to find men in drag offensive?

[bibbitybobbityhat]

as in sexist?

Probably. Would you like to explain further?

why do you find them offensive?
do you feel the same about women dressed as men?

I can't really.

Its just a gut reaction. Men in drag = parodying women = sexist.

You think I am wrong?

yes i think you are wrong. they are not parodying women they are just dressing up how they fancy. not serious, not offensive, no malice intended, get over it.

not offensive to me but each to thier own

Men in drag aren't really trying to pass themselves off as women though, are they? They create a characature for comedy purposes.

Parodying the accoutrements of 'femininity', not actually parodying women, I believe.

I think you may be over-thinking it! In terms of issues affecting gender inequality, I reckon this is pretty low down on the list.

yabu

How a person dresses is a sign of expression

Do you also feel the same about women wearing trouser suits?

I don't think men in drag are actually dressing as women, I think they are dressing in drag.

I don't see that many women dressed up like someone in drag. I would be willing to bet that there are plenty of men who like to dress and live as women and nobody blinks an eye because they don't notice them.

Depends on reason - or what is "drag".

Men in vast plastic boobs and orange pigtails on hilarious stag do / wassisname always dragged up on stage / someone dressing as a woman because he feels more at home in a woman's clothes - don't think you mean this last one?

I can't spell caricature

Was that "get over it" really necessary fathersday? I was just asking a question and I am interested in people's opinions. Take a little care, why don't you?

Thanks for your thoughts people.

what's wrong with parodying things?

"someone dressing as a woman because he feels more at home in a woman's clothes - don't think you mean this last one?" - no that is a transvestite and an entirely different matter.

I mean men dressing as women for comedy or entertainment purposes.

I think it depends what they do once in drag.

I saw a drag queen recently who not only impersonated a woman, but a black woman (he was white)...a combination that would normally have me at the barricades. But he used it as the most fabuloudsn base for sophisticated satire about SA, and was really not offensive to real women at all.

I think there are many drag acts which are misogynistic, but the form per se can be more like pantomime and a base for comedy whcih is not rooted in taking the piss out of real women. Good drag queens elicit comedy against their character, which is very much nothing to do with actual female women - they are saying 'look at ME, how ridiculous I am' - and that includes the fact that they are male.

no, i think thats a bit silly comedians make jokes about women (and men) all the time, drag queens (or kings) do the same but make a bit more effort. its all fun, and you dont have to go to a show if you're that offended by it all.

and in terms of men who actually feel the need to dress up in womens clothes, i dont really care, each to their own

its not offensive at all

I quite enjoy a good Drag Queen. There is a world of difference between good and dreadful drag acts. Most of the bad ones are men who try to mock women, which I do find offensive. Most of the good ones mock the percieved conventions of femininity; like the make up to excess, the fussy mannerisms some annoying women do have like simpering whiney brats, etc.

One of my favourite ever drag acts is the Ballet Trockadero of Monte Carlo.
Each of the men has this female persona which they bring into their dancing. In female costume, en pointe, dancing female character roles. There is a beauty and grace that is all their own and they parody the ballet establishment extremely well.

There are sexist drag acts. I expect there are unsexist ones too.

I think it's problematic and yanbu

yabu

it matter not

I don'mind drag acts, but I'm not too sure about transvestites, I really don't know if there is the element of 'black and white minstrel' about what is thought to constitute the feminine ideal.

I'm saying this as someone who has had transvestite friends in the past, and likes people for whether they are nice or not, rather than sexuality/gender/religion etc. I just don't know about the politics/thinking behind it...really interested to hear people's thoughts though, as I have mused on it from time to time, but not come to any personal conclusion!

Men in drag, maybe.

Men in makeup - I am secretly partial to a bit of manscara/guyliner Thinking Billy Joe Armstrong etc. Russell Brand wears it well too though I dont fancy him like that, for other reasons though.

Different thread altogether though really

When I say I'm not too sure about transvestites, I dont mean I have a problem about transvestites...just about the issue in general. It could be a complete non-issue.

I think women accept it because of false homophobic assumptions about men in drag being 'one of the girls'. It's rarely a tribute and full on drag is in my opinion quite a repulsive, disrespectful parody of women and 'femininity'.

Having said all that, always had a soft spot for Lily Savage-for some reason this always seemed a tribute to the tough women Paul O'Grady worked with.