a drag mother who is a more seasoned, experienced, and skilled drag queen.
Pedagogy: The art and science of the practice of teaching. Pedagogy encompasses teaching philosophies, theories, curricula preparation, facilitation, processing, and evaluation of efficacy.