I really enjoyed reading this. Plenty of food for thought.
There was a season of drag race where a female drag artist performed. She called out some of the disrespectful language that’s commonplace within the scene (fishy in particular). The drag queen who used the term had never really considered how harmful that could be for a woman. I think it’s important that there are pauses for reflection about feminist critiques around language used.
I love watching drag and for the most part feel it is a celebration of my womanhood.
The fact that drag is changing and so many drag queens identify as women, gender queer and non binary is and will have huge knock on effects on how the craft expresses gender.
I think it’s also interesting to note how many drag queens are politically invested in the rights of women. I was heartened to see the support of the drag community when Roe vs Wade was overturned last year. The main sentiments were 1) we understand the political attack on our bodies.
2) if we are going to dress as women, we need to also support them in their time of need.
It’s easy to point out where feminists and drag queens find points of contention but arguably more meaningful to understand where they politically align.
Cheers! Yeah loads of good points. I hadn't really considered the aspect of political collaboration/ solidarity actually – that's a really interesting perspective, too.
And you're absolutely right about the fact it isn't really just the preserve of gay men anymore.
I guess I was trying to keep my focus quite narrow and principally make one point, which is that some critiques of drag are worth reflecting on more than others. And that they shouldn't all be conflated and dismissed. Even then I ended up going over 2,000 words haha.
I absolutely love Lily Savage, Conchita Wurst, Verka Serduchka, Stanley Baxter, Danny Larue, all that sort of old-school drag. To me, drag queens have to have a talent (typically stand-up comedy or singing) that they're good at - just dressing drag itself isn't enough. Paul O'Grady was a genius comedian, Tom Neuwirth is a powerful vocalist. I think this is where Drag Race goes wrong, because this isn't where its focus lies. I'd recommend Sheluyang Peng's article on how drag stopped being counterculture and what it lost in the process: https://www.societystandpoint.com/p/drag-queen-boring-hour
Thanks for this – I did know about the latter case but don't really see how it's relevant, as I guess I'm talking about drag quite broadly - and how people critique it from different perspectives. That first bit of info I actually didn't know about and is really fucked up.
That said, I actually don't think that the critique from the right hinges on particular individuals being nefarious criminals; in my read of it, they see drag *itself* as inappropriate and in some way perverted/ debauched/ deviant etc.
But still, thanks for filling me in on the background of the organiser of Drag Queen Story Hour in the UK – had no idea about that!
The main thing I wanted to do with this piece was highlight that there are different ways it can be discussed, and lumping all criticism of drag as simply homophobic or bigoted is stupid. And also fails to properly engage with the aspects of misogyny that play out within drag and the broader gay male "community".
Yeah Lily Savage was hilarious. Big fan of The Divine David who I recommend checking out if you don't know him – there are a few sketches you can find on YouTube and he's fucking dark but I find him very funny. And Hedwig & The Angry Inch is great too.
I think I ended up spending more time than I'd liked on Drag Race as it's just what people know best (especially straight people I guess).
Thanks for reading and the feedback, much appreciated! And I'll check out that piece tomorrow.
I really enjoyed reading this. Plenty of food for thought.
There was a season of drag race where a female drag artist performed. She called out some of the disrespectful language that’s commonplace within the scene (fishy in particular). The drag queen who used the term had never really considered how harmful that could be for a woman. I think it’s important that there are pauses for reflection about feminist critiques around language used.
I love watching drag and for the most part feel it is a celebration of my womanhood.
The fact that drag is changing and so many drag queens identify as women, gender queer and non binary is and will have huge knock on effects on how the craft expresses gender.
I think it’s also interesting to note how many drag queens are politically invested in the rights of women. I was heartened to see the support of the drag community when Roe vs Wade was overturned last year. The main sentiments were 1) we understand the political attack on our bodies.
2) if we are going to dress as women, we need to also support them in their time of need.
It’s easy to point out where feminists and drag queens find points of contention but arguably more meaningful to understand where they politically align.
Cheers! Yeah loads of good points. I hadn't really considered the aspect of political collaboration/ solidarity actually – that's a really interesting perspective, too.
And you're absolutely right about the fact it isn't really just the preserve of gay men anymore.
I guess I was trying to keep my focus quite narrow and principally make one point, which is that some critiques of drag are worth reflecting on more than others. And that they shouldn't all be conflated and dismissed. Even then I ended up going over 2,000 words haha.
xxxx
One thing I would say regarding Story Hours in libraries/schools etc. is that the guy behind Drag Queen Story Hour UK, Sab Samuel AKA "Aida H Dee", ran a crowdfunder for a convicted paedophile's funeral: https://reduxx.info/rest-in-power-drag-queen-story-hour-uk-founder-fundraising-for-convicted-child-sex-offenders-funeral/
Is this representative of drag queens in general? Absolutely no way. But it's a huge red flag and gives lots of fuel to anyone (particularly those you mention on the right) who has concerns about DQSH. Another drag queen in Wales, the organizer of Welshpool Pride, was recently also jailed for child sex offences: https://reduxx.info/uk-drag-queen-who-was-set-to-host-welshpools-first-pride-parade-arrested-during-predator-sting/
I absolutely love Lily Savage, Conchita Wurst, Verka Serduchka, Stanley Baxter, Danny Larue, all that sort of old-school drag. To me, drag queens have to have a talent (typically stand-up comedy or singing) that they're good at - just dressing drag itself isn't enough. Paul O'Grady was a genius comedian, Tom Neuwirth is a powerful vocalist. I think this is where Drag Race goes wrong, because this isn't where its focus lies. I'd recommend Sheluyang Peng's article on how drag stopped being counterculture and what it lost in the process: https://www.societystandpoint.com/p/drag-queen-boring-hour
Thanks for this – I did know about the latter case but don't really see how it's relevant, as I guess I'm talking about drag quite broadly - and how people critique it from different perspectives. That first bit of info I actually didn't know about and is really fucked up.
That said, I actually don't think that the critique from the right hinges on particular individuals being nefarious criminals; in my read of it, they see drag *itself* as inappropriate and in some way perverted/ debauched/ deviant etc.
But still, thanks for filling me in on the background of the organiser of Drag Queen Story Hour in the UK – had no idea about that!
The main thing I wanted to do with this piece was highlight that there are different ways it can be discussed, and lumping all criticism of drag as simply homophobic or bigoted is stupid. And also fails to properly engage with the aspects of misogyny that play out within drag and the broader gay male "community".
Yeah Lily Savage was hilarious. Big fan of The Divine David who I recommend checking out if you don't know him – there are a few sketches you can find on YouTube and he's fucking dark but I find him very funny. And Hedwig & The Angry Inch is great too.
I think I ended up spending more time than I'd liked on Drag Race as it's just what people know best (especially straight people I guess).
Thanks for reading and the feedback, much appreciated! And I'll check out that piece tomorrow.