Koomah, Clint Torres, Pedro and Rife L. Cox of “The Gendermyn” show UHCL their true masculinity. Photo by Carissa Puls: The Signal.
Kristin Manrique
The Signal
The Gendermyn, a drag king troupe who is redefining gender norms and advocating for social tolerance, provided perspective with a workshop on gender as performance March 8 for an audience inside UHCL’s Forest Room.
Charlotte Haney, a visiting lecturer in anthropology, brought the drag show to the UHCL campus to introduce, through entertainment, the theory that gender is not a biological construct, but a cultural construct.
Through performance art, the troupe performed two numbers that incorporated a universal, socio-political message of feminism, gender and empowerment.
“The Rosie the Riveter” routine provided commentary on WWII feminist ideology that was prevalent at that point in history and remains relevant today. Haney believes The Gendermyn’s use of the feminist icon to demonstrate the progression of gender identity in American society parallels the myriad forms and variations of gender in modern society.
“You get this nice sense of ‘wow, this is very complicated, more than I imagined,’” Haney said. “Anthropologists have this sense of how flexible gender can be. The performance is fun for me, because it really shows that to students.”
A portion of the workshop featured gender-bending techniques such as binding, which involves either duct taping or wearing a specially made vest to conceal breasts. Additionally, the lesson included proper beard application and the final physical transformative touch: packing below the belt.
Performers Pedro and Rife L. Cox take the spotlight. Photo by Carissa Puls: The Signal.
Motivating and empowering all individuals is a primary goal of The Gendermyn’s performances and workshops.
“I would like to educate, especially the youth, on gender-variant ways, that they can be who they want to be without getting hurt; they don’t have to hide,” said Robin Mack, who goes by the stage name Clint Torres. “There is an older generation that is very much welcoming and supportive.”
For The Gendermyn, breaking stereotypes and boundaries through gender-bending, artistic self-expression is a way to not only communicate to others, but a process that allows every performer to develop their signature style as well as his or her gender identity.
“Performance offered something that I wasn’t really getting,” said co-founder Jay Mays, aka Pedro Asty. “Being onstage grows you and grows my experience of my gender and how that’s an evolving and personal process is really, really fun.”
Audience reception to The Gendermyn’s frank deconstruction and modernization of gender was unanimously positive.
“I thought The Gendermyn were phenomenal and brave; it is always inspiring for me to see fellow young people being amazing activists,” emphasized Morgan Hopkins, a UHCL student pursuing her master’s degree in general psychology concurrently with a certificate in women’s studies. “The Gendermyn’s type of youth education on the necessity of gender liberation is the future for the fourth wave of feminist movement. It allows a more intersectional approach to feminism that has been lacking previously in regards to other identities, i.e., race, class and sexual orientation. I think it is imperative to include gender identity as a fluid category rather than binary in our understanding of feminism.”
The roughly five-year-old, Houston-based performance troupe’s mission to educate, impart and fight for individuality through their performance art has lead to other creative endeavors devoted to the cause.
By day, the troupe members pursue affiliated projects including The Gender Book, The Koomah Show and Ultraviolet Productions.
The Gendermyn’s dedication to equality and acceptance for all people may come in alternative packaging, but the message is a universal one.
“Our vision is that health care professionals, university faculty and administrators, lawmakers, consular corps, families and faith communities respect the inherent dignity and worth of all humans by seeing the whole human,” Mays said. “And our vision just happens to include pasties.”
Information regarding the Gendermyn’s upcoming performances and links to associated projects can be located at www.houstongendermyn.com.
Slideshow created by The Signal reporter Carissa Puls.
[…] The Signal reporters Kristin Manrique and Carissa Puls attended the Houston Gendermyn’s workshop held in the Forest Room March 8. Slideshow created by Carissa Puls. To read more about The Gendermyn’s show, click here. […]
[…] The Signal reporters Kristin Manrique and Carissa Puls attended the Houston Gendermyn’s workshop held in the Forest Room March 8. Slideshow created by Carissa Puls. To read more about The Gendermyn’s show, click here. […]