hegemonic masculinity?
In their essay about "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," Aiken and Lukinbeal view the theme of fatherhood -- that drag queen Mitzy is not only traveling to Alice Springs for a cabaret job and a change of venue, but also (and more importantly) to take an active role as a father -- as an unnecessary and undermining exercise in the imposition of hegemonic masculinities onto a potentially liberating narrative. "If male hysteria is mobility away from the status quo, the cure is a reinscription into hegemonic space and place. In other words, the remedy is to assimulate men back into the societal and sexual roles assigned to them by patriarchy and hegemonic masculinity -- marriage, family, and productive employment" (p. 354). Unpacking this a little further, the authors suggest that the only way that audiences are able to deal with a non-traditional male roles is to impose traditional male roles upon them in order to 'normalize' these men (per societal standards).
I am not sure whether this argument holds up entirely in regard to Mitzy's role as a father in Priscilla. Granted, the role of 'father' was imposed upon Mitzy when his wife called and asked for some assistance (she needs a vacation and the boy needs his father). So, the overall narrative concerns a certain reinscription of a traditional male role onto someone whose sexuality and lifestyle is far from traditionally masculine. And granted, when Mitzy first meets his son, he adopts the clothes and attitude of a traditional rugged male Outbacker in order to 'present' as a 'manly' father-figure -- again, an imposition of hegemonic masculinity. However, the child sees right through the facade and still accepts his father for who he is, rather than who Mitzy thinks he needs to pretend to be. With the acceptance of his son, Mitzy, takes on the role of 'father' -- not in terms of how he aligns himself with the ideals of hegemonic masculinity (traditional fatherhood), but from a more brave perspective of being a father who is free to be different from the hegemonic male norm: gay and a performing drag queen. To me, Mitzy being able to fully accept his newly-adopted traditional role as father and do it without compromising his own ideals is truly liberating, especially in a world where many of life's responsibilities (such as caring for one's offspring) tend to box us into limited roles.