Sociology

Business

Meaning (existential)

Psychotherapist

Politics

Gene

Creativity

Aesthetics

Advertising

Marketing

Intermediary

Political science

Psychology

Transition (genetics)

Chemistry

Legitimacy

Biochemistry

Social psychology

Social Psychology Quarterly

Who gets to define what counts as art when a genre is in flux? In the present analysis, I find that legitimated artists may also be able to act as intermediaries, such as critics and gatekeepers. In doing so, these artists-as-intermediaries, under certain conditions, can shift the meaning of the genre as it transitions. Using the current transition of drag performance from scene-based to industry-based genre as a case, I present a multistage qualitative analysis of televised and digital drag performance. I report three key findings from this analysis: (1) some legitimated artists can become intermediaries when their genre is in transition, (2) these legitimated artists-as-intermediaries can influence genre expectations, and (3) legitimated artists-as-intermediaries’ influence on genre expectations can, in turn, influence the creative expression of other artists. Each of the three findings, however, has the effect of limiting creativity of the artist-as-intermediary and future artists within the industry-based genre.

Supermodel of the World: The Influence of Legitimacy on Genre and Creativity in Drag Music Videos