The cri\u00adti\u00adcal poten\u00adtial of \u201cdrag\u201d cen\u00adtral\u00adly concerns a cri\u00adtique of a pre\u00advai\u00adling truth-regime of \u201csex,\u201d one that I take to be per\u00adva\u00adsi\u00adve\u00adly hete\u00adro\u00adsexist : the dis\u00adtinc\u00adtion bet\u00adween the \u201cinside\u201d truth of femi\u00adni\u00adni\u00adty, consi\u00adde\u00adred as psy\u00adchic dis\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adtion or ego-core, and the \u201cout\u00adside\u201d truth, consi\u00adde\u00adred as appea\u00adrance or pre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtion, pro\u00adduces a contra\u00addic\u00adto\u00adry for\u00adma\u00adtion of gen\u00adder in which no fixed \u201ctruth\u201d can be esta\u00adbli\u00adshed. Gender is nei\u00adther a pure\u00adly psy\u00adchic truth, concei\u00adved as \u201cinter\u00adnal\u201d and \u201chid\u00adden,\u201d nor is it redu\u00adcible to a sur\u00adface appea\u00adrance ; on the contra\u00adry, its unde\u00adci\u00adda\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty is to be tra\u00adced as the play bet\u00adween psyche and appea\u00adrance (where the lat\u00adter domain includes what appears in words). Further, this will be a \u201cplay\u201d regu\u00adla\u00adted by hete\u00adro\u00adsexist constraints though not, for that rea\u00adson, ful\u00adly redu\u00adcible to them.<\/p>\n
In no sense can it be conclu\u00added that the part of gen\u00adder that is per\u00adfor\u00admed is the\u00adre\u00adfore the \u201ctruth\u201d of gen\u00adder ; per\u00adfor\u00admance as boun\u00added \u201cact\u201d is dis\u00adtin\u00adgui\u00adshed from per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adti\u00advi\u00adty inso\u00adfar as the lat\u00adter consists in a rei\u00adte\u00adra\u00adtion of norms which pre\u00adcede, constrain, and exceed the per\u00adfor\u00admer and in that sense can\u00adnot be taken as the fabri\u00adca\u00adtion of the performer\u2019s \u201cwill\u201d or \u201cchoice\u201d; fur\u00adther, what is \u201cper\u00adfor\u00admed\u201d works to conceal, if not to disa\u00advow, what remains opaque, uncons\u00adcious, unper\u00adfor\u00admable<\/span>. The reduc\u00adtion of per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adti\u00advi\u00adty to per\u00adfor\u00admance would be a mistake.<\/p>\n The rejec\u00adtion of an expres\u00adsive model of drag which holds that some inter\u00adior truth is exte\u00adrio\u00adri\u00adzed in per\u00adfor\u00admance needs, howe\u00adver, to be refer\u00adred to a psy\u00adcho\u00adana\u00adly\u00adtic consi\u00adde\u00adra\u00adtion on the rela\u00adtion\u00adship bet\u00adween how gen\u00adder appears and what gen\u00adder signi\u00adfies. Psychoanalysis insists that the opa\u00adci\u00adty of the uncons\u00adcious sets limits to the exte\u00adrio\u00adri\u00adza\u00adtion of the psyche. It also argues, right\u00adly I think, that what is exte\u00adrio\u00adri\u00adzed or per\u00adfor\u00admed can only be unders\u00adtood through refe\u00adrence to what is bar\u00adred from the signi\u00adfier and from the domain of cor\u00adpo\u00adreal legibility.<\/p>\n How pre\u00adci\u00adse\u00adly do repu\u00addia\u00adted iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions, iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions that do not \u201cshow,\u201d cir\u00adcum\u00adscribe and mate\u00adria\u00adlize the iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions that do ? Here it seems use\u00adful to rethink the notion of gen\u00adder-as-drag in terms of the ana\u00adly\u00adsis of gen\u00adder melan\u00adcho\u00adlia. Given the ico\u00adno\u00adgra\u00adphic figure of the melan\u00adcho\u00adlic drag queen, one might consi\u00adder whe\u00adther and how these terms work toge\u00adther. Here, one might ask also after the disa\u00advo\u00adwal that occa\u00adsions per\u00adfor\u00admance and that per\u00adfor\u00admance might be said to enact, where per\u00adfor\u00admance engages \u201cacting out\u201d in the psy\u00adcho\u00adana\u00adly\u00adtic sense. If melan\u00adcho\u00adlia in Freud\u2019s sense is the effect of an ungrie\u00adved loss (a sus\u00adtai\u00adning of the lost object\/Other as a psy\u00adchic figure with the conse\u00adquence of