Neglecting the Subjects of the Drag Performance in White Chicks

Authors

Hannah Sylvester, Cleveland State UniversityFollow

Abstract

As a temporary transvestite film, White Chicks tackles racial issues as well as gender issues and performance. While the statements made on behalf of racial issues are strong, the statements concerning gender are much weaker. The paper will give a summary of the film followed by a description of it as a temporary transvestite film alongside other films within the genre. Issues concerning gender roles--specifically the concept of femininity--are addressed within the film, but are never challenged or changed. Indeed, society's heterosexual hegemony are upheld within this film as they are in similar films in the genre. Homosexual instances in the film are seen as “mistakes” which the actors need to correct. The film also neglects the actual sisters in the film, Brittany and Tiffany Wilson, beyond their appearance in the beginning to set up the Copeland brothers’ entering into their persona and at the end when the brothers’ persona is shed. This neglect makes the presence of real women useless with the outcome that only their image is important.

Recommended Citation

Sylvester, Hannah. "Neglecting the Subjects of the Drag Performance in White Chicks." The Downtown Review. Vol. 1. Iss. 1 (2015) .
Available at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/tdr/vol1/iss1/3