Divas and the praxis of camp in relation to queer audiences. 

In this original new work, Constantine Chatzipapatheodoridis pulls back the curtain on the production of camp as a queer praxis that constantly feeds the diva-queer culture relationship. By examining the iconography and theatrics of the diva tour show, the author presents a performance studies reading of camp and the culture-sharing process of production and audience reception. Detailed case studies take a close look at popular contemporary performers like Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga, and a final section analyzes audience drag in the arena space. Chatzipapatheodoridis also investigates the relationship between camp theory as an academic subject and the figure of the diva as an expression of camp.

A rich and insightful revival of the question of camp in contemporary queer performance, The Music Diva Spectacle seeks to establish how camp is appropriated by the diva and explores how this affects—and is in turn appropriated by—the audience.

Constantine Chatzipapatheodoridis is an adjunct lecturer of visual arts in the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Patras in Greece. His fields of research include LGBTQ+ studies, performance studies, and art.

Introduction

1. Time Goes by so Slowly: Madonna’s Camp Revivals
2. LaLaLas and WowWowWows: Approaching Kylie Minogue’s Extravaganzas
3. We Flawless: Beyoncé’s Politics of Black Camp
4. Highway Unicorns: Camp Aesthet(h)ics and Utopias in Lady Gaga’s Tours
5. Dressed for the Ball: Audience Drag in the Arena Space

Conclusion

Works Cited