heigh\u00adte\u00adned iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion with that Other, self-bera\u00adte\u00adment, and the acting out of unre\u00adsol\u00adved anger and love), it may be that per\u00adfor\u00admance, unders\u00adtood as \u201cacting out,\u201d is signi\u00adfi\u00adcant\u00adly rela\u00adted to the pro\u00adblem of una\u00adck\u00adnow\u00adled\u00adged loss. Where there is an ungrie\u00adved loss in drag per\u00adfor\u00admance (and I am sure that such a gene\u00adra\u00adli\u00adza\u00adtion can\u00adnot be uni\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adli\u00adzed), per\u00adhaps it is a loss that is refu\u00adsed and incor\u00adpo\u00adra\u00adted in the per\u00adfor\u00admed iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion, one that rei\u00adte\u00adrates a gen\u00adde\u00adred idea\u00adli\u00adza\u00adtion and its radi\u00adcal unin\u00adha\u00adbi\u00adta\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty. This is nei\u00adther a ter\u00adri\u00adto\u00adria\u00adli\u00adza\u00adtion of the femi\u00adnine by the mas\u00adcu\u00adline nor an \u201cenvy\u201d of the mas\u00adcu\u00adline by the femi\u00adnine, nor a sign of the essen\u00adtial plas\u00adti\u00adci\u00adty of gen\u00adder. What it does sug\u00adgest is that gen\u00adder per\u00adfor\u00admance alle\u00adgo\u00adrizes a loss it can\u00adnot grieve, alle\u00adgo\u00adrizes the incor\u00adpo\u00adra\u00adtive fan\u00adta\u00adsy of melan\u00adcho\u00adlia whe\u00adre\u00adby an object is phan\u00adtas\u00adma\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly taken in or on as a way of refu\u00adsing to let it go.<\/p>\n The ana\u00adly\u00adsis above is a ris\u00adky one because it sug\u00adgests that for a \u201cman\u201d per\u00adfor\u00adming femi\u00adni\u00adni\u00adty or for a \u201cwoman\u201d per\u00adfor\u00adming mas\u00adcu\u00adli\u00adni\u00adty (the lat\u00adter is always, in effect, to per\u00adform a lit\u00adtle less, given that femi\u00adni\u00adni\u00adty is often cast as the spec\u00adta\u00adcu\u00adlar gen\u00adder) there is an attach\u00adment to and a loss and refu\u00adsal of the figure of femi\u00adni\u00adni\u00adty by the man, or the figure of mas\u00adcu\u00adli\u00adni\u00adty by the woman. Thus, it is impor\u00adtant to unders\u00adcore that drag is an effort to nego\u00adtiate cross-gen\u00adde\u00adred iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion, but that cross-gen\u00adde\u00adred iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion is not the exem\u00adpla\u00adry para\u00addigm for thin\u00adking about homo\u00adsexua\u00adli\u00adty, although it may be one. In this sense, drag alle\u00adgo\u00adrizes some set of melan\u00adcho\u00adlic incor\u00adpo\u00adra\u00adtive fan\u00adta\u00adsies that sta\u00adbi\u00adlize gen\u00adder<\/span>. Not only are a vast num\u00adber of drag per\u00adfor\u00admers straight, but it would be a mis\u00adtake to think that homo\u00adsexua\u00adli\u00adty is best explai\u00adned through the per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adti\u00advi\u00adty that is drag. What does seem use\u00adful in this ana\u00adly\u00adsis, howe\u00adver, is that drag exposes or alle\u00adgo\u00adrizes the mun\u00addane psy\u00adchic and per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtive prac\u00adtices by which hete\u00adro\u00adsexua\u00adli\u00adzed gen\u00adders form them\u00adselves through the renun\u00adcia\u00adtion of the pos\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty of homo\u00adsexua\u00adli\u00adty, a fore\u00adclo\u00adsure that pro\u00adduces a field of hete\u00adro\u00adsexual objects at the same time that it pro\u00adduces a domain of those whom it would be impos\u00adsible to love. Drag thus alle\u00adgo\u00adrizes hete\u00adro\u00adsexual melan\u00adcho\u00adly, the melan\u00adcho\u00adly by which a mas\u00adcu\u00adline gen\u00adder is for\u00admed from the refu\u00adsal to grieve the mas\u00adcu\u00adline as a pos\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty of love ; a femi\u00adnine gen\u00adder is for\u00admed (taken on, assu\u00admed) through the incor\u00adpo\u00adra\u00adtive fan\u00adta\u00adsy by which the femi\u00adnine is exclu\u00added as a pos\u00adsible object of love, an exclu\u00adsion never grie\u00adved, but \u201cpre\u00adser\u00adved\u201d through the heigh\u00adte\u00adning of femi\u00adnine iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion itself. In this sense, the \u201ctruest\u201d les\u00adbian melan\u00adcho\u00adlic is the strict\u00adly straight woman, and the \u201ctruest\u201d gay male melan\u00adcho\u00adlic is the strict\u00adly straight man.