Intimate Investments in Drag King Cultures: The Rise and Fall of a Lesbian Social Scene

Description

This book takes the globally recognised phenomenon of drag king performances as an opportunity for critical inquiry into the rise and fall of an urban scene for lesbian and queer women in Sydney, Australia (circa 1999-2012). Exploring how a series of weekly events provided the site for intimate encounters, Drysdale reveals the investments made by participants that worked to sustain the sense of a small world and anchor the expansive imaginary of lesbian cultural life. But what happens when scenes fade, as they invariably do? Intimate Investments in Drag King Cultures is unique in capturing the perspective of a scene at the moment of its decline, revealing the process by which a contemporary movement becomes layered with historical significance. Bringing together the theoretical tradition of scene studies with recent work on the affective potentialities of the everyday and the mobile urban spaces they inhabit, this book has appeal to scholars working across gender, sexuality and culture. Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Scene Thinking (Kerryn Drysdale)....Pages 3-22 Drag King Cultures (Kerryn Drysdale)....Pages 23-58 Front Matter ....Pages 59-59 Small Worlds (Kerryn Drysdale)....Pages 61-90 Social Imaginaries (Kerryn Drysdale)....Pages 91-121 Front Matter ....Pages 123-123 Scene Stories (Kerryn Drysdale)....Pages 125-155 Everyday Archives (Kerryn Drysdale)....Pages 157-184 Conclusion (Kerryn Drysdale)....Pages 185-195 Back Matter ....Pages 197-203