Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Sociology

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Drag kings do not share the same level of popularity that drag queens do. Drag queens can be found around the world on television shows, in movies, and on stages in full view of general audiences. Through this qualitative content analysis of 928 TikTok comments posted on drag king-related videos between January 2023 and September 2023, except for one that was posted in June 2020, I explored the perceptions of drag consumers to uncover underlying beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that lead to this disparity between drag royalty. With data extracted and analyzed between December 2023 and March 2024, I identified three main themes within the data: 1. Assumptions individuals have regarding the reasons drag kings are not as popular, including lack of visibility, drag queens are exclusionary, drag is misogynistic, and that drag kings are underappreciated. 2. Drag consumers’ views on kings and queens, which includes concerns over the gender of the performer, individuals’ voices that put down drag kings, and consumers that focus on queens when kings are the topic, preference for drag queens. 3. Mentions of the television show RuPaul’s Drag Race with voices arguing that kings should have their own show, claims that the show is only for drag queens, and positing that the judges of RPDR are not qualified to judge drag kings. This research seeks to explain how the dynamics amongst drag consumers in online social media spaces might be influencing the visibility of different drag forms. It adds to drag literature that seldom looks at drag kings and has not examined how kings are discussed by others. It also contributes to discourses on how gender and sexuality are discussed and negotiated in online social media spaces. Additionally, this research reveals how social media sites can be a space for exploration of gender identity and sexuality amongst individuals who are consuming drag

Date

8-26-2024

Committee Chair

Sarah Becker

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Available for download on Monday, August 25, 2031

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