Drag Darlene

Since being a teenager I have also been fascinated with drag queens and the art that is 'drag'. Where as some people just see it as men dressed up in women's clothes with a lot of makeup, I absolutely love how these creative men develop new person as through the use of hair and makeup. One of my dearest friends at home is called Matthew Watson but by night he becomes Gina Tonic. When I saw him last we had an interesting conversation about his drag acts and how he feels when he is up on stage performing. It was heart warming listening to him speak about self expression and how acting like someone else who he has created makes him feel like his true self. Matthew is now early 40s so when the Club Kids and Blitz came to the scene in the 80s he was in his element! The stories he told me about the parties and night outs in the 80s when he first started being Gina were mesmerising as he explained about the new wave of style and music that was taking over the youth of the time, how it all came together to create this new revolution which is still influencing people nowadays. 

Gina Tonic
                                         
Drag queens are sometimes called transvestites although that term also has many other connotations that the term 'drag queen' usually connotes cross-dressing for the purposes of entertainment or performance without necessarily aiming to pass as female. It is not generally used to describe those persons who cross-dress for the fulfillment of transvestite fetishes alone, or whose cross-dressing is primarily part of a private sexual activity or identity. As for those whose motivation is not primarily sexual and who many socialize cross-dressing, they tend to adopt the typical over the top drag queen look. 

Androgyny in the 80s

History - 
Sexual ambiguity may be found in fashion, gender identity, sexual identity or sexual lifestyle, androgyny is the combination of feminine and masculine characteristics. It can also refer to biological intersex physicality especially with regards to plant and human sexuality. One of the first references to androgyny is featured in Plato's Symposium in a myth that Aristophanes tells the audience. Believed that people used to be spherical creatures with two bodies attached by the back that supposedly cartwheeled around. Men were with men and women with women although the last pairing represented an androgynous couple who tried to take over the gods and failed. As punishment Zeus decided to cut them in half and had Apollo stitch them back together leaving the navel as a reminder to not defy the Gods again.  This is one of the earlier written references to androgyny I could track as I find it interesting as to how androgyny first originated from.

Especially in the very early 60s, musicians such as the Beatles and The Rolling Stones started growing their hair long and progressing to full-fledged androgynous dress in life and on stage, whereas before it was the women who had the long hair this caused an uproar. Other iconic artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant fashioned perhaps the most enduring image of modern androgyny with wearing women's shirts, scarves, heeled boots and the way they carried themselves during interviews and so on. Robert Plant especially combined a somewhat effeminate physical appearance with a high pitched, flamboyant vocal range linking with a distinctly masculine sexuality. With these inspirational artists leading these new unseen trends, this is what made their fans think it was acceptable to start pushing the boundaries of what was socially acceptable and to copy what their icons were doing/wearing.

.....

As the years went by, androgynous fashion developed and blossomed to the 1980s! For most people as well as myself, when I first think of androgyny I instantly think of the 80s. As this was the decade of Grace Jones, Annie Lennox, Prince and many other influential, this was the start of a fashion revolution. For me, this photo of Grace Jones is one of my favourite and inspiring pictures in regards to what I want to achieve for my dissertation practice and in the future. How the use of minimal makeup and a beautifully taken photo can have such a large impact and really create something so visually stunning by simply highlighting the signature features of the model. 

Iconic 80s androgynous looks

http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html?t=13322343#page:showThread,13322343

'Indentity'

In many aspects this dissertation is about self expression, identity and what influences people to create new personas through the use of make-up and music, but for me I am focusing on the 80s. Which brought me to think about when I used to model for Toni&Guy and Saks, this developing into a love and passion for make-up and the art of hair.

 

Back in the hair modelling days

 

From this I wanted to start working behind the scenes of the shoots instead of being in front of the camera...resulting in me studying this course at Solent. How the use of hair styling and make-up can create new imagery and pieces of art work that has never been seen before excites me so I want to dig down to the roots of the 80s and investigate what was the first KEY point that kicked off peoples creativity. I love the use of products to define/cover or even highlight certain features of your face can change somebodies perception of you, the way you act and carry yourself. 

