Untucking The Past

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Disspelling myths and uncovering the tremendous and always overlooked contributions drag queens have made to art, pop culture, fashion, gender theory, and more. Plus we'll be looking at all kinds of local drag histories with stories you won't believe of the vastly different drag worlds of the last 1…

Dr. Lady J


    • Sep 23, 2019 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 37m AVG DURATION
    • 4 EPISODES
    • 1 SEASONS


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    Latest episodes from Untucking The Past

    Episode 3: The Rise of Alternative Drag... 50 Years Ago

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2019 81:10


    With the success of Dragula, a lot of new followers have developed for the world of alternative drag. But alternative drag already pierced the mainstream decades before. In today’s episode we take a look at the 1960s and 70s at how the counterculture changed drag forever and introduced some of its wildest monsters and most outrageous and successful artists who used drag. Music, theater, film, photography, and even mime influenced and were influenced by drag at this time and these uses aaltered the way drag functioned forever. So come along as we look at everything from The Cockettes’ commune life and bearded drag queens, Sylvester’s takeover of the music world, and so much more!

    Episode 2: Battling Bigotry with Balls

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2019 34:20


    Crystal LaBeija and the ballroom scene have both come back into the spotlight recently. On Drag Race Aja paid tribute to Crystal in Snatch Game but it felt a lot like people didn’t really understand the depth of who she was and what her role in herstory would come to be after many of those famous lines were uttered in the 1968 documentary The Queen. POSE has also done an outstanding job of telling the story of the late 80s/ early 90s ballroom scene, highlighting the AIDS crisis, the issues faced by trans women of color, and the shifts in ball culture that occurred as voguing became a mainstream inspiration, as well as generally getting everything so much more right than Paris is Burning ever did. In today’s episodes we go back to the founding of this scene to talk about how Crystal’s outrage helped bring about the ballroom scene and what this all had to do with racism inside the drag community at the time.

    Episode 1: Why Do Drag Performers Lip Sync?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2019 27:23


    Have you ever wondered how lip syncing became the default mode of performance for drag queens? It’s one of those things that’s so central to drag that it’s existence rarely gets called into question. On the first episode of Untucking the Past, I delve into the late 1960s nightclub drag scene and how changes in culture and the business of nightclubs contributed to the rise of lipsyncing. Join me as I untuck the past to reveal where lip syncing arose from and why it’s both an asset and a problem for drag queens.For more information on Dr. Lady and the podcast go to http://www.theonlyladyj.com, where you’ll also find a link to download my dissertation for FREE!Theme Music: “One legged equilibrist polka” edited by Circus Homunculus, edited by Dr. Franz Schlagobers, sociomusicologist, music recorded between 1915-1930. More information on Circus Homunculus, Dr. Schlagobers at http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Circus_Homunculus/

    Trailer Episode

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2019 5:35


    A short introduction to me, Dr. Lady J, and my work as a scholar and drag performer. I also dive into how we'll be approaching these topics and what I hope you'll take away from this show.For more information on Dr. Lady and the podcast go to http://www.theonlyladyj.com, where you’ll also find a link to download my dissertation for FREE!Theme Music: “One legged equilibrist polka” edited by Circus Homunculus, edited by Dr. Franz Schlagobers, sociomusicologist, music recorded between 1915-1930. More information on Circus Homunculus, Dr. Schlagobers at http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Circus_Homunculus/

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