Leiden University Student Repository

Donker, Berend (2022)

The Performance of Identity through the Language of Drag Queens

Bachelor thesis | Engelse taal en cultuur (BA)

This thesis focuses on the ways in which the linguistic choices of drag queens can play a role in their identity performance. Transcripts from season nine of the television show RuPaul’s Drag Race were analysed in order to determine what lexical and grammatical features were more common among drag queens on this show than in general English conversation. The pervasive features of their language were then considered in their context to see how these features could possibly relate to the construction and performance of identity. The results show that the language of drag queens can be seen as drawing attention to one’s own personality and identity as a drag performer and as imitating stereotypically female ways of using language. In addition, the language of drag queens contains a strong emphasis on collective identity as a subgroup within the broader LGBTQ+ community.

Sociolinguistics

Identity

RuPaul's Drag Race

Drag Queen

LGBTQ+

Indexicality

Performativity

Stereotypes

Register analysis

Corpus linguistics

Author

Donker, Berend

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Supervisors

Jeffery, J.V.

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en