Gender, Sexuality and PerformativityGender and sexuality are not necessarily related and are not talked about unless it is in the context of homosexuality, despite the fact that heterosexual people also express their gender and sexuality. In Daddy and the Muscle Academy we see a shift in popular gender performativity in Tom of Finland's art. In the documentary it is explained that Tom's art was originally intended to depict young, feminine and handsome men. This was the popular show at the time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Performativity is often thought of in extreme terms, like drag, but the truth is that everyone performs their own gender in everyday life. It is a process of iterability, “A regularized and bound repetition of norms” (Jagose 87). This includes simple things, such as putting on makeup, shaving or not shaving, and choosing clothes. However, it also includes more complex ideals, such as behaviors and ways of speaking and presenting oneself. Representing the identity of a gay man was often seen as only a feminine thing, and homosexuals were not actually considered men. Tom of Finland's art has helped change that kind of thing. His art featured overly masculine men, with exaggerated masculine characteristics. It was truly the beginning of a new type of gay man: “The 1970s used Tom's drawings as a model to represent identity” (Lahti 188). Tom's drawings were really the beginning of this image of a man in leather, of bikers, sailors and police officers depicted in a homosexual, almost fetishistic way. It really showed the world that gay men were men. Show masculinity as part of class and body. Being a strong manual worker is masculine in Tom's world. This was unusual at that time. The fact that men are manual laborers “naturalizes the display of seeded muscular bodies” (Lahti 189), which is good in the context of avoiding censorship. Presumably this was strategic to avoid that restriction by the US Post Office. It helped spread his work and made it more popular because of it. To say his art isn't problematic is a lie, despite having that kind of positive impact there are also issues of racism, consent and Nazism in his art. Black men in his art are often shown as rapists, which is a historically racist and incorrect portrayal. Nazism is well explained in the context of his life, being based on his fantasies while he was a soldier in Finland. There is also the issue of men performing a way of hypermasculinity, which is extremely restrictive and difficult to fully achieve, especially for gay men. Although gay men have begun to establish their own standards of masculinity through this, they still hold themselves to heterosexual standards of masculinity beyond heterosexuality. For its time, this was a very interesting change and not at all problematic as it might be considered today. Many feminine gay men have “converted” to men in leather. In Daddy and the Muscle Academy, a man tells the story of being rejected by a leather man in a bar and later converting to a leather man to get more men like him. He was more than successful, and actually managed to pick up the first man who had previously rejected him. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay Tom's art has changed not only the way society..