Semester of Graduation
May 2025
Degree
Master of Mass Communication (MMC)
Department
Mass Communication
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
This thesis examines how The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, a horror-themed reality drag competition series, uses monstrosity as a tool of queer resistance. In contrast to mainstream drag representations, which often promote assimilationist ideals, Dragula embraces filth, grotesqueries, and failure as strategies of disrupting normative structures. Grounded in queer theory and queer of color critique, this thesis uses thematic analysis to explore how Dragula mobilizes monstrosity to resist normative portrayals of queerness. Through close analysis of the show’s season finales, the study identifies three major themes: grotesque aesthetics, beyond the binary, and identity as resistance. These findings reveal how Dragula positions monstrosity as a radical, embodied strategy for queer world-making. While the show operates within a commercialized, mainstream format, it challenges the commodification of queerness by centering nonconformity, transgression, and difference. Ultimately, this thesis argues that Dragula expands the representational possibilities of queer media, offering an alternative vision of drag that embraces and celebrates monstrosity.
Date
4-2-2025
Recommended Citation
Lynch, Claire-Scott A., "REVOLTING DRAG: FILTH, HORROR, AND THE QUEER ART OF MONSTROSITY" (2025). LSU Master's Theses. 6149.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/6149
Committee Chair
Harris, T.
Included in
Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Mass Communication Commons