When Women’s Studies Isn’t About Women

When Women’s Studies Isn’t About Women

Based on Leila J. Rupp in her novel, when women’s studies aren’t about women: Writing about drag queens, there are other categories of gender in society apart from male and female. In the book, a unique group of individuals has their gender identity different from the one coded by society. The drag queens consist of people who have cultured their gender identity, and they challenge the traditional beliefs and perceptions of the male and female gender. Rupp argues in her book that the group of drag queens challenge the societal way of classification of humanity based on gender by developing more than two categories of female and male. In the novel, gender discussion is based on the new emergence of categories such as female impersonators, crossdressers, transsexuals, transvestites, and the drag queens themselves. In this short essay, I hope to explain more why Rupp thinks that drag queens are the nest subjects to study women’s sexuality. Further, this paper will relate the category of drag queens to the category of gender. Finally, I wish to conclude by analyzing what drag queens show about the complex social construction of both gender and sexuality.

The central argument that Rupp forwards in her book is that these new groups are the best subjects to study women’s sexuality. Further, the discussion provides a comprehensive analysis of how the existence of these diverse groups apart from male and female genders blurs and bridges the variations and boundaries between gender and sexuality. Rupp states that drag queens are the best subjects for discussion women’s sexuality due to their unique characteristics that entails both men and women elements. It is noted that drag queens pose diverse sexual characteristics, beliefs, and practices that entail both male and female elements. This makes them the best tools for analyzing the concept of women, sexuality. Drag queens have elements of male sexual behaviors, which are essential components and determinants of a female’s sexual life. It is unproductive to study the subject of women’s sexuality without addressing or including male’s sex behaviors because the two are dependent. It, therefore, means that the drag queen provides the opportunity to study the two concepts at once.

Further, Rupp argues for the application of drag queens in the analysis of women’s sexuality because they reduce the distinction between gender and sexuality and challenge the traditional sexual and gender order. Consequently, the examination of these unique groups provides a diverse and opposite view of the subject of sexuality.

Through the study of drag queen’s challenges, sexual desires with the integration of their gender performance, the gender systems have been significantly transformed. For example, the introduction of these new groups has cultivated new transgender identities in society. They have also given people another view and perspective of the relationship between sexuality and gender by showing that sexual orientation does not necessarily define an individual’s gender. Also, the new identities have forced the strait or heterosexuals to have a diverse view and perception of what sexuality means to women and society at large. Rupp (2005) points out that drag queens provide insight into female’s sexuality and their daily lives. When women have a glance of diversities in drag queens, they tend to desire and fight for equality in their sexual experiences and put a stop male dominance. In connection, transgender, lesbians, gays, and bisexuals have provided a different way to handle gender stereotypes.  Since their emergence, they have helped to reduce female stereotypes and increased high standards of what is considered to be normal and moral communities. As Rupp clearly states, the existence of drag queens is an indication of democracy in sexuality and gender issues. It means that human beings are no longer tied to societal standards but are free to choose which category to identify with and what to say.

According to (Rupp 2005), the drag queens group has a strong relationship with the gender category. It is noted that irrespective of their sexual orientations, the two diverse groups are normal human beings that share many characteristics. Rupp points out that gays, lesbians, transvestites, crossdressers, and transsexuals have similar biological and physical attributes that make them humans. In their unique and different world of sexual identity, drag queens relate positively with gender category through personal interactions, sharing common ideas, characteristics, and future objectives. Rupp emphasizes that despite their differences in gender, these groups are still human beings who deserve maximum tolerance from all dimensions.

In conclusion, the emergence of drag queens provides diverse aspects of gender and sexuality, and this makes the study of women sexuality an exciting subject. However, the introduction of new categories more than male and female gender changes the simple social construction of gender and sexuality to a more complex one. In the past, heteronormativity was a simple subject to address and understand, but today, with drag queens challenging to societal standards, it is no longer a simple topic. Finally, by posing a challenge to the societal codes and believes, drag queens open a platform for women’s sexuality discussion.

 

 

References

Rupp, L.J. (2005). When women’s studies aren’t about women: Writing about drag queensLinks to an external site. In C. Berkin, J. L. Pinch, & C. S. Appel (eds.), Exploring women’s studies: Looking forward, looking back (pp. 57-67). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.