MAN EATER (OR RATHER, TO AN EMPTY BAR AT MIDNIGHT THE QUEEN CROONS)
first performed on September 12, 2020
Ideal Glass Studios, New York City, NY
performed twice in 2020
JUDY GIERA
Brooklyn, NY
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jpannegiera.squarespace.com
MAN EATER (OR RATHER, TO AN EMPTY BAR AT MIDNIGHT THE QUEEN CROONS)
JUDY GIERA
Reversing the insidious narrative of direct violence that the cis-het, white male gaze/action/inaction inflicts not metaphorically but really actually literally every minute daily physically upon the transgender femme body/experience/existence, “Man Eater (or rather, to an empty bar at midnight the queen croons),” presents a fragmented allegory-cum-drag show to an empty bar in a very present-day world. That is to say, while the cunt-ry was (mostly) wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID, an alien creature may have slipped in undetected, and assumed the form of a mentally ill trans woman artist in Brooklyn, and is using the cover of the one of the most effective (and only) ways to actually curb the spread of COVID (i.e. a mask) to tacitly and illicitly engage in intimate encounters with and then violently kill the objects which she most desires, mainly (and only always) cis-het, white men.….oh…and she has a penchant for….showtunes! The performance was presented with the artist performing as the Alien next to a projected video. Throughout the performance, the artist utilized dildos and vibrators as microphones, handed out free shots, and performed three full numbers. The video simultaneously playing included collaged footage from the Alien films, the artist’s Grindr and dating profiles, she-male porn, musical theatre, stop motion animations and scenes from The X-Files. Through a disarming humor by transforming a terrifying sci-fi creature into a lackadaisical drag queen who hunts cisgender, white men, this work is meant to continue to provoke uncomfortable thought regarding violence towards transgender women and the desiribility politics of those who find trans women attractive. With humor being a great unifier, a campy perspective puts true perspective on the systemic, transmysoginistic frameworks that guide present thinking around the agency, sexuality, and safety of the transgender femme body.