An Evening with Dr. Cheddar Gorgeous – LGBTQ+ History Month at YSJ

Wed, 15 February 2023, 17:00 – 18:00 GMT

Fresh from the grand finale of Season 4 of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Cheddar Gorgeous joins us at York St John University to discuss another aspect of their illustrious career: their ethnographic research exploring cruising culture among men who have sex with men, for which they were awarded a Doctorate in Social Anthropology with Visual Media by the University of Manchester in 2013.

In addition to (and indeed, as part of) their work as an artist, Cheddar is also an academic, and it is this work that they will be sharing as part of their talk. Cheddar’s doctoral research focused on the forms of movement and modes of perception involved in the practices of cruising (which they defined as “the seeking of anonymous public sex by men wishing to meet other men”) and business (a term they used to describe “a variety of exchanges of intimacy, for money, goods and/or services”) in and around Manchester’s famous Gay Village. Their ethnographic approach drew from a wide range of data, incorporating participant testimonials, fieldwork, drawings, photography, and text. Through their research, Cheddar not only sought to meaningfully identify and represent an under-researched social practice and the community surrounding it, but also provide a basis for policymakers, outreach workers and participants themselves to work toward a more collaborative understanding of cruising culture. By so doing, their research aimed to improve the wellbeing and safety outcomes for all those who participate in cruising. In collaboration with the Department of Language and Linguistics at York St John, Cheddar will particularly consider the role of language (and, importantly, the absence of language) in the interactions they studied.

About Cheddar Gorgeous

Dr. Cheddar Gorgeous – As head of the drag family Gorgeous, national and international recognition is nothing new to Cheddar. Before impressing the world on the BBC last year with their visually stunning and thought-provoking runway presentations, Cheddar – joined by members of their drag family – toured the UK as part of Channel 4’s Drag SOS, showcasing the power of drag to inspire self-confidence and bridge personal and social gaps. Cheddar has been recognised by academics in both conferences and published research, both for the political potential of lipsync as an art form (Witts, 2017) and for the significance of genderfuck performance (Elder, 2016). Cheddar also features in a long-standing art installation by Sonia Boyce at Manchester Art Gallery, where they bring to life one of the paintings found on the walls through their drag and – in the words of art historian Dorothy Price (2019) – queer the art gallery and the categories of gender and sexuality represented therein.

This event is not suitable for under 18’s, and contains the following content warnings, all in the context of the research: discussion of sexual activity in public spaces, sex work, some discussion of child sexual exploitation (CSE).

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