There are many parts of this discussion that I agree with. However, the author left out a part of gay culture which is increasingly questionable - drag. Drag is a gay activity where men dress as exaggerated women, and make sexually edgy jokes and behaviors. In adults-only spaces, this is fine. But the recent 10 years or so, drag has been…
There are many parts of this discussion that I agree with. However, the author left out a part of gay culture which is increasingly questionable - drag. Drag is a gay activity where men dress as exaggerated women, and make sexually edgy jokes and behaviors. In adults-only spaces, this is fine. But the recent 10 years or so, drag has been expanded to children. In addition, the "queer" sensibility of "embarrass the bourgeois" is part of drag. These make a toxic mix for children.
Drag story hours, drag performances in schools, drag public performances - these are all unacceptable. Drag is not for children. Children should not be seeing fake butt sex in public, and the variety of other edgy actions.
Put drag back in the closet or the nightclub. No more reading to children, or getting children to stick money in the pants of adult men. That kind of thing is part of the backlash.
Thank you, George. I completely agree with your concerns and actually did address this issue in my piece:
"LGBTQ+ activists also fail to recognize that the cavalcade of gender identities has brought an aspect to advocacy efforts not previously part of the LGB movement: an emphasis on educating children about sexual orientation and gender.
As the LGBTQ+ movement has become louder, a dramatic shift has occurred in schools. Students are encouraged to express their preferred pronouns in an effort to embrace transgender and nonbinary identities. Several states now require schools to teach LGBT history. Drag queens have become the focus of “kid-oriented pride events,” and local libraries offer drag queen story hour for children."
I probably could have placed more emphasis on this point, but the essay was spilling over 2,100 words! Lol.
Totally agree! I find drag offensive as demeaning "woman face" mockery, but wouldn't ban it as adult entertainment. Seeing it promoted to children makes my blood boil. Its overt sexuality is inappropriate for kids, and it imprints harmful, degrading stereotypes about women to impressionable minds. Toxic indeed.
To each his/her own - I have always thought that the core of drag’s humor is that the performative femininity is *inherently masculine*. I think about drag performers like Bob the Drag Queen or Divine. The core of drag is a (usually) gay man - someone who is often not terribly in touch with his masculine side in a traditional way, often a bit fey or sissy - liberating his masculine traits by disguising them behind a female persona. This is why drag queens are so often embodying stereotypically male traits - physically and sexually aggressive, disagreeable, lewd, etc. It’s a performance of irony.
Agree with a lot of this. People can be offended by drag queens if they wish, but drag performers never (or perhaps only rarely) intend to demean women. That´s not what it´s about. Those who take it that way just aren´t understanding.
There are many parts of this discussion that I agree with. However, the author left out a part of gay culture which is increasingly questionable - drag. Drag is a gay activity where men dress as exaggerated women, and make sexually edgy jokes and behaviors. In adults-only spaces, this is fine. But the recent 10 years or so, drag has been expanded to children. In addition, the "queer" sensibility of "embarrass the bourgeois" is part of drag. These make a toxic mix for children.
Drag story hours, drag performances in schools, drag public performances - these are all unacceptable. Drag is not for children. Children should not be seeing fake butt sex in public, and the variety of other edgy actions.
Put drag back in the closet or the nightclub. No more reading to children, or getting children to stick money in the pants of adult men. That kind of thing is part of the backlash.
Thank you, George. I completely agree with your concerns and actually did address this issue in my piece:
"LGBTQ+ activists also fail to recognize that the cavalcade of gender identities has brought an aspect to advocacy efforts not previously part of the LGB movement: an emphasis on educating children about sexual orientation and gender.
As the LGBTQ+ movement has become louder, a dramatic shift has occurred in schools. Students are encouraged to express their preferred pronouns in an effort to embrace transgender and nonbinary identities. Several states now require schools to teach LGBT history. Drag queens have become the focus of “kid-oriented pride events,” and local libraries offer drag queen story hour for children."
I probably could have placed more emphasis on this point, but the essay was spilling over 2,100 words! Lol.
I understand. It's not possible to do everything in a brief essay. Thanks for your response.
Totally agree! I find drag offensive as demeaning "woman face" mockery, but wouldn't ban it as adult entertainment. Seeing it promoted to children makes my blood boil. Its overt sexuality is inappropriate for kids, and it imprints harmful, degrading stereotypes about women to impressionable minds. Toxic indeed.
To each his/her own - I have always thought that the core of drag’s humor is that the performative femininity is *inherently masculine*. I think about drag performers like Bob the Drag Queen or Divine. The core of drag is a (usually) gay man - someone who is often not terribly in touch with his masculine side in a traditional way, often a bit fey or sissy - liberating his masculine traits by disguising them behind a female persona. This is why drag queens are so often embodying stereotypically male traits - physically and sexually aggressive, disagreeable, lewd, etc. It’s a performance of irony.
Agree with a lot of this. People can be offended by drag queens if they wish, but drag performers never (or perhaps only rarely) intend to demean women. That´s not what it´s about. Those who take it that way just aren´t understanding.
I see your point about drag performances not being appropriate for children. It’s important to consider the age-appropriateness of such activities.