Travesty Show: Performativity and Negotiation of Gender Identity

This thesis is concerned with the question of gender identification in drag culture. The research, upon which this work is based, focuses on Czech drag queens that participate in drag (travesti) show in an LGBTQ+ enterprise in Prague. In my research, I have attempted to grasp the motivation of my informants to do drag, their connection to queer culture and the ways in which they create their own aesthetic on stage. With the help of these topics, I approach the problem of their gender identification, both in and out of drag. On the basis of the collected fieldwork material and relevant literature, I problematize gender identification among my informants. On the basis of such identification, I furthermore attempt to demonstrate limitations and shortcomings of the heteronormative framework of gender performativity, gender performance and gender identification in general. Keywords: travesty show, drag, queer, homosexuality, performativity, performance, heteronormativity, gender subversio