Abstract
This chapter attempts to map Greek audiences’ construction of drag culture through the consumption of RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR). It seeks to explore the narratives of Greek gay and straight people about drag culture, in a cultural context where homosexuality is still understood as a discomforting at best, abnormal sexual identity at worst. Deriving from a social constructionist perspective of sexuality and gender, informed by the Foucauldian approach to sexuality as a discourse of (self-) governmentality, this chapter looks at the narratives through which Greek audiences account for the transgressiveness of moving continuously between male/female sexualities. In this light, the accounts collected, reflect diverse, though culturally specific and value laden responses both to RPDR as a text but also to the contestants as professional drag performers.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bell, C. (2013). TV Drama: Stories and Audiences. Paper presented at The BFI Conference, London, UK, 4-5 July. Available at http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-media-conference-2013-tv-drama-stories-audiences.pdf
Chatzitrifon, N. (2007). The behavior of gender: Gayness in Greek cinema. In: P. Th & N. Chatzitrifon Th. Ktenidis (eds.), Homosexuality, Homophobia, Conference proceedings, Athens: Epikentro.
Chronaki, D. (2013). Young people’s accounts from experiences with sexual content during childhood and teenage life. Communication Review, Special issue 16(1–2): 61–69.
Chronaki, D. (2014). Young people’s Accounts of their Experiences with Mediated Sexual Content during Childhood and Teenage life. PhD Thesis. Loughborough University, UK
Demertzis, N. (1995). The selective nature of Greek political culture. In: N. Demertzis (ed.), The Political Culture in Greece, Athens: Odysseas, pp. 41–74.
Diamantopoulos, V.D. (2011). Social and cinematic reality (1950–1974). Roles and codes in the old greek cinema: low comedy – homosexuality. PhD Thesis, Athens: Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences.
Duggan, L. (2002). The new homonormativity: The sexual politics of neoliberalism. In: R. Castronovo & D. D. Nelson (eds.), Materialising Democracy: Towards a Revitalized Cultural Politics, Durham, NC: Duke University Press., pp. 175–194.
Ellis, J. (2004). Television production. In: R. C. Allen & A. Hill (eds.), The Television Studies Reader, London: Routledge, pp. 275–292.
Georgiadou, V., & Nikolakopoulos, E. (2002). Types of religious commitment, religious practices and political attitudes: An empirical study. In: L. N. Th. & V. Georgiadou (eds.), Religions and Politics in Modernity, Athens: Kritiki, pp. 254–279.
Hill, A. (2005). Reality TV: Performance, authenticity and television audiences. In: J. Wasko (ed.), A Companion to Television, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 449–467.
Kyriakos, N. (2001). Difference and Erotics. Athens: Egokeros.
Lison, S. (2015). Appropriation (?) of the month: Drag queens and femininity, IPinCH Website. Available from http://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/outputs/blog/aotm-drag-queens-and-femininity [accessed 12/02/2016]
Magubane, Z. (2002). Black skins, black masks or the return of the white negro. Race, masculinity and the public personas of Dennis Rodman and RuPaul. Men and Masculinities, 4(3): 233–257.
Mappa, S. (1997). Orthodoxy and Power in Greek Society. Athens: Exantas.
Psarra, A. (2007). Feminism and communism: Notes on the greek case. Aspasia, 1: 207–213.
Soldatos, J. (1991). The History of Greek Cinema. Vol. 4. Athens: Egokeros.
Taylor, V., & Rupp, L. J. (2005). When the girls are men: Negotiating gender and sexual dynamics in a study of drag queens. New Feminist Approaches to Social Science, 30(4): 2115–2139.
Taylor, V., & Rupp, L. J. (2006). Learning from Drag Queens. Contexts, doi: 10.1525/ctx.2006.5.3.12.
Theodorakopoulos, A. (1982). “The gay spectacle”. Stage and Screen, 1
Tsaliki, L. (1997). The Role of Greek Television in the Construction of National Identity since Broadcasting Deregulation. PhD Thesis. Sussex, UK: Sussex University
Tsaliki, L., & Chronaki, D. (2015). Rethinking the pornography debate in Greece: A country-specific reading of an “old” argument’. Continuum, 29(6): 811–820.
Tsaliki, L., & Chronaki, D. (2016). Class representations in American series aired in Greek TV of the 90s. In: V. Vamvakas & A. Gazi (eds.), American Series in Greek TV: Ideology, Representation and Psychosocial Practices, Athens: Papazissis, (forthcoming).
Tyler, C. A. (2003). Female Impersonation. London and New York: Routledge.
Winston, B. (1995). Claiming the Real: The Documentary Film Revisited. London: British Film Institute.
Yiannarou, L. (20/12/2015) “The twelve points of the civil partnership law”, Kathimerini. Available from http://www.kathimerini.gr/843084/article/epikairothta/ellada/o-dwdekalogos-toy-symfwnoy-symviwshs [accessed in 15/02/2016]
Ziras, A. (2004). The depressing moon of gay people. Reading, 457.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chronaki, D. (2017). Mainstreaming the Transgressive: Greek Audiences’ Readings of Drag Culture Through the Consumption of RuPaul’s Drag Race . In: Brennan, N., Gudelunas, D. (eds) RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Shifting Visibility of Drag Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50618-0_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50618-0_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-50617-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-50618-0
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)