Will there come a day when Drag Acts will be seen in the same way as Black and White Minstrel shows are today?

“Done properly and cleverly, it’s good entertainment:”

You could say the same about the Black and White Minstrels..........

I hope not, though I admit I don’t know the extremes mentioned on this thread and I think I’d dislike them.

Done properly and cleverly, it’s good entertainment: the pantomime Dame is always one of the most popular characters.
But then, that does rely on the skill of the actor.

I think drag can be clever and entertaining without mocking women, but to do drag like that takes effort and nasty, mocking drag gets cheap easy laughs. So unfortunately you end up with more of the latter. I'd like to see that become unacceptable and vanish.

Many people already view them as the same mockery as a minstrel show.

How can drag not be a parody of women?

Woman face is used in the same way ‘black face’ describes white people colouring their faces to play a caricature of a black person.

“When he wears drag, he is still a man. He doesn’t believe he somehow becomes feminine or is parodying women.“

But he is parodying women. Whatever he believes.

I don’t like drag, and I never have. For years the fact I didn’t like drag made me feel uncomfortable because I didn’t know how to articulate what I didn’t like. I wondered if I was just a boring stick in the mud who couldn’t appreciate something which pushed boundaries, or worst still, was my dislike rooted in homophobia? It wasn’t until fairly recently when I came across the term woman face that the penny dropped, I don’t like drag because i feel like it mocks me, and by extension all other women.

I’ve seen vintage footage of minstrel shows. I’m not talking about the black and white minstrel show, which bad as it was was a watered down, British version. I’m talking about the authentic, early twentieth century US blackface. In spirit those shows, with their over the top depictions and stereotypes, are not a million miles away to modern drag.

I cannot see any difference between drag and the black and white minstrels. I've always hated drag. These men are parading as caricatures of women. Why wouldn't that be offensive?

I would love drag to be an extension of masculinity. Sadly, I think this is not what it is.

I think the word 'drag' is the problem though. Coupled with 'queen'.

Anyone can see this.

When I look at young women/teenagers with their painted eyebrows, eyelashes and pout mouth all I can think of is drag queen look. There is no need for all this makeup! Think of the money they would save!

My gay teenage son drags up and we’ve had some very strong discussions on drag as a tribute to women’s strength, pushing the bandwidth of the acceptability of men performing femininity and drag as a form of men doing femininity ‘better’ than women. He sees it very strongly as part of gay culture and as reverential to the way society conditions women to appear groomed, whilst pushing gender stereotypes. When he wears drag, he is still a man. He doesn’t believe he somehow becomes feminine or is parodying women. His interest is as a non gender confirming commentary.

But I suspect there is a range within that and people use drag for a variety of reasons that range from celebrating women’s strength to actively hating us.

But drag has always been profoundly misogynist. Gay men's culture has a streak of women hatred a mile wide-why wouldn't it? Gay men are still men!

"I hope not, as that will mean joyless, po faced political correctness has reframed something that was originally about liberation from stereotypes, fun and an expression of freedom."

So lovely when people join in the debate in a reasoned, thoughtful and respectful manner......

And of course Love Thy Neighbour was meant to be satirical and ironic, in hindsight.

I think it will be seen more along the lines of Love thy Neighbour.

Is anyone a really good person as a teenager?

He did grow up, sadly he became an adult prostitute and died young from AIDS.

"Drag queens arent prostitutes. Not last time I looked."

My point wasn't a direct comparison but one of "harmful cultural tradition", however since you made me think of if there truly is a direct comparison you can look at, the hijras of India who are an entire caste of drag boy prostitutes.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J082v11n03_03?journalCode=wjhm20

My best friend in high school was a gay boy who used to perform drag acts in New York City gay clubs. He used to use my middle name as his stage name and he, like most of his friends in that culture, was constantly solicited for and agreed to paid sex by men.

My best friend was a misogynistic shit of a teenage boy.

I'm absolutely not an expert but my understanding is that the term is not at all new.