KING TUFF-N-STUFF
Have you ever heard of the muscial asrtist called King Tuff-N-Stuff? She performs music in the genre of blues. She has perfomed in places sucfh as New York and California. What makes her quite different from many other artists in the media today is that she is a drag king. In the book called Popular culture by Guins and Cruz, A drag king " is a female (usually) who dresses up in recognizably male costume and performs theatrically in that costume" ( 429, Guins and Cruz). Today drag kings are becoming more popular and are becoming a big part of pop culture in our society. Now there are shows that are being marketed that promote the performances of drag kings and queens. "In the 1990s, drag king culture [became] something of a subcultural phenomenon. Queer clubs in most major American cities feature drag king acts: for example, there is a regular weekly drag club in New York called Club Casanova whose motto is ' the club where everyone is treated like a king! There is also a monthly club in London called club Geezer and a quarterly club in San Francisco called club confidential...although drag kings seem to have become a major part of urban queer scenes, there are no indications that drag king culture is necessarily about to hit the mainstream anytime soon" ( 430, Guins and Cruz). Even though Drag kings have not become a major part of mainstream culture, the performances of drag kings have still become a part of culture in our society and are slowly increasing in growth. Recently there was a drag king and queen show at Georgia state university that many students attended and enjoyed. Drag king and queen performances attract the attention of Homosexual as well as heterosexual audiences.
Drag performances question stereotypes that preside in our society. Questions arise in response to drag performances such as what qualities are supposed to be held by a man or a woman? What is necessarily masculine and feminine? Are men and women solely confined to follow societal views of what is considered masculine and feminine? ” In TV sitcoms such as Seinfeld, for example, men apply comic pressure to the assumed naturalness of maleness and a truly mess, fragile, and delegitimized masculinity emerges. In one particularly memorable seinfeld episode highlighting abject male inadequacy, for example, George confesses to Jerry: 'I always feel like lesbians look at me and say, ' that's the reason I'm not into men!' Such woody Allenesque proclamations expose momentarily the instability of mainstream fictions of fortified male masculinities." ( 431, Guins and Cruz). Not only do television shows suggest that men and women should have certain qualities or adhere to certain characteristics, but the commercials between the television shows suggest the same those ideas as well. For example, commercials for Brawny paper towels and Mr. clean mopping solution suggests that men are masculine and strong by the male images they use to represent the product. The commercials are also targeted to women and suggest that if you buy those products you will get be able to get you house clean by using a tough and strong product. In relation to King Tuff- N- Stuff, she also wants her audience to see her as a tough and masculine drag king. In her songs called ' 3 hour man" and “jump into action" ahe shows that she wants her audience to view her persona as being masculine and far from the stereotypes held for a woman. Her most popular song and only musical video for the time being are called “3 hour man". Here is a link to her music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_RaRGdbKQ8.
Overall, the media in our society may suggest that men and women are confined to certain characteristics, but many individuals who are creating subcultures and blending into other subcultures are letting society know that men and women aren't confined to upholding certain characteristics such as a man being masculine and a woman being feminine. Thankfully, our society is becoming more accepting and open minded towards other views about how women and men should behave.
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