Paxton, B. (2011). My Bad Romance: Exploring the Queer Sublimity of Diva Reception (Thesis). Retrieved from Graduate Theses and Dissertations. (3285)

In his thesis, Paxton aims to explore gay men’s relationship with the diva. He engages in “participant observation in drag performance and karaoke singing, performance ethnography, and autoethnography” (iii). Drawing from Farmer (2003), Paxton notes that gay men can find therapy and hope in diva performance, that divas’ performances take gay men outside of the status quo and, if only for a little while, outside of themselves. Drawing from Auslander (2004), he addresses the often-neglected importance of recorded musical performance, and suggests three layers to performance: the real person, the performance persona, and the character. The real person and the performance persona are perhaps self-explanatory; the character refers to the narrative of the song. Paxton then turns to McRae (2010) and addresses “an interconnected relationship between a performer (real person, personae, and character), a song, and the audience” (27). Spaces of performativity threaten the status quo; identity can change in our everyday “performances.” Diva performance encourages us to thrive in and enjoy these uncertain spaces. Both pop divas and torch singers allow gay men to challenge the hegemonic powers that be. Researchers could and should employ diva ethnography to understand how people interpret and use divas’ performances.

To that end, Paxton explores Freud’s concept of the uncanny and its effects on both gay men who observe diva performance (including drag performers and female musicians) and those who observe the gay spectator. He begins by accounting for a high-school performance as Mrs. Doubtfire, Robin Williams’ character from the film of the same name, and hiding his gender disruption from his father. Drag performance disrupts the heterosexual matrix proposed by Butler (1999) and reveals that gender itself is a performance. It additionally highlights how homophobia stems from sexism, and paves the way for women and gay men to fight heterosexist constructs together. Different strains of feminism seem to have differing views on drag performance; Butler, however, recognizes their transcendent and transformative powers. Straight observers get a sense of the uncanny when gay men cheer and yell for divas, as such behavior seemingly exists outside of the heterosexual matrix.

Paxton describes his one-diva show that explores the queer sublimity of diva reception. He then uses narrative ethnography to describe other gay men’s thoughts on diva performance. He finds that gay men often use diva performance as a way to express their desires when they cannot openly express such desires – a man shouted Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” while he was home alone, for instance. Gay men additionally use diva performance for therapy – Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and “My Life Would Suck Without You” helped a man navigate different relationships, for example. Gay men also see diva performance as a way to connect them to close relationships they have with women – one man thought his aunt and Bette Midler resembled each other. However, some gay men were apathetic about divas, and others were resistant to their fabulousness. The latter reinforce notions that even some gay men adhere to rather strict gender norms – and might even be homophobic. In a conversation Paxton had with friends, a woman musician was not a diva if she did not challenge the gendered status quo or lacked musical creativity.

Paxton then describes the process of putting together his one-diva show. He sets the show up at a karaoke bar based on a real-life hangout and research site to pull together his own experiences and the experiences of others. He discusses the ethical dilemmas in incorporating into his show characters as intimate others, including family members, friends, and a gay man who escaped an abusive relationship. Paxton addresses potential activist outcomes; audience members found that diva performances could empower, help others figure out their identity/ies, and encourage a fresh look at the world around us.

Paxton’s research pertains to visual rhetoric because (gay) men take on a “different” look when engaging in drag performance – a look that challenges the status quo. And while Paxton’s deeming of Taylor Swift as “not a diva” is disheartening, his research is still specifically important to my project. Members of the ATRL community play around with the concept of diva worship frequently – Gay Cat frequently appears in forum posts about popular artists like Swift and Beyoncé; we can interpret the use of Gay Cat as a diva performance; and the Gay Cat manipulations, whose appearance resembles those of women pop stars, further disrupt notions of gender. In short, this research sets up a context for diva performance for my own research.