Mak Nyah cabaret dance performance at three nightclubs in Klang Valley / Sarah Low May Poh
Transgendered women in Malaysia are known as Mak Nyah. The term refers to “woman in transition”. Mak Nyah performances such as stand up comedy and dance performances at weddings, nightclubs, corporate events existed even before the 1980s but these performances were not strictly policed by the Mal...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Published: |
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/9013/1/Sarah_Low_May_Poh.pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/9013/6/sarah.pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/9013/ |
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| Summary: | Transgendered women in Malaysia are known as Mak Nyah. The term refers to
“woman in transition”. Mak Nyah performances such as stand up comedy and dance
performances at weddings, nightclubs, corporate events existed even before the 1980s
but these performances were not strictly policed by the Malaysian state. With the 1980s
political motive to uphold the Asian Values, increased Islamization and establishment of
the 1983 Fatwa Law in Malaysia, the state, media, and nation’s perception towards
transgendered people, particularly the Mak Nyah community, have been affected at
large. These groups were often oppressed, stigmatised and ostracised.
In this thesis, I discuss the economies of visibility in relation to spectatorship and
agency. Political agenda and religious constraints have made it difficult for Mak Nyah
artists to publicly and openly express themselves via speech, performance, and attire. In
this process, they have slowly lost their voice, access, and visibility in public spaces.
However, Mak Nyahs are able to express their desired gender through agencies such as
cabaret dancing. Mak Nyah cabarets are variety shows that comprise of dance, music,
parade, and stand-up comedy and appeals to spectators. Three nightclubs that I
investigate in Klang Valley hire these Mak Nyah dancers as they are often seen
involving and engaging their spectators during performances and giving audiences a
positive experience.
Through the intersection of dance, history, and ethnology, this thesis examines how
dance has allowed Mak Nyah cabaret dancers, in chosen nightclubs, Club A, B and C,
the platform for visibility through agency and spectatorship. This thesis also traces the
survival, mobility, and flexibility of Mak Nyah cabaret dancers by focusing on
performances in the nightclubs and real-life narratives outside the nightclubs. |
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