What do you think about drag shows?

[AWorriedMum]

Just as the thread title says, really. I have a relative who’s been to a couple of these. I’d just like to see what other posters impressions / experiences of these shows are like.

As a kid I was creeped out by pantomime dames. We used to go every year. I just knew they were making jokes I couldn’t quite understand but it felt like they were at my expense!

Now I just think they are the least entertaining thing