Drag Queens, are they outright offensive?

If you take away the fact they are male, would it be acceptable for a female to dress up in a very sexual manner to read stories to children, the answer is no.

would it be ok for a male to wear a “normal” dress and a light covering of make-up, the answer is yes.

Then move on to the fact that a very large portion of drag acts make a mockery of women, under the guise of “art”, or “fun”. It is males mocking females. That it has been done for years and is deemed by some to be cultural does not make it acceptable.

I don't like drag queens particularly, i think they're mocking and degrading

But they certainly don't belong at a kids reading session

They're overtly sexual: why dont they dress up as an average mum with a nice smock dress or sweaty betty leggings ?

No! Not the Shannon. It's a very slow-flowing river, already under stress from pollution, and with too few large predators to clean up dumpees. Even if PB had the decency to rmove the toxic cosmetics and plastic clothing elements first. Why the Shannon anyway, why not the Liffey? Or the sea.

Drag is ghastly and very often framed as abuse of women by the use of derogatory 'female' images - anyone remember Dick Emery?

The drag queen is doing this for kicks, no other reason.

Oh this in droves.

Completely offensive. Misogyny.

Posted without comment.

Drag is offensive, misogynistic and sexually inappropriate for children

What we have imported from the US is a performance much more based on stripping, porn imagery and brash exhibitionism.
Drag today has been rebranded and has little to do with drag queens from the past who developed characters.
Drag queens today objectify women and dehumanise them.

https://x.com/ThePosieParker/status/1692062778192752820?s=20

oy! leave the Shannon alone, there's enough eutrophication from the excessive cattle numbers.

And Panti Bliss in Ireland can go fuck himself into the Shannon.

Adult entertainment and not for me. I wouldn't outright ban it - apart from in front of children- because that usually has the opposite effect.
I'm old enough to remember the Black and White Minstrel Show on TV -ffs. I'd hope that eventually, enough people will start seeing it like that - a revolting parody - and it will fade away. But I doubt it will.

I'd occasionally chuckle at Lily Savage who was, I think, more paying homage to strong women. Edna Everage creeped me a bit out although I would laugh at him and he was GC.
RuPaul's Drag Race makes me nauseous.

I've always hated it since I was a kid 40yrs ago. even Mrs Bucket, Lily Savage, dames, Mrs Doubtfire etc. Men making fun of women because women are shallow and stupid and should be laughed at. Never understood why it was so popular.

On the other hand, i am impressed by the make up/wigs etc these days - admit there's some serious artistic skill going on there! Wish it was for something else though...

Dame Edna wasn’t “gentle humour” it was misogynistic unpleasantness.

I think it's adult entertainment. My parents liked hinge and bracket and dame Edna, who were somehow gentler - and cleverer humour.
The current vogue seems to be way more sexualised - suitable for Raymond's revue bar adult entertainment, certainly not for kids. The humour seems to be bitchy and the make up is scary af. Its a very aggressive and disturbing look, deliberately so.
Very good point jemofawoman where are the drag queen for the elderly?

I find them grotesque.

Totally agree... trans rights are men's rights. We don't even have a right to call ourselves women or call women health problems the appropriate terms related to women... but yes allow men to dress up and behave in stereotypical ways

Funny how these men don't want to organise story time to elderly people in local libraries, it's always for the kiddies!

Never ever underestimate the steps a man will take to erode boundaries!

The likes of Lily savage or mrs brown doesn’t offend me that much only a bit, but the main reason I don’t find them as bad is that their names aren’t sexualised and they don’t aim to entertain kids. But drag queens are highly offensive and if a woman claims to be feminist but enjoy drag then they’re not allies of women. Liberal feminists are horrible for this… i class myself as a radical feminist and we have a local drag queen and he is horribly misogynistic

I don’t see the point of Drag Queen Story Time. I mean - why? What’s it for? I just think it deserves an eye roll 🙄 and a ‘Oh, fuck off’ followed by sigh …

@OnlyTheWeedsGrow

Google “rainbow dildo butt monkey”...

I had assumed this was going to give a location with a greater precision than 'what3words' and suggested it to my granny as she sometimes seems to get lost within the grounds of the home, but no it's not that at all!

Mind you Granny seems to like it and won't give me my iPad back.

It's womanface. It's as acceptable as blackface. As justifiable as blackface. As respectful as blackface.

It shouldn't happen.

Yes I think you’re right @TeamadIshbel. There is a history/side to drag which isn’t misogynistic - it’s a reaction to the patriarchal idea that men cannot like ‘feminine’ things and must be typically masculine. In this form of drag the exaggerated costumes and makeup aren’t necessarily laughing at women they’re laughing at femininity and masculinity- ie saying it’s all a costume anyway so let’s go for it. It’s only woman face if you think women are defined as makeup and heels. I don’t recognise myself in a drag costume so don’t feel mimicked by it.

But there’s definitely also a side to drag which is overtly misogynistic such as the fish jokes and disgust at women’s bodies. This seems to be more prominent recently although it may be I’ve just become aware of it. My take on this is that something originally subversive has morphed into something which promotes the same old patriarchal/misogynistic nonsense. That happens quite a lot with subversive art forms, they get appropriated by the powerful thing they start off criticising.

That’s a separate issue to sexualised content round children which is clearly dodgy. But doesn’t mean that all drag is perverted or men wearing typically women’s clothes is always disrespectful. I have an issue when men think wearing women’s clothes is the same as being a woman. Drag is the opposite.

My sense is that originally it was a form of entertainment amongst gay men who were rebelling against the bullying they endured around being 'feminine'. So, they dressed up as a send up and a fuck you to bullies.

But, now it has become exactly as OP describes. Keep drag in the clubs, for adults only. Get it out mainstream culture and FFS start embracing diversity of masculinity and femininity and STOP transing as conversion for gay kids.

This ^^ is such a good way of looking at it, and really draws into stark reality what’s happening.

No-one would want to watch gay women portraying the stereotypical worst of male-kind. And they certainly wouldn’t proffer up their kids to have stories read by them.

The double standard is remarkable.