Photography & Videography: Cultural Analysis of Drag Community

This essay compares and contrasts the works of Fernando Cysneiros' Drag Series and Pazz Errazuris' documentation of Chilean society to analyze the cultural and political framework of the Mexican Drag Queen Community. It examines the evolution of drag queens' perception, from rare figures seen only at night to artists with a global platform through social media. The essay delves into the unique characteristics of drag queens, distinguishing them from transsexuals and transvestites, and explores their motivations, performances, and the misconceptions surrounding the community. It further analyzes the artistic approaches of Cysneiros and Errazuris, highlighting their focus on marginalized communities and their use of photography as a tool for social and political change. The essay also applies signaling theory to explain the behavior of individuals within the LGBT community, emphasizing the importance of costly signals and the role of risk-taking in conveying information and establishing social status.

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Executive Summary
To achieve the objectives of my “portrait” documentary about the Drag Queen Community of
Mexico, I will compare and contrast two significant artwork. The first is Fernando Cysneiros’
Drag Series project while the other is Pazz Errazuris’ documentation on the Chilean Society
Underbelly. However, this activity bases its analysis on the cultural and political framework of
the Mexican Drag Queen Community. According to several portraits on the same, drag queens
were once perceived as birds that are rare, and only seen in the late nights. They were either
spotted together at pride parades or at clubs ones or few times every year. However, with the
advent of social media, queens have a global platform through which they can cast their art. Such
can be said about the Chilean society with regards to Pazz Errázuriz’s work.
Background
While most people describe them as female impersonators, drag queens are not transsexuals.
Neither are they similar to those who possess transvestic fetishisms. Such is because these
queens are gay individuals who put on female clothes to carry out performances for audiences. In
this case, we will focus on the cultural implication of male individuals (drag queens)
impersonating female instead of women imitating men (drag kings) – as part of the current
phenomenon. In this case, we shall look into specific artistic features alongside rationale which
differ from the male counterpart (Cotton, 2013). It has always been clear that impersonators of
cross-gender in the gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual community are mostly male. Our study
group – the drag queens, do not associate themselves with those who undergo surgeries of gender
reassignment or hormonal changes. The Mexican drag queen community renders such
individuals as unfair players and thus, banned from participating in associated drag queen

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competitions. Those who are allowed to endorse a drag queen related public persona need to be
between late teen ages to 40s (with an average age of 20s). According to research activities on
the same, female impersonators are associated with low levels of education and low earnings
(they are at the lower income distribution end). Such female impersonators have also been
branded (at times) as not befitting the gay beauty prescribed standards (Artz, Goodall, and
Oswald, 2014).
Source: Dragqueen (2014); Merriam-Webster.com.
According to the community of drag queens, main reasons why one would become a drag queen
include getting more involved in the community, desiring to raise one's social standing, and
desiring to begin a career in the entertainment industry (Duberman, 2013). The reason as to why
drag queens don their costumes is to carry out performances in gay clubs, bars, and organized
competitions. Such apparel is not supposed to depict the ordinary female clothing (like the

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transgender women clothing) but shows vulgar, exaggerated, and outlandish womanhood
stereotypes. Part of the bar indicates that drag queen attend include choreographed dances,
theatrics, and lip-syncing battles. Those who perform always earn income as a result of the tips
provided by spectators. However, it is the most successful drag queens that stand a chance of
generating enough revenue to support themselves adequately. Like the Mexican drag queens,
Pazz Errázuriz’s “Another Kind of Life” is based on communities that are persecuted alongside
world countercultures that are most elusive (Dragqueen, 2014).
Contrast and Comparison
According to my perception, the drag queens are a walking art worth venturing into as an artist.
My interest as an artist began three years ago when I came across some of the drag queen
performances. Soon afterward, I used Cysneiros’ project as a platform for research and travel to
Mexico to study them. My camera is vital equipment to track down potential talents wherever I
visit. In the course of my project, I have established a fact from the saying that "drag queens are
always late.” The observation by most photographers is that there are a lot of mishaps associated
with such projects, for example, forgetting super glue and the likes. Images of trap queens are
inspiring even if one is not tempted to don a wig (Fessler and Holbrook, 2013, pg.800).

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Source: Dragqueen (2014); Merriam-Webster.com.

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From the above picture, any observer should note how important makeup skills are. Such skills
range from contouring to blending. The skills help drag queens to transform a lot (Dwyer, 2007).
Such skills helped Cysneiros to revamp his artistic style a lot. Such pictures create a feast for the
eyes as well as in line with tackling misconceptions regarding the LGBT and drag queen
community. In as much as the drag queen society began with gay boys who desired to be ladies,
a lot has changed in the current century (Friedman and Jones, 2011, pg.85). The number of
female drag queens has increased a lot. Alongside such kind of misconceptions, there are those
who think drag queens are associated with prostitution. Such are the things that most Mexicans
perceive regarding the drag queen community. The truth is that the drag community is associated
with several misconceptions. It is not true to say that only male queens can drag. The cisgender,
transgender, straight, gay, or even the bi-gender do drag. Unfortunately, their work as drag
queens is not properly appreciated. It is not true to associate women with doing drag king. The
future of drag queens appreciates women being part of the community hoping that photography
will capture more of male drag kings and female drag queens (Gadermann, Guhn, and Zumbo,
2012, pg.10).

