Grayson Perry irks me

He admits this himself.

That interview only says he's a transvestite (which we already knew!!)

women don’t own femininity. Shouldn’t we welcome a man breaking free of gender stereotypes?

THIS ^

I'm so surprised to hear so many people have taken against him. Will definitely consider what you've said and check out the links you provide, but equally I hope you'll read his book or watch his documentaries, as I think there's a whole other side to this that you're not seeing.

Pam, I think you should have your comment re Challenors removed. I’m pretty upset someone compared him to a convicted pedophile.

This too.

I like Grayson Perry a great deal.

I am deeply uncomfortable with men like GP expressing their sexual fetishes in such a public manner.

This. No matter how "art school" it might be, or how considered, sexual fetishes should not be for the public domain.

Mammoon

He admits this himself. www.bigissue.com/interviews/letter-to-my-younger-self/grayson-perry-daily-mail-facilitated-sexual-fetish/

There's tons of evidence in the form of articles he contributes to talking about his sexual fetish.

Again, women don’t own femininity. Shouldn’t we welcome a man breaking free of gender stereotypes? He also specifically uses the word sex and gender accurately.

Well said.

Pam, I think you should have your comment re Challenors removed. I’m pretty upset someone compared him to a convicted pedophile.

Sorry but in what way is the way he dresses a sexual fetish? I don’t see it when I look at him. I’ve never seen or read anything from him that remotely looks like misogyny.

Again, women don’t own femininity. Shouldn’t we welcome a man breaking free of gender stereotypes? He also specifically uses the word sex and gender accurately.

Ellobrian do you know anything about Grayson Perry or just seen pictures of him dressed up? I don't recognise anything you're saying here, at all. I would be very interested in seeing some links/evidence to back up your views here, because everything I've seen and read of his leads me to opposite conclusions.

I agree with the OP. I realise that he has some insightful things to say about masculinity, but the Claire persona makes me uncomfortable. I also dislike the fact that we’re supposed to be grateful he’s on our side.

I’m not saying he is a misogynist. I’m not commenting on his critique of masculinity. I’m commenting on the fact that he’s acting out his sexual fetish in public. I don’t consider it appropriate and I consider the nature of his fetish to originate in nasty misogyny.

Yep, I got your point the first time. And my response is above. To wit: I think you're completely wrong about nasty misogyny and I am yet to see any evidence that he is acting out a sexual fetish in public.

And there is a long history of men dressing like a pantomime dame. It’s not disarming. It’s ridiculous. It’s not threatening to traditional masculinity because it is such a nonsense parody of ‘the female’ that it reinforces the misogynist view of sexual hierarchy - in the eyes of men, he is demeaning or lowering himself to our level. That’s what a pantomime dame is.

I am so bored of male artists getting so much public indulgence with this trite nonsense.

@sackrifice , nice try but you've spelt her name wrong!

I’m not saying he is a misogynist. I’m not commenting on his critique of masculinity. I’m commenting on the fact that he’s acting out his sexual fetish in public. I don’t consider it appropriate and I consider the nature of his fetish to originate in nasty misogyny.

this one which is underlain by a clear strain of really nasty misogyny about older women.

That's just not the case. He's not a misogynist. Have a look at the work he does. He is trying to dismantle masculinity.

I think in general people should be discouraged from acting out their sexual fetishes in public.

Agree 100% but am yet to be convinced that this is what Grayson Perry is doing. I don't know what he does in private, but when he dresses as Claire in public it always seems to be as a comment on masculinity, a way of disarming an audience, an elaboration of a contrast between expectations and reality, or a particular and purposeful persona, rather than for sexual enjoyment.

I've never ever seen it as that for him everything.

Unfortunately for certain (non art school) people it is.

It's a very dysfunctional family, OP, containing two transwomen, one of whom is a convicted child abuser.

I am deeply uncomfortable with men like GP expressing their sexual fetishes in such a public manner. Particularly this one which is underlain by a clear strain of really nasty misogyny about older women.

I think in general people should be discouraged from acting out their sexual fetishes in public. He can do what he wants in private (however misogynist I think it is) but I don’t think it’s healthy for society that men feel so comfortable being so explicitly sexually extreme in public. It’s somethinf our society should challenge more, it has all sorts of worrying implications in terms of building a culture of sexual consent and so on.

I can't help thinking about the Challenors when I look at Grayson Perry.

This is a deeply unfair statement. I’m sad to see someone on a feminist board do that.