Author ORCID Identifier:
Date of Graduation
7-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Art Education (MA)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Art
Advisor/Mentor
Brown, Kathy
Committee Member
Wolfgang, Courtnie
Second Committee Member
Plakas, Justin
Third Committee Member
Camacho-Valencia, Paulina
Fourth Committee Member
Zollinger, Rachel
Keywords
Art Education; Arts-Based Research; Drag Performance; Gender Studies; Performance; Queer
Abstract
This thesis investigates drag performance as a site of gender identity formation, pedagogical practice, and arts-based inquiry through a critical autoethnographic methodology. Drawing on my lived experience as the drag king, Jas Mania, I investigate how drag functions as a dialogical relationship between performance and self, facilitating an ongoing exploration of my identity as a queer, non-binary artist and educator. Situated within theories of gender performativity, queer phenomenology, queer temporality, and performative pedagogy, this research considers how embodied performance generates knowledge that extends beyond the stage and into everyday life. Using improvisatory arts-based methods of reflective journaling and performance production, I document the multiple sites through which learning emerges within drag practice, including backstage conversations, drag kinship, audience interactions, workshops, and performance itself. These materials are translated into a one-man drag show, titled Dr. J. Maniac at Spanky’s Garage, which functions simultaneously as performance art, reflexive research method, and pedagogical framework. By positioning the drag show as a classroom and the performer as an educator, the project explores how drag can nurture dialogue around gender identity while expanding possibilities for teaching and learning within art education through queer inventiveness. This research argues that drag is not merely a performative expression of gender but a generative methodology through which identity is continually produced, negotiated, and understood. In examining the reciprocal relationship between my drag persona and my lived experience, this thesis examines how queer visibility, embodied performance, and arts-based practice can foster self-understanding, challenge heteronormative constructions of gender, and reimagine the pedagogical potential of drag performance as a transformative educational tool.
Citation
McMasters, J. (2026). Dragging the Self: Manifesting Genderqueer Identity as a Drag King Performer and Teacher. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/6402
