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- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Copyright
- © 2005 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
- ISSN
- 2203-1871
- eISSN
- 1443-4318
- DOI
- 10.1080/14434318.2005.11432754
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
A Magnificent Distraction? The Drag Cult for Nazi-Era Film Diva Zarah Leander Andres Mario Zervigon It is the late 1960s. A limousine drives down a dank street toward a gaudy neon-deco rated door, the only sign of life in this otherwise blighted neighbourhood. The vehicle screeches to a stop. Out steps a famous rock star who is taking a break from her busy performance schedule to visit the gay men who gave her career its start. Accompanied by her boyfriend, she walks into the club where the men are gathered and just as she enters, the nightly drag show reaches its climax. A cross-dressed proprietress hugs the rock star affectionately and quickly seats the small party at the stage edge, for the drag queens are doing their final number. One by one they emerge from behind a curtain: first Diana Ross, then Barbra Streisand and, finally, the visiting rock star in impersonation. "That drag queen is doing me!" screams The Rose. In The Rose (1979), Bette Midler's character has become such an important cul tural icon that any drag show reviewing the US's most fabulous female celebrities must now count her among those most worthy of impersonation. People do
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art – Taylor & Francis
Published: Jan 1, 2005