PMA Ph.D. Alum Stephen Low ‘16 has written a new book called Theatricality as a Practice of Gay Culture. The book, published by Cambridge Scholars in December, 2025, argues that theatricality, not identity, is what defines gay culture. Gay culture is a practice, accessible to anyone with a flair for the theatrical.
Low took some time to speak with us about his work.
What was your approach in crafting this book?
“After I completed my dissertation as part of the Ph.D. in the Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University, I began the process of revising the manuscript,” said Low. “I found an hour or two each day to review the text of my dissertation while working as a lecturer at different universities in and around Toronto. This consistency and discipline were essential to advancing the work required to transform the dissertation into a book for both an academic and a general audience.
In addition to working as a lecturer, I also began reviewing theatre and performance for newspapers and online outlets. With the patience and keen eye of many editors, from writing for the popular press, in contrast to writing academically, I learned how to write more concisely and to craft prose that captivated and entertained, as well as communicated clearly. I applied this new capacity to write to revise the dissertation to become a book.
The post-graduate experience has taught me that writing, which is an essential skill that I apply in all aspects of my life, is a lifelong learning process. I continue to learn how to be a better writer every time I sit down in front of my keyboard. I could have gone on revising the book forever, but I also cherish that the goal of writing is to communicate ideas, arguments, and feelings. So, at one point, I accepted that writing and revising must stop so I could bring the ideas I had developed in the book to the world.”
How did your work at PMA and FGSS contribute to your thinking on this topic?
“Theatricality as a Practice of Gay Culture was initially my dissertation. Both PMA and FGSS were important to the development of the book because of the rich investment in critical theory of both PMA and FGSS. In addition to the inspiring conversations about critical theory I enjoyed in courses in PMA and FGSS and the wider academic community, the embrace of scholarship and research concerning LGBTQ+ identity, community, and culture allowed for this work to flourish. Faculty such as Nick Salvato (my Dissertation Committee Chair), Amy Villarejos, and Sara Warner in PMA, and Lucinda Ramberg in FGSS, were particularly important interlocutors to guide this work.”
What would you like readers to know about your work?
“Theatricality as a Practice of Gay Culture examines a diverse set of phenomena that are commonly understood as being gay: Oscar Wilde’s drama and persona, camp, drag femininity, a hyper-muscular masculinity made famous by Tom of Finland, and public sex and cruising. Even though these phenomena are understood as gay, not all gay men participate in these practices, especially today, when many gay men are more akin to their heteronormative counterparts than they are to some other gay men. Theatricality as a Practice of Gay Culture provides a new mode of understanding of gay culture that identifies that gay culture is not just for all the gays anymore. By advancing this argument, Theatricality as a Practice of Gay Culture prioritizes theatricality, a mode of engagement, rather than identity as the constitutive characteristic of gay culture. This allows for a more capacious and accommodating perception and practice of gay culture than one based solely on identity.”
Read more about Theatricality as a Practice of Gay Culture.
