ABSTRACT
Is ‘the real’ any more real than its representation? Real to whom? The writer, the performer, those represented, or the audience? Can fantasy be said to be more ‘real’ than reality, especially when it is repeatedly and ritualistically enacted in everyday situations as, for example, with the masquerade of femininity (the performance of everyday life), or on a more conscious level with drag kings? Is this theatre or life? What if that fantasy is structured into a staged performance (e.g., lesbian drag queens), presented in front of a paying audience? Is it still a fantasy or does it become ‘real’ on stage? And talking of ‘real’ who is a real lesbian anyway?
