i finally articulated my opinion on my “is gerard way doing drag” question. my definition of drag is when a person impersonates, exaggerates, or appropriates a mode of gender expression. drag can be artistic or political (or both). drag can be an identity. drag and transgender identity are confused as the same thing. for some, it is. what is considered cross dressing can also be considered drag. it’s important to note that drag is essential to queer culture, and how the us government harasses queer people through cross dressing, and now anti-drag, laws. we wouldnt be here talking about pop artists doing drag without drag performers and nonbinary-trans-gnc people.
to some people, a self-identified man in a female-identified dress is drag. “cross dressing” depends on cishet norms. queer people, especially nonbinary-trans-gnc people, have called to dismantle the assignment of gender to clothing. under that lens, a man in a dress is just a man in a dress – for it to be drag, context and intent matters. that’s how you get women doing female drag, or androgynous people doing what gerard way’s been doing this last year on tour.
in asking “is gerard way doing drag?”, im assigning importance to the topic. does it matter? within my understanding, drag is about intent and context as much as gender presentation. intent and context is what makes something important. therefore: understanding why the question is important solves it.
male music artists have a long history of cross dressing and doing drag. there’s a good chance plugging any dude into a search engine with “drag” or “skirt” will bring something up. bowie, queen, nirvana, manic street preachers, placebo. here’s a list. newer artists: lil nas x, harry styles, anthony green, pete wentz, young thug. some are impersonating female caricatures, some are masculinizing female clothes (long, ill-fitting, straight). some, like molko and lil nas, wear feminine clothes without exaggerating or masculinizing. gerard is in that same grey area.
male music artists have a long history of cross dressing and doing drag – photos: “i want to break free” mv by queen (1984) / placebo in london (oct 1998) / lil nas x at audacy beach festival (dec 5, 2021) / fall out boy at rock for people (june 17, 2022)
all that history is why it was so weird when kerrang called gerard’s riot fest “dress and heels” “a compelling show of contrarian anti-rock star eccentricity”. it is not anti-rock star, at least not as described. it may be compelling, contrarian, and eccentric, but no reviewer really cares to analyze why. the closest they get is by identifying non-binary connection (them.us) and its relation to the “minefield that is American gender politics today” (latimes.com).
fans were struck by way’s outfits for a lot of other reasons.
1. we have to get it out of the way that they just looked hot – gerard is perpetually attractive, skirts are pretty. easy equation.
2. he has a long history of gender nonconformity. more on that in my #mcr queer studies tag. gerard is a 45 year old famously androgynous person who doesnt do labels, aligns himself with gender nonconformity (2014 reddit ama, 2018 advocate article, 2015 he/they tweet), and doesnt seem to care to be known as a man.
3. the tour outfits were well-fitted. many were crafted by skilled designer marina toybina and her team. which leads to ->
4. the outfits were very casual and very feminine. as mentioned, most men opt for masculine, ill-fitting skirts. which is to say they are NOT showing leg and they are definitely not showing ass. gerard doesnt steer clear from shortness or tightness or movement. he also dresses in ways people dress day to day – the miniskirt is as casual as the shorts as casual as the jeans. there’s some discussion to be had about what casual means – he could be imitating expected presentation or just using basics, like his frequent shirt and pants.
the miniskirt is as casual as the shorts as casual as the jeans – photos: firefly music festival (sept 23, 2022) / uncasville (sept 1, 2022) / eden project night 1 (may 16, 2022)
5. there was variety. many outfits, many types. he wasnt just doing pure femininity. some looks were high concept, some low concept. some gendered, some genderless. some feminine, some masculine. it was playful. its honesty evident in its fluidity yet cohesiveness. expanded in the next points ->
6. they incorporate elements of masculinity and gender neutrality concurrent with the feminine. his aggressive, energetic performance style often doesnt mind what people are seeing when his skirt lifts or shirt droops. he has little to no make-up – if he does, it’s stage and not glam. the closest he gets is the agender black swan look at boston night 1, the stage contour at wwwy night 3, and dubious lipstick at firefly. he also maintains the same hairstyle: barely styled, not straightened-curled. pinned a few times, gelled back some other times.
he has little to no make-up – if he does, it’s stage and not glam – photos: boston night 1 (sept 7, 2022) / when we were young night 3 (oct 29, 2022) / firefly music festival (sept 23, 2022)
7. the character outfits weren’t caricatures, like green’s sleazy hooker or queen’s uptight housewives. gerard’s characters were appropriated but not exaggerated. cheerleader, nurse, manson girl, jackie o, princess diane, st joan. all figures of pop culture. he wore them as they were. even comparing green and way’s similar white-green cheerleader costumes there’s a difference in presentation. green wears long leggings, way wears shorts. green’s costume is based on a stranger things character, way’s is a custom remade vintage outfit. green exhibits the masculinization of feminine clothes which way subverts. this comparison highlights what makes way’s outfits different, and therefore exciting to talk about.
green exhibits the masculinization of feminine clothes which way subverts – photos: saosin in garden grove, ca (oct 27, 2022) / mcr in nashville, tn (aug 23, 2022)
8. and when he played with masculinity, it was in a way that was dubbed “boydrag”. the new jersey night 2 casino singer look was a dramatic caricature that heightened masculine features until they were pure style… the defintion of camp. he had a mustache – thin like john waters or a confirmed bachelor, and drawn on with eyeliner. he had a suit – a pink-gold, glittery woman’s cut jacket with a glittery bowtie and pleated shirt. the dramatic flair is accentuated by the black eye make-up, the frank sinatra “my way” cover, the drum tag: “the house always wins”.
the defintion of camp – photos: new jersey night 2 (sept 21, 2022) 1 / 2
when i asked which outfits others considered drag, all replies identified the casino singer and jackie o as drag and the rest as “just clothes”. this relation made me understand why the rest couldnt be drag despite all the connections i talked about above. the jackie o outfit doesnt exaggerate the source like casino singer, but the source itself is both highly dramatic and highly gendered. cheer is gendered but not highly dramatic, st joan dramatic but not highly gendered. diane is gendered and dramatic, but not highly. the list goes on and on. it’s a fine line. especially cheer could tip into drag for me.
but the source itself is both highly dramatic and highly gendered – photos: mcr at riot fest (oct 12, 2022) / jackie kennedy onassis (jan 3, 1971)
if drag is understood in this way, simply wearing gendered clothes isnt drag. the look itself has to be about the performance of gender, however that may be presented. that’s the importance of classification. we can see what the artist is doing.
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