BUTCH QUEEN

Artist Paints Vintage Gay Porn Stars In Drag Face, A “Strange Turn Off”

Nathan Rapport's
Nathan Rapport’s “Randy“

A Texas artist has flipped the masculine identity of “macho porn stars” upside down in a series of paintings on display at Austin’s Commune boutique this weekend.

San Francisco native and recent Austin transplant Nathan Rapport tells Accidental Bear about his relationship with the original paintings, explaining the full drag face as a “turn off” above anything else:

“I’m doing a series of paintings of vintage ultra macho porn stars, with shaved faces in full drag face. It’s interesting how without the face, the paintings are very erotic and suddenly in face it’s a strange turn off. Just a fun exercise but I’m excited to be showing so quickly in my new city.”

Would you go home with a macho man in drag face?

Update: Rapport has provided some additional information about his work on our Facebook page:

As a drag performer in San Francisco, I was often made very aware of the power feminine transformation has over our sexual boundaries and comfort zones as gay men. The joke has always been that a boy must be prepared to sacrifice his sex life in order to work in this specific creative medium. And to a certain degree, this can be true. 

These paintings serve (as much for me as for you) as an exercise in looking at our positive and negative sexual responses to something as simple as makeup. And perhaps what this means on a broader scope. When staring at an image ripe with standard “masculine” sexual triggers, why am I suddenly not as turned on when the “hunk” has a face on? And why, when I cover his face with my thumb am I back to being comfortably aroused? Is it as simple as “masculine is good, feminine is bad?” Perhaps. Perhaps not. However, looking at why we react this way feels very healthy to me. Recognizing that a great deal of misogyney [sic] exists among gay men seems very important as we continue to carve out our cultural identity. Our base sexual triggers and responses, though arguably socially influenced, are deeply engrained. However, acknowledging our gut sexual reactions and asking ‘why?’ might not be the worst thing.

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“Kris“

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“Sam“

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“Paul“

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“Bud“

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“Reese“

Check out more of Nathan Rapport’s work on Tumblr. You can purchase all of the original prints above on Etsy.

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