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Source: Dragqueen (2014); Merriam-Webster.com.

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Source: Dragqueen (2014); Merriam-Webster.com.
Regarding Pazz Errázuriz’s imagery about pop culture, vulnerability, openness, and authority are
all embraced. The works illuminate humanity in the form of unruly beauty and poetry. Pazz as an
artist was born in Chile. She then began her career as a photographer after which she was labeled
an artist. According to most of her work, provocation is vital. In this way, Pazz could chronicle
touching images from kids in the streets to the cross-dressing men of the 60s. Such kind of
exhibitions tends to veer into the realms of gross fetishization. In this way, subjects are treated as
acts of a circus by being put on pedestals for purposes of voyeur. The works are intended to
inform the audience instead (Gambetta, 2009). According to the actions of Pazz, the gay guys or
bisexuals live lives that are alternative to others’ and not unusual ones. Photographers are thus,

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supposed to take such images because they must offer support. Errázuriz’s photographs portray
someone who treats her work as a tool for change. In this case, she uses the same to drive
political change in Chile. In the series of Adam’s apple (1983), she respectfully captures how the
trans-sex workers of Chile lived. As viewed, the photographs show how healthy the individuals
depicted are (Gurven, Hill, and Hurtado, 2000, pg. 270).
Source: Journal of Social History (2007); Unacceptable mannerisms: The United States.

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In several cases, a photographer’s motivation may be daunting when considered that the world
doesn't pay attention to your work. On the contrary, works like those of Errázuriz defied the
odds. In as much as the artist lived through a time of fraught, she represents the artists who
ensured that such moments in history are never forgotten. In the world of arts, some
photographers have tried to create a fine line between photojournalism and artistry. Like
Errázuriz, Cysneiros has the habit of diving into communities that are ostracised. Both artists
have been significant in ensuring that art is unsightly part of the modern cultural conversation
(Herek, 2009, pg.70).
Signaling Theory
This theory has been significant in establishing explanations regarding extravagant and
evolutionarily puzzling behavior within the animal species. The same approach can be used to
explain the behaviour of transgender, gay, or bisexuals. According to the method, within a
specific condition, the expression that is apparently nonfunctional (and of which communicates
particular information regarding the sender) can be evolutionarily stable. Such only applies if the
behavior conjures fitness benefits to the sender (Hillman, 2011, pg.160). Concerning the
handicap principle, such kind of signal (that is evolutionarily stable) must possess a particular
characteristic to be regarded as reliable. The same should also be costly (making it difficult to
fake) – which is a requirement that makes it important enough to make the same be perceived as
a signal that is indubitable. The information that is carried must be honest regarding its sender.
The signs have to be manipulative since they are designed in a way that they can alter the
behaviour of the receiver. Thus, signals are associated with an audience that is intended.
Regardless of the fact that a message is used in the manipulation of behaviour or not, the
detection of the signal is vital (Holbrook and Fessler, 2013). Therefore, unlike animals, humans

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are regarded as a host for messages that are costly. Such a case concerns the dissemination of
information between one another. One such example is the Meriam society (an ancient Mexican
community). The male signal their organizational and leadership abilities by having boat crews
led in quest for sources of food within high environmental variance. They hunt for sea turtles
(but not foraging which poses a less tricky hunt) because the turtles provide a caloric return that
is greater. Through the organization of such turtle hunts, leaders showcase their skills, abilities,
and potentials to mates that are considered prospective or cooperative. Associated benefits that
are conferred to the signaler and have an opportunity to pay off with regards to increased fitness
include political and social influence as well as increased mating opportunity. In the same
context, behaviors that are extravagant, irrational, or risky may at times be used for signaling. In
environments that are noisy, information regarding an agent’s quality is costly and hard to
obtain. In such like circumstances, it might be of benefit if people strategically emitted signals
that are indubitable (Holgado, Chaco´n, Barbero and Vila, 2010, pg.160). Any form of behavior
that is risky (with regards to such inherent costs) has the chance to provide honest signals that are
also adequate. As shown in several cultural studies, risk-taking that is deliberate increases
formidability perceptions. Still on the same, men will engage in behaviors that are characterised
with largeness, strength, and violence compared to the female counterparts. On the contrary,
formidability won't only be signalled by physical attributes that are observable or sheer strength,
but other characteristics as well. Such attributes include the size of social support and the cues of
resoluteness. By signaling the formidability of an individual in scenarios of competition or war
(with regards to a given social environment) would prove beneficial when it comes to attracting
potential allies and deterring potential adversaries. On the same issue, the society has always
resorted to the use of prisons to impose self-harm by signaling fearlessness and signal fierceness

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within social environments that are highly constrained. In prisons with high inmate turnovers,
self-harm is commonly displayed. The signals that we have discussed in this section are always
useful for those who are regarded as physically and naturally formidable. To ensure that the
broadcast is done to audiences that are large, a fierceness disposition that approximates irrational
impulsivity that is extreme is vital (such ensures that protection from aggression is managed).
According to several study activities, public displays that are institutionalized are associated with
social environments in a systematic manner. Such is characterized by competition and reduced
social mobility between ranked and marked social units (Hopkins, 2004, pg.141).