My 'Face'

 I always jokingly say how I 'paint' on my face, as some days I feel like I literally do draw on a new face. With the essentials being to contour my entire face but most importantly, eyebrows! I have repeatedly been complimented on my eyebrows and I feel after YEARS of practice iv finally gotten them right. As well as brows, thick black eyeliner and eyelashes are a key trait of mine, along side red lipstick. I have a variety of shades but always rely on a nice red lippy for the day. When I do my makeup routine in the morning I don't even give it a second thought as to what products/shades I am going to wear as I know what suits me best and this now....has developed into my 'identity'. Without even realizing, and this is something that I find quite interesting as for me one of the reasons why I have this look is from the compliments and reactions I get from it, so for me this is something that I want to look into for my investigation. Maybe one of the reasons why people rebelled from the social norm in the 1980s was down the reactions they used to get and how this extra, not necessarily positive, but attention is what people craved.

(close up pictures of my makeup)

Introduction...

As part of our studies, I had to send a draft of whatever work I had done to my tutor Michael for him to see how I was getting along and to help guide me along my studies. At this moment in time I feel that my topic of choice is still quite broad which is putting me off starting to write it. Due to this I found breaking down my ideas into bullet point form very helpful to send Michael as it helped me get across clearer what I am aiming to cover in my dissertation.

One of the reasons why I am doing this blog as well as being able to include images and videos in my research but also I can backtrack on my work to keep me in line of what I am aiming to achieve. As I want my dissertation to cover the topic I have chosen I don't want to end up going off the topic and writing about issues that aren't relevant. 

Introduction

"A brief overview of the relationship between music and music and the impact this had on society and culture.

How the music industry nowadays is still heavily influenced by specific makeup styles from the 80s and where did these originate from.

What was going on during the 80s and the effect this had on the creative industry

How make-up effected the approach of music and does it still to this day"

Going over what I sent o Michael briefly, with my introduction being 400words strong, I intend to briefly go over the following topics, varying but bringing them all together...

• Relationship between make-up and music in 80s and the impact this had on society and culture. (research into the music of the 80s, new genres and the fashions that came with it/why people were so fascinated by the new wave of fashion and make-up styles)
• How the music industry now is still heavily influenced the 80s (what made it so different and unique from other decades for styles to still be around now/where did these certain styles originate from/look into artists that show aspects within their performances and acts that reflect back to the 80s/what made the 80s so influential/the introduction of new technologies in the 80s helped make-up and music
• What was going on during the 80s and the effect that had on the creative industry (the introduction of new designers and a revolution of fashion/punk movement/political issues that were accuring at the time/how people rebelled from the norm of society to make a statement - through hair and makeup and how they did this.

Now that I have this written down in more detail for me to refer to when it comes down to actually writing my dissertation, I feel that when I start writing it will be easier for me to stay on track as I have set myself guidelines. Especially now that I have broken down my introduction, when I start writing my dissertation it will help the flow and the continuity. 

       

What is '80s' hair and make-up

When I initially think of the 1980s, what first pops into my head is big hair, bright colours and bold make-up. This was the decade where people started experimenting more with colour and textiles to create new personas and new styles, this was the time to release your creative side. 

1980s hair

For some people, hair is what made the 80s! This was the decade that introduced the mullet, mohawk and flattops which were all popular styles. Amongst women the on-trend looks were the bigger the better in my opinion. Big hair that was "often permed to achieve the desired volume" is especially associated with women of the late 1980s as well as male rockstars of that era, especially of the glam metal genre. 

One of the main reasons why I am going to create mood boards throughout my blog is to help me visually get my ideas across and also I feel it will be good for me to refer back to when in need. I feel being someone who is more creative than academic this is a good way for me to keep on track as well of what I am trying to achieve. 

