A Merseyside-based lecturer is teaching students what goes into the art of drag beyond physical appearance.
Mark Edward, a reader in creative arts at Edge Hill University, is showing his students how a lot more work than just make-up goes into being a professional and successful drag artist.
Initially, the 51-year-old, who is from Wigan, was in charge of leading the UK’s first-ever module dedicated to the art of drag. Using his experience and research, he helped the university in Ormskirk become the country’s first higher education institution to offer such a module.
READ MORE: Reality of being a parent to a trans child in face of 'hatred'
The optional Drag Kings and Drag Queens of Performance module, which was taught within performing arts courses, no longer runs because not enough students choose to study it.
Nevertheless, when the news was first announced in 2015, Mark booked two weeks off work to “hide as “things became too intrusive”. With the story gone viral, Mark was invited - but declined - on to the likes of Loose Women and This Morning to discuss his role within the teachings but felt like it “all became too much”.
However, still believing it is valuable to be taught, Mark now teaches drag studies within certain modules including queer theory.
The Doctor told the ECHO: “It is a serious form of study, it's academic. People don’t realise the work that gets done by drag artists - the politics, the community work, the activism. There are a lot of things that go with the work of drag and there’s a massive set of skills to be learnt from it.”
Mark explained how his students learn and understand the likes of queer entertainment and queer theatre - all of which can be used to help them in their final year of studies when they are figuring out which direction they want to go in as an artist.
He said: “Students look at drag history and 'herstory' including historical perspectives of drag practices. We always talk about drag queens but the students also explore drag kings and drag that is more fluid as opposed to drag which is pinned down to male or female.
“We also look at visibility within drag and how drag relates to disabilities and race. Students also need to look at the broader picture of drag, for example, those who create the performer's merchandise, and how so many people play into the careers of these main characters.”
Being able to teach drag studies is something which Mark had never pictured when he was growing up. Mark left school the same year Section 28 - a series of laws introduced across Britain by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government that prohibited the "promotion of homosexuality" by local authorities - was instated.
He added: “Being gay wasn’t even mentioned by teachers back then. Homophobia was rife and I wasn’t like the rest of those who were at my school. I had my own identity with my bleach-blonde hair, my make-up and my own style and because of that, I was just a stand-alone person. I used to get vile insults aimed at me and spat at. I felt very alone and I ended up leaving school in Easter of that year (1988).”
With more time on his hands as a result of no longer being in education, Mark began attending a pub where he met his soon-to-be drag mother who taught him everything he knows about the industry.
Mark said: “You couldn’t hide behind a TV then, you couldn’t rely on an Instagram shot or a YouTube video. I had to learn the art of drag by physically doing it and being mentored by an experienced drag queen. I was put on stage in front of working-class pubgoers and I really had to sell myself and learn it through blood, sweat and make-up.”
Mark used his newfound platform as his alter ego Gale Force to make political statements. With the height of the AIDS crisis happening, Mark stood in solidarity with others as they protested through the streets of London against the wave of homophobia which was being promoted through fearmongering.
Having worked for Edge Hill University for nearly two decades now, Mark continues to use his platform to educate others about the LGBTQ+ community still to this day.
He said: “When I teach, sometimes I get a bit weepy about it. For students, it's just a history lesson and to them it’s nothing. But for me, it's different, it's about putting things into context. It’s important to have ownership of what I am teaching and it’s important for me to bring my research and experience to the university. It’s empowering.”
Receive our weekly LGBTQIA+ newsletter by signing up here.
READ NEXT:
- Live court updates as man accused of stabbing his mum to death
- Five words man told police after finding body one mile from where Nicola Bulley went missing
- Woman funded life of Louis Vuitton handbags and foreign holidays by selling drugs
- Nicola Bulley search expert Peter Faulding hits back at criticism as body found in river
- Man dies after BMW crashed and caught fire on M6
