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Symposium

Interdisciplinary

Drag as Performance, Therapy, Activism, and Personal Expression: What Older Drag Artists Teach Us

Thursday, November 14, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM PST
Location: Room 203
CE: 1.5

Drag artists (also described as drag performers, drag queens, and drag kings) have contributed to world cultures for centuries. Drag artistry, as tied to sexual and gender minority (SGM) communities and aging, is the focus of this presentation. The 20th and 21st centuries have been a poignant time for drag artists in the United States, as they have emerged as national and community leaders, been subject to political attack and violence, and contributed to mainstream and sexual and gender minority cultures. Older adult drag artists hold rich lived experiences and collectively share in episodic events that can be seen as traumatic, unifying, and celebrative. However, this population of older adults is grossly underrepresented in the literature. This symposium includes four presentations bridging behavioral science (individual development and wellbeing), social policy, and practice (drama therapy) of older drag artists. The first presentation frames current anti-drag policies aimed broadly at SGM communities in the United States. The second presentation provides a feminist, gender, and queer theoretical lens for examining the experiences of older drag artists, particularly the topics of homophobia, and ageism. The third presentation presents findings from a mixed methods study examining the intersection of aging, drag artistry, and individual wellbeing. The final presentation details a study on coping mechanisms of older drag artists through the lens of drama therapy clinical assessment. Collectively these papers highlight theory and qualitative and quantitative analysis illuminating themes of resilience, coping, commitment, and conscientiousness that illustrate fortitude within this
population of influential artists.

Learning Objectives:

  • After attending this session, participants will be able to analyze drag artistry through the lenses of ageism, homophobia, gender, queer, and feminist theories.
  • After attending this session, participants will be able to describe various themes that emerge in the lives of older drag artists such as social inequities due to SGM policies, resiliency and fortitude through drag expression, activism, and community engagement and advocacy.
  • After attending this session, participants will be able to generate ideas related to therapeutic implications of drama therapy for older drag performers and artists.

Presentations:

  • 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM PST
    Shields of Chiffon: The Fortitude/Resilience of Aging Drag Artists

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Brian G. Chapman, Ed.D. (he/him/his) – University of Connecticut

  • 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM PST
    Fortifying Scholarship in the Public Interest: An Examination of the Marginalization of Drag Artists

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Lyn M. Holley, PhD, FAGHE, MPA,PhD,FAGHE (she/her/hers) – University of Nebraska at Omaha

  • 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM PST
    We're All Born Naked and the Rest is Drag: Exploring Drama Therapy With Aging Drag Artists

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Camryn Hafner, MA, P-RDT (she/her/hers) – Bournewood Health Systems

  • 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM PST
    The Power of Ephemeral Gestures: Theories of Gender and Performance

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Nels P. Highberg, PhD (he/they) – University of Hartford