John Musser

John Musser holds a PhD in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is also an alum of the GSWS program at Pitt. His teaching interests include feminist theory, popular music studies, visual cultural studies, queer theory, and performance studies. John’s research investigates the figure of the diva and her relationship to queer subcultures. Additionally, from 2019-2020 John worked to co-curate an exhibit on drag costuming titled In Her Closet: How to Make a Drag Queen at the Spurlock Museum in Urbana, IL. John has also explored his love of both camp and divas through his alter ego, Dr. Veronica Bleaus. Veronica has been performing in drag and collaborating with visual artists since 2005. She was once the uncontested Worst Drag Queen in the Midwest. Veronica was featured in the inaugural issue of Sasha Velour’s Velour magazine. In collaboration with video installation artist Scott Andrew, Veronica developed and staged a one-woman-show, The Diva Saga: The Legend of the Worst Drag Queen at Washington College in Chestertown, MD.