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of this drag society is a member for their own reasons. Not all desire to be part of the mainstream society, even if they do mimic it. And in mimicking it they could be upholding it or subverting it or even both at once.

 

One topic which Livingston does not broach in Paris Is Burning is that of appropriation. These men have usurped the norms of dominant culture; have adjusted them to fit into their subculture and by doing so they have the chance to redefine these norms in their own way. Judy Butler, in her article 'Gender is Burning: Questions of Appropriation and Subversion' discusses the idea of appropriating terms of heterosexual patriarchal society. She states: 'There is no subject prior to its constructions, and neither is the subject determined by those constructions; it is always the nexus, the non-space of cultural collision' in which terms are defined and 'it is the space of this ambivalence which opens up the possibility of a reworking of the very terms by which subjectivation proceeds – and fails to proceed' (Butler, 124). The same principle can be applied to the appropriation of the hegemonic practices. By adopting dominant culture's ways of dressing as their own, the members of this drag society destabilize the norms of dominant society and in doing so act to 'reverse and displace' those norms (Butler, 123).

 

How do we rectify these two opposing ideas: that the drag culture of Harlem supports and reinstates the dominant society norms while at the same time subverting them? The only possible answer here is that, concurrently, 'drag may well be used in the service of both the denaturalization and reidealization of hyperbolic heterosexual gender norms' (Butler, 125). Both aspects exist in parallel, shaping and defining the dynamic character of the Harlem drag subculture.

 

Two other students in our class, Arielle and Sara, both investigated ideas that I have not even touched upon surrounding this subculture. Arielle is exploring the aspect of pleasure derived from these balls. It is possible that, as Sara is investigating, this pleasure leads those taking part in this pleasure-filled culture to be completely clueless to the consequences of their actions? Could they be clueless of their impact on the greater society that so influences their own discrimination? What exactly is their influence on greater society?

 

At the end of the documentary, Livingston put in a news clip that demonstrates that voguing, a dance form that originated in the competition of drag balls, became mainstream; adopted in music videos and on the fashion runway. However, in becoming mainstream, it lost its roots in the drag subculture. It, instead, is described as coming from 'Harlem,' leaving out all references to the drag balls. Unfortunately, Livingston did not explore the greater effects of this subculture on surrounding cultures past the appropriation of voguing. How were the cultures around this drag subculture, both the dominant white patriarchal culture and the cultures of minority groups of New York City, affected by it? Was the d本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。