Gender informative and nonconformative!

Hey everyone!

I thought this music video was pretty neat in its play with and address of gender. Primarily, it is unique in its theme of fell-in-love-with-a-friend-in-drag-accidentally,-too-bad-he's-not-always-a drag-queen. The Magnetic Fields often take alternative approaches to gender in theme and content with their music; the queer identity of the lead singer, Stephen Merritt, attributes to some of this address.

In "Andrew In Drag," a male is celebrated and admired for playfully adapting a traditionally female appearance. The music video displays the performative of gender, as we are able to witness both a male and a female "put on" genders that may not match with their sex. Not surprisingly, the actors adequately portray common gender roles, assumptions, and constraints. "Andrew in Drag" features a male who shaves off his body hair and pulls on a pair of long black stockings as the female binds her breasts in a bandage. Such disparate performances continue as make-up is taken off and applied, male underwear is stuffed alongside "sexy" female underwear, eyebrows thickened and thinned, etc. etc. It's interesting to note that towards the end of the video, the woman's breasts are shown while the male's are censored. providing an uncommon twist on consistent forms of censorship. Keep in mind, however, that these individuals arguably do abide by gender roles, as the gender that is being performed is largely based on stereotype.

I'd recommend this song and that it get stuck in your head--enjoy it, but also notice how the band addresses and assumes gender!