Sociological aspects of the Slovenian drag scene

Namen diplomske naloge je opisati in analizirati drag queen sceno v Sloveniji. Cilj naloge je ugotoviti, kakšni so osnovni razlogi, da se ljudje ukvarjajo z drag performansom in kako dojemajo svoje delovanje skozi performans preoblačenja v žensko in kako dojemajo lastno spolno in seksualno identiteto. Diplomska naloga je razdeljena na dva dela, pri čemer znotraj teoretičnega okvirja opišem relevantne teorije, ki različno konceptualizirajo spol in njegov pomen. Predstavim sociološko, feministično in transspolno konceptualizacijo spola ter opišem pogled queer teorije na spol in pomen performativnosti spola. Prav tako opišem kulturni in družbeni pomen drag performansa kot prakse, ki je bila značilna predvsem za gejevsko skupnost, danes pa je del dominantne kulture. V empiričnem delu se osredotočim na analizo pridobljenih intervjujev. Prav tako odgovorim na zastavljena raziskovalna vprašanja, ki se nanašajo na diskriminacijo drag queens oz. kraljic preobleke s strani heteroseksualne populacije in s strani LGBT skupnosti, na težave pri iskanju romantičnega partnerja ter na uporabo drag performansa kot sredstva za prikrivanje lastne osebnosti.The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse the Slovenian drag scene. The point of the thesis is to determine the main reasons as to why people start doing drag performance and how they perceive the performance of dressing in clothes of the opposite sex. I want to explore how they comprehend their own sexual and gender identity. The thesis is divided in two parts. Theoretical part describes the relevant theories that conceptualize gender and its meaning in different ways. I present sociological, feminist and transgender conceptualization of gender and I describe the view on gender by queer theory and the importance of gender performativity. Cultural and societal meaning of drag performance is described as a practice prevalent in gay community and has nowadays become part of the dominant culture. In the empirical part of the thesis I focus on interview analysis. Finally, the research questions related to discrimination of drag queens by heterosexual population and LGBT community are dealt with, in addition to problems related to finding a romantic partner and using drag performance as a means of hiding their own personality