Destini and I arrived at the building across from the downtown bus station a little before 6pm on 4/1/2010. On either side of it were buildings whose leases had apparently run out; posted signs prohibited entry. The location was definitely urban, I noticed many disheveled looking teens and young adults meandering around outside. With a buzz at the electronic security door, we were granted access inside by the Boys ‘R Us volunteer coordinator, Vanessa.
At 5’2 and around 120 lbs., she’s extraordinarily average. I’m glad to have met her; she seemed very warm, understanding, and helpful, but I’ll admit to being initially shaken by her appearance. In jeans and a long-sleeved club t-shirt, she’s a “regular” woman by traditional Western standards, save for one distinct disparity – her facial hair. She wore a pencil-thin moustache and kept a small goatee. Now, the only female with facial hair I’d seen up to this point is [kid sister], and she gets laser treatment for that nowadays. I see Vanessa’s grooming choice as a defiant statement against withering norms that dictate what men and women can’t do. I thought about my personal preference for being clean-shaven and wondered, what does that say about me as a man? Was I threatened? Not so much. I know that masculinity and femininity are hardly affected by trivialities like hygiene and outward appearance; this just serves as reaffirmation for me that the gender roles of old are falling by the wayside.
Introductions were made and we followed Vanessa through the building like ducklings. She gave us background information on the Boys ‘R Us group:
Founded in 2002, Boys R Us is Tucson's Premier gender performance troupe. We are a collective of gender queers coming together to create a rollercoaster ride of emotion, imagery, ideas and entertainment. Exploring varying perspectives of gender bending, including identity, exploring the ying and yang of gender and societal roles, image, self-esteem, self-projection and identification, Boys R Us pushes the envelope of gender transformation to confront underlying social issues. This validates the struggle and provides common ground to communicate ideas of breaking through societies dichotomous roles and questioning preconceived notions surrounding gender. Expanding peoples minds about what gender is, is not, and what it could be; masculine, feminine and everything in between, Boys R Us is gender bending at its finest.
We talked about how we could help out with a future “Vagina Monologues” performance; she asked if either of us wanted to volunteer more than the 10 hours required by the ANT class. I told her we’d start at ten and see how the cookie crumbled from there.
We saw another classmate, Chelsea, when we were brought to the 25x35 ft. room that the group uses for meetings and practice. Each wall was painted a different, vibrant color. Decorations were sparse, but I did notice a number of motivational photographs and Shakespeare posters. The three of us sat on the floor – cross-legged, pens out, notebooks handy – as the meeting commenced at 6pm.
The meeting was an administrative one. The group (made up of ten individuals) sat in a semicircle around their leader (and executive director of the troupe) Dante. By the normative definition, the ratio of males to females was 1:1. I noticed a few less-effeminate ladies – with short, close-cropped haircuts – and a blonde gentleman with dreadlocks and his arm in a sling. They discussed all the aspects of performance that are directly affected by the group members; they talked about show dates – future events entitled “Forbidden,” “Creepshow,” and “Man Coverage” – and how they would arrange carpools. They spoke on the sexual content (or lack thereof) of costumes and song choices and also conversed about special effects (i.e. projectors and strobe lights) and props (like boxes, stands, and cages). I witnessed a brainstorm session where the group members deliberated on what they wanted to achieve with each performance piece, and watching their discourse makes me think of each combination of song and dance as a statement rather than just choreographed entertainment. Different members spoke on the divergent categorizations of masculinity and femininity, of what it means to be a man/woman . I conclude that each of their performances is a psychoanalytic work, down to the tiniest aesthetic detail.
It was interesting to observe the group dynamic, how the individuals interacted with one another. Each person had their ideas listened to, respectfully, as questions and answers were posed in turn. Communication was very open and candid, as if the group wasn’t under scrutiny by a handful college students. I noticed no conflict that demanded resolution; they acted like any other team or organization I’ve been a part of.
I’m excited for next week’s meeting; upon leaving at 8p the members promised actual performance next time around. I expect to be entertained.
Devising a research question that can be answered by the data I gather via fieldwork is proving to be difficult. An unstructured interview probably wouldn’t yield desirable results with this group; I haven’t been able to build rapport with its members and likely won’t be able to develop a comfortable and mutually trusting relationship within the allotted volunteer hours. A questionnaire (qualitative or not) may be fitting.
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