All drag, all the time — one night in Cape Town with Lola Fine

Abstract

This photo essay discusses the ways in which a participant in a research project on the performance of gender embodies and becomes a performance character, as well as the different instantiations this takes in different contexts and situations. The photo essay discusses how Lola Fine, a drag performer, becomes the character of Lola Fine, and is solidified as such through the performative nature of getting into drag — applying makeup, putting on a dress and shoes, and so forth — as well as through interactions with different individuals in different contexts.