1980s make-up

Every decade has its own style, and the 80s really had its own. From miniskirts to parachute pants and everything in between, something really went awry with our fashion sense during that decade. Make up was no exception. First and foremost there was just way too much of it. The girls of the decade literally “painted” their faces on. The two defining makeup elements in the 80s face were bold eyes and blush meant to accentuate the cheek bones.  The more noticeable the eye shadow and the heavier the blush, the better you looked as far as 80s fashion was concerned. If your face didn’t look halfway clownish, you hadn't quite achieved the look yet.

1980s fashion

Eighties fashion for women taught us terms like jelly bracelets, jelly shoes, neon clothing, leg warmers, shoulder pads, and Guess jeans. They also brought back polka dots, Preppie clothes and wedgies – which used to be shoes and not an underwear malfunction. Oversized sweatshirts that could fit a truck inside over tight leggings were the norm.

1980s clothing styles for men included acid washed jeans, jean jackets, parachute pants, high top shoes and T-shirts. Unless, of course you were in the preppie crowd. Then you wore Izod shirts, probably with the collar up, dress pants and penny loafer shoes. And, let's not forget the baggy blazer with the sleeves rolled up.

...

So over Summer when I started doing my research for my initial idea I realised that I felt my original idea was too narrow for me, I didn't feel that there would of been enough to make up for a full dissertation and the more I looked into it the more I realised that my heart wasn't in it anymore. I felt that with the practical side as well I was very limited to any sort of shoot that I could of done with my original idea so I reevaluated my proposal to think of something more broader.

I thought of instead of just doing the comparison of 2 sub-genres within metal in the 80s, I have decided to look into the influence of make-up in the music industry during the 80s. Focusing on the relationship between make-up and music and what made the 80s such an iconic era for make-up and music, bringing the two together.

For last week, we had to send to our tutor our first draft of whatever work we had done so far but as I was/still am trying to pin point my dissertation idea, I sent my work in bullet point form to explain what I would cover in each section. One thing that I was struggling with was to come up with a title as I feel that to some up and cover what your entire dissertation will be about in one sentence is something that will take time to perfect. I am undecided between:

·         The revolution of make-up in the 1980’s and how it influenced the music.

·         The relationship between make-up and music in the 1980’s and the revolution it created.

·         How the political and social issues in the 1980’s effected music and revolutionised make-up.

·         How make-up influenced androgynous fashion in the 1980’s and the revolutionary impact this had on the music industry.

I have always been interested in the thought of identity, what makes somebodies identity and how people can change this through the power of hair and make-up. That's why with my dissertation I wanted to include all these aspects but also to focus on something that I hadn't done before. I have never really been a fan of 80s music but I have always had an interest in the hair and make-up as I think it is one of the most influential and iconic eras. Even more, a lot of modern day musicians refer back to the 80s for their style which shows how much of an impression the 80s left on the music and fashion industry.

Initial idea

 So for my dissertation I have decided to do the practise option which will give me the opportunity to visually explain my dissertation alongside with the written part. For me this is the better option as with my dyslexia I find it easier to be creative than writing. This meaning that I will do a 4000 report and a practical, visual piece. At this time I have many ideas going through my head for my practical as I am trying to think outside the box and push myself to do something that I haven't done before.

When I did my dissertation proposal in May my initial idea was to my dissertation on 1980s make-up in music but to focus on 2 sub genres and to compare the impact of make-up in different ways. I thought about looking into Glam Rock vs Heavy Metal. How make-up created such a divide within the music industry but within the same genre. For example I was going to study and compare bands such as Steel Pantha and Kiss to Pantera and Metallica.

Steel Panther

Kiss

Glam Rock vs Heavy Metal

Pantera

Metallica

Comparing these 2 sub-genres you can already clearly tell the difference visually through the use of make-up and hair styling, simply because Steel Panther and Kiss 'dress up' to create new personas whereas Pantera and Metallica dont. They just simply have longer hair than the norm of most males and thats it. From this comparrison you can tell that Kiss and Steel Pantha are more 'show bands', where they put on more of a performance instead of just simply playing their music, especially as each member of the bands have different stage names.