life’ 10, Stephen Valocchi agrees,‘ Thus, we are men or women, masculine or feminine, gay or straight. Of course, sociologists admit that these are social constructions, but they are social constructions with consequences’ 11. Therefore, if a man dressed as Wonder Woman outside the convention space he would likely be ridiculed for not conforming to social expectations. These limitations, however, should not detract from the cultural significance of gender bending as an act, but merely highlight the specifics of its located function.
Man! I feel like a Wonder Woman: Drag and performing gender
From this point on, cosplayers will be referred to as means of highlighting the different forms gender bending in cosplay takes shape. For example, drag queen Beardonna’ s cosplay‘ Wonder WoBear’ 12. The title of the cosplay is a typical playful pun, the term‘ Bear’ referring to bear culture, a subculture of the gay community identified by Michael G. Cornelius as consisting of‘ certain physical characteristics, among them a hirsute appearance, a stocky build, and facial hair’ 13. This is applicable to‘ Wonder WoBear’, who’ s physical appearance fits this hyper-masculine‘ bear’ aesthetic. However, this bear appearance, is in conflict against feminine codes which define Wonder Woman’ s appearance: long hair, earrings, and a figure hugging costume. Alana Kumbier considers drag as‘ a social technology that challenges discourses and practices which perpetuate the“ naturality” of binary systems of gender and sexuality’ 14.‘ Wonder WoBear’ s’ conflict between male and female codes creates a parodic excessiveness; his scruffy beard, incongruous wig, and oversized earrings, plays with gender and exposes the false‘“ naturality” of binary [ gender ] systems’.
In contrast, drag queen Tracy Trash’ s Wonder Woman cosplay 15 is much more of an overtly sexual display. Tracy Trash’ s red lipstick, cocktail, and groomed flowing hair are typically alluring. The hyper-feminine performance disregards a conflict between male and feminine codes, by refusing to expose the masculinity of the cosplayer. In Taylor and Rupp’ s ethnographic study of Florida’ s drag communities they found that‘ Perhaps most important in their [ interviewees ] stories of becoming drag queens is sexual attraction to and desire for men’ 16. Tracy Trash’ s cosplay is a distinct performance of culturally-specific notions of
10
Judith Butler,‘ Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory’, Theatre Journal, 40:4( 1988): 527.
11
Stephen Valocchi,‘’ Not Yet Queer Enough: The Lessons of Queer Theory for the Sociology of Gender and Sexuality, Gender & Society 19:6( 2005): 752.
12
Beardonna,‘ Wonder WoBear’ < https:// www. youtube. com / watch? v = ZKSnbOA2NMU( 2016)
13
Michael G. Cornelius,‘ Bear Culture’, Reader’ s Guide to Lesbian and Gay Studies( 2000): 80.
14
Alana Kumbier,‘ One Body, Some Genders’, Journal of Homosexuality 43:3-4( 2003): 193.
15
Ibid.
16
Verta Taylor and Leila J. Rupp,‘ Chicks with Dicks, Men in Dresses’, Journal of Homosexuality 46:3 4( 2004): 120.
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