ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/6/2010
Posts: 4,761
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Are Drag Queens similar to Black Face?
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Quote:
When white people imitate any racial minority, basically it comes out racist. When white Hollywood has portrayed American Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern, Romani, black, etc., cultures, they have usually produced very racist products. Racist stereotypes ran rampant in 1960 TV sit-coms such as "I Love Lucy," "Gilligan's Island," "I Dream of Jeannie," "My 3 Sons," "The Beverly Hillbillies," etc. Yet later race drag reversals, such as Eddie Murphy imitating white folks on "Saturday Night Live," or the Wayan Brothers imitating white folks on "In Living Color," were viewed as very political and radical.
When men dress in drag and supposedly imitate women, it is most often very sexist in a remarkably similar way to the whites imitating racial minorities thing. As a woman comedian performing in comedy clubs, very often I found my act sandwiched between many, as in 5 a night, drag acts of men imitating women. And to be honest, I found these acts to be offensive and sexist as hell. All the things I have shunned as part of the ancient "cult of womanhood," all the superficial, commercialized, and fake aspects of "femininity" that I have fought to be freed from, these men were embracing as their "womanhood!" Tons of make up, huge dyed bouffant hair-dos, binding lingerie, heels, nylons, shaving...and these men in drag who were supposedly acting like women, also acted giddy, stupid, shallow...it is odd to me that this could be seen as anything *but* blatant sexism.
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http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/347420.shtml
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