Alli Armijo // Blog Writer
What makes you you? What is it that makes a woman a woman? If such existential questions as these keep you up at night, drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova have got just the book for you. Trixie and Katya’s Guide to Modern Womanhood touches on all prominent aspects of the “female” experience, dissecting what it means to be a woman in today’s world. Modeled after an antiquated etiquette book Mattel read when she was younger, the book simultaneously mocks and embraces the concept of “womanhood.” It is divided into three sections—Beauty and Style, Homemaking, and Relationships—using thinly veiled sarcasm to give the reader insight into how to be a woman and how to do so flawlessly. Who better to write a self-help book on womanhood than two drag queens who are self-proclaimed women?
One of the things I think is so interesting about this book is that two drag queens, arguably the paragon of beauty and makeup standards today, frame their advice in a way that says, “you better listen to us,” in one ear, while whispering, “why would you take what we have to say seriously?” in the other. For instance, in “Part 1: Beauty and Style,” the two queens touch on everything from personal hygiene to drug and alcohol abuse, all while asking pressing questions such as whether stilettos or cutouts are the more provocative heel (stilettos, of course, but don’t discount a good peep toe: everyone loves a shoe with cleavage).
Their anecdotes are silly and hyperbolic but equally sage and intelligent. This concept—radical sarcasm underlining a progressive idea of identity and its social construction—is what drew me to the book. I am obsessed with how drag confronts social norms. Trixie and Katya use their platform to give qualified advice that is currently, at least in the eyes of a more traditional audience, unqualified. But who cares what they think? Let the drag queens speak!
In general, I am drawn to drag because it challenges and distorts so many antiquated cultural ideals that people still embrace today. I think that one of the main functions of drag, at least in a social context, is to both mock and exaggerate identity. Drag is inherently political in that sense: it confronts stereotypes of femininity with humor, indirectly pointing out how absurd and outdated perceptions of “what it means to be a woman” are. Trixie and Katya tell us that being a woman is not purely biological: it is emotional and spiritual, too. By offering advice through the form of an old-fashioned self-help book, Trixie and Katya frustrate the domestic culture surrounding femininity in a way that challenges the perception of women, especially as they were portrayed in the ’50s and ’60s. However, the book does not strictly focus on topics that mock domestic housewife culture: it touches on a little bit of everything, ranging from how to declutter your home to how to hook up and feel refreshed the next morning. I think the message here is that womanhood is not meant to be exclusive—or maybe it is, just not in the traditional sense. I think Trixie and Katya are trying to say that anyone can be a woman: you just have to try hard, fail, and succeed. So basically, you are already on the path to womanhood! Now all you need is this self-help book, one of Trixie’s “special” lemonades (don’t worry, the recipe is included in the book, and it was nominated for an award, so you know it’s legit), and a good attitude. So get out there—go be a woman!