<\/p>\n What drag exposes, howe\u00adver, is the \u201cnor\u00admal\u201d consti\u00adtu\u00adtion of gen\u00adder pre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtion in which the gen\u00adder per\u00adfor\u00admed is in many ways consti\u00adtu\u00adted by a set of disa\u00advo\u00adwed attach\u00adments or iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions that consti\u00adtute a dif\u00adferent domain of the \u201cunper\u00adfor\u00admable.\u201d Indeed, it may well be that what consti\u00adtutes the sexual\u00adly unper\u00adfor\u00admable is per\u00adfor\u00admed ins\u00adtead as gen\u00adder iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion. To the extent that homo\u00adsexual attach\u00adments remain una\u00adck\u00adnow\u00adled\u00adged within nor\u00adma\u00adtive hete\u00adro\u00adsexua\u00adli\u00adty, they are not mere\u00adly consti\u00adtu\u00adted as desires that emerge and sub\u00adse\u00adquent\u00adly become pro\u00adhi\u00adbi\u00adted. Rather, these are desires that are pros\u00adcri\u00adbed from the start. And when they do emerge on the far side of the cen\u00adsor, they may well car\u00adry that mark of impos\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty with them, per\u00adfor\u00adming, as it were, as the impos\u00adsible within the pos\u00adsible. As such, they will not be attach\u00adments that can be open\u00adly grie\u00adved. This is, then, less the refu\u00adsal to grieve (a for\u00admu\u00adla\u00adtion that accents the choice invol\u00adved) than a preemp\u00adtion of grief per\u00adfor\u00admed by the absence of cultu\u00adral conven\u00adtions for avo\u00adwing the loss of homo\u00adsexual love. And it is this absence that pro\u00adduces a culture of hete\u00adro\u00adsexual melan\u00adcho\u00adly, one that can be read in the hyper\u00adbo\u00adlic iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions by which mun\u00addane hete\u00adro\u00adsexual mas\u00adcu\u00adli\u00adni\u00adty and femi\u00adni\u00adni\u00adty confirm them\u00adselves. The straight man becomes (mimes, cites, appro\u00adpriates, assumes the sta\u00adtus of) the man he \u201cnever\u201d loved and \u201cnever\u201d grie\u00adved ; the straight woman becomes the woman she \u201cnever\u201d loved and \u201cnever\u201d grie\u00adved. It is in this sense, then, that what is most appa\u00adrent\u00adly per\u00adfor\u00admed as gen\u00adder is the sign and symp\u00adtom of a per\u00adva\u00adsive disavowal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The cri\u00adti\u00adcal poten\u00adtial of \u201cdrag\u201d cen\u00adtral\u00adly concerns a cri\u00adtique of a pre\u00advai\u00adling truth-regime of \u201csex,\u201d one that I take to be per\u00adva\u00adsi\u00adve\u00adly hete\u00adro\u00adsexist : the dis\u00adtinc\u00adtion bet\u00adween the \u201cinside\u201d truth of femi\u00adni\u00adni\u00adty, consi\u00adde\u00adred as psy\u00adchic dis\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adtion or ego-core, and the \u201cout\u00adside\u201d truth, consi\u00adde\u00adred as appea\u00adrance or pre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtion, pro\u00adduces a contra\u00addic\u00adto\u00adry for\u00adma\u00adtion of gen\u00adder in which no [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3142,3136,1631,466,53,613,125,292,2140],"class_list":["post-22523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-quote","hentry","category-non-classe","tag-desaveur","tag-drag","tag-expression","tag-genre","tag-identite","tag-melancolie","tag-norme","tag-performance","tag-strategie","post_format-post-format-quote"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22523"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22621,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22523\/revisions\/22621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}