Drag King workshop answers moustached questions about masculinity

Published On Wed 6 Mar 2019 by Dominic Glasgow

The public will have a royal reason to put their best moustache forward this weekend as they are invited to explore masculinity in a Drag King workshop at the University of Dundee.

The workshop, led by Lenna Cumberbatch from the University of St. Andrews and hosted by the University of Dundee LGBT+ Staff Network, will take place on Saturday 9 March between 2-4pm.

Open to everyone, the free two-hour session will see participants exploring masculinity and how it is presented through the medium of drag.

Props, facial hair and refreshments will be provided, however, those interested in becoming a Drag King for the day should bring clothes they would like to drag in.

Lenna Cumberbatch, Diversity and Inclusion Strategist at the University of St. Andrews and workshop leader, said, “One of the important things about doing a drag king workshop is being able to demonstrate masculinity and the performative nature of gender. The connection of that performance with confidence and the way we can associate masculinity with confidence is crucial to helping people understand ways in which to experience masculinity.

“I am looking forward to bringing this kind of workshop to Dundee so that we can really get into showing the ways in which confidence can be accessed by mimicking masculinity.”

Erin Hardee, Schools Outreach Organiser at Dundee’s School of Life Sciences, said, “We are really excited to have Lenna, who is such an experienced workshop facilitator, take us through the paces of thinking about how we express masculinity and what that means to both masculine and non-masculine people in today’s society.

“Toxic masculinity is a hot-button issue right now but that doesn’t mean that all masculinity is negative. The ways in which we talk about it and what we do with it could do with more investigation, so we are really looking forward to seeing what comes out of the workshop. Expect great discussion and a lot of laughter.”

The Drag King workshop takes place between 2-4pm on Saturday 9 March at Dundee’s Institute for Sport and Exercise.

Those interested should email LGBTStaff@dundee.ac.uk to book a place.

For media enquiries contact:
Dominic Glasgow
Media Relations Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 385131
Email: d.w.glasgow@dundee.ac.uk