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Chris Straayer

Chris Straayer double-signification containing both macho male “sexuality” via the unseen penis and female sexuality indexed by costume. This potential is most evident in a contemporary figuration in popular culture that contests the traditional conditions and compromises of crossdressing in mass media. This figuration, which I term the Sheman, occurs when a male performer appropriates female imagery as a straightforward empowering device rather than as an emasculating comic ploy. Through a performance art aesthetic that compounds character with body, the She-man’s costume incarnates the female body. Gender rebellions by the transvestite are replaced with rebellions against assigned sex. The She-man is glaringly bi-sexed rather than obscurely androgynous or merely bisexual. Hisher power is expressly sexual. This article suggests possible origins of the She-man’s power in two earlier figurations of powerful female imagery. The first is the phallic femme which evolves from manipulation of the feminine persona; the second is the medusan femme which evolves from the female body. The intersection of these two figurations marks phallic power in the feminine. Instead of undergoing a downward gender mobility, the She-man has enlarged himself with feminine gender and female sexuality. He/ she takes advantage of the common collapse of sex and gender http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Camera Obscura Duke University Press

Chris Straayer

Camera Obscura , Volume 7 (2-3 20-21) – Jan 1, 1989

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Publisher
Duke University Press
Copyright
Copyright 1989 by Camera Obscura
ISSN
1529-1510
eISSN
1529-1510
DOI
10.1215/02705346-7-2-3_20-21-297
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

double-signification containing both macho male “sexuality” via the unseen penis and female sexuality indexed by costume. This potential is most evident in a contemporary figuration in popular culture that contests the traditional conditions and compromises of crossdressing in mass media. This figuration, which I term the Sheman, occurs when a male performer appropriates female imagery as a straightforward empowering device rather than as an emasculating comic ploy. Through a performance art aesthetic that compounds character with body, the She-man’s costume incarnates the female body. Gender rebellions by the transvestite are replaced with rebellions against assigned sex. The She-man is glaringly bi-sexed rather than obscurely androgynous or merely bisexual. Hisher power is expressly sexual. This article suggests possible origins of the She-man’s power in two earlier figurations of powerful female imagery. The first is the phallic femme which evolves from manipulation of the feminine persona; the second is the medusan femme which evolves from the female body. The intersection of these two figurations marks phallic power in the feminine. Instead of undergoing a downward gender mobility, the She-man has enlarged himself with feminine gender and female sexuality. He/ she takes advantage of the common collapse of sex and gender

Journal

Camera ObscuraDuke University Press

Published: Jan 1, 1989

There are no references for this article.