Nels Highberg, Professor of English and Modern Languages in the College of Arts and Sciences, recently co-authored an article with researchers from the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Connecticut. “Reminiscence and Resilience in the Voices of Older LGBTQ+ Drag Performers” appeared in the International Journal of Reminiscence and Life Review (Volume 11, number 1) near the end of 2025.
This qualitative study, based on extensive interviews, explores the life stories of 21 LGBTQ+ drag performers in the United States aged 50-90. Drawing on grounded theory, timeline mapping, and feminist and queer theoretical frameworks, the research uncovers themes of resilience, performative identity, familial acceptance and rejection, and intergenerational transmission of values. Participants described drag as a powerful site of self-affirmation and protective expression, often referred to as “armor,” revealing shifting relationships with gender performance and identity integration across the lifespan.
Dr. Highberg, with other team members, has delivered presentations about this research at meetings of the Gerontological Society of America, the International Center for Life Story Innovations and Practice, and the American Society on Aging. This is their first peer-reviewed journal publication, with others in various stages of the publishing process.
Check out the project website here.