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Abstract:
In recent years, scholars have noted the influence that race has played in the construction and maintenance of gender for men of color. In this paper, I examine how contemporary narratives continue to feminize Asian men and the consequences that this feminization has, specifically, on gay Asian men. In doing so, I examine contemporary narratives about Asian men to show how they are constructed and narratives created by gay Asian men to show how that gendered construction of race has a negative effect on their emotional and physical well-being.
Keywords: race; sexuality; gender; class; gay Asian men
Even before the last contestant exits the stage, it is bitterly obvious to most in the room who will walk away with the crown. In a flurry 1oî fans and silk, while shaking every muscle in her body, one contestant manages to capture the audience's imagination with a modem rendition of Madame Butterfly that is both visually and emotionally inspiring to the largely white audience. As the performance reaches its climax, the audience members, who would later cast their ballots for the winner, are up on their feet, cheering in unison.
"I'm never entering another pageant with Asian girls again," one white drag queen tells me later that evening, "they're just too hard to beat. They're just way too real, it's not even fair."
In the opinion of this white drag queen, and most likely many of the other white drag queens who also competed unsuccessfully for the crown and title, the "realness" of gay Asian drag queens comes from their "more delicate features, smaller statures, and their ability to be more feminine." It is this ability to "pass" as real women, even when the lights go on, that give Asian drag queens a natural advantage in pageants.
While delicate features and smaller size may contribute to the overall illusion of "realness," perhaps it is the audience perception of gay Asian men, and Asian men in general, that ultimately leads to Asian drag queens being perceived as more "authentic." As such, it is not the physical characteristics of gay Asian drag queens, per se, that contributes to the illusion, but rather the inability of white audience members, and judges, to see them as anything other than...