More than a Guise

According to Susan Sontag, "It's not a lamp, but a 'lamp'; not a woman, but a 'woman.'" Abiding by the theory of Camp, there is a sense of theatricality that surrounds every object and human being, that everything is in essense an artifice. RuPaul's Drag Race showcases this notion through the actions of the drag queens; of course, they are in fact born male, but which is the artifice for these people? Is it the female spirit that creates a facade for the underlying male characteristics, or the masculine features that cover the underlying feminity? The show addresses, as we have also questioned in class, the definition of gender. The debate goes on between those that believe gender should be defined by sex at birth vs. those that assert that gender is a choice. At first, the way in which the show's stars act may be of shock value, but after looking at how seriously they take this competition that allows them to be free in their own skin, we see that their "act" is more than what it seems.