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  5. Volume 8, Issue 2, 2023

Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture - Volume 8, Issue 2, 2023

Volume 8, Issue 2

Volume 8, Issue 2, 2023

Language: English
  • Editorial

      • (‘My life in red [states]’)

        https://doi.org/10.1386/qsmpc_00094_2

        The cancellation of a student-sponsored drag show by the president of a public university in Texas was one of a number of recent moves by officials in so-called ‘red states’ in the United States targeting sexual and gender diversity and reproductive rights. Those actions are part of broader assaults on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at state-supported institutions that may be seen as attempts at reinforcing traditional social power structures. Moreover, they seek to push into hiding legitimate and constitutionally protected cultural practices that are imbedded in the heritage of the LGBTQ+ communities. They stand in sharp contrast to the work of this journal, which celebrates difference and inclusiveness, and which has devoted significant space to such subjects as post-human drag, trans* invisibility, and gender fluidity and disruption. That important work continues in the pages of this issue.

  • Articles

      • You better work! Drag queen performativity and visibility on #dragqueen TikTok

        https://doi.org/10.1386/qsmpc_00095_1

        The 2000s brought the proliferation of drag culture in the United States with , drag brunches and drag cabaret performances. In addition to the televisual, specifically reality television, drag queens also have gained visibility on a plethora of social networking sites like TikTok. Moreover, TikTok has gained rapid popularity with young adults since its international inception in 2016. Given that a large majority of TikTok users are in a pivotal stage of identity development, it is crucial to explore and analyse how marginalized groups, such as drag queens, present themselves and who has visibility on the platform. By applying visual thematic analysis and quantitative content analysis to #dragqueen and #drag TikTok videos, I found that TikTok as a platform makes White femme drag the most visible form of drag, and hegemonic performances of femininity (which are racialized and associated with Whiteness) are more likely to gain higher levels of engagement.

    • Transgender healthcare, telehealth, venture capital and community

      https://doi.org/10.1386/qsmpc_00096_1

      Accessing reliable and competent gender-affirming medical care is often difficult for transgender people. FOLX is a telehealth and pharmaceutical delivery start-up which launched in late 2020, primarily offering gender-affirming hormone therapy for a monthly fee. FOLX’s marketing makes extensive use of social media and online influencers, and the company frequently highlights a goal of being created ‘by and for’ transgender people. This article examines FOLX’s deployment of narratives of community, collectivity, unmet need and commercial opportunity, examining the company’s website, social media posts and media coverage and interviews with the founder. Ultimately, it argues that while the core business offering of FOLX meets a need for a marginalized and underserved population, their deployment of narratives about community support should be regarded with some scepticism. These narratives appear in some cases to co-opt community values of collectivity, mutual aid and support for the benefit of venture capital firms.

    • Queer coming of age: Recognizing the genre’s classic cluster

      https://doi.org/10.1386/qsmpc_00098_1

      The queer coming-of-age film genre, although gaining more visibility with a recent slate of films, has not always been recognized or studied as a genre. Providing a unique sense of the struggles queer people experience coming of age in our society, these films serve an important function. By documenting the struggles cis-het society creates for queer adolescents as well as providing hope for the queer audience looking for guidance through this often-difficult period, these films also reveal how queer adolescents lack the same resources and support as their cis-het peers. Since the films in this genre are often considered ‘coming out’, ‘drama’ or ‘comedies’, recognizing this genre’s classic cluster will better focus attention on the genre’s semantic elements as well as the cause-and-effect syntax in which they are placed. This genre lens reveals the impact of the struggles queer adolescents experience coming of age in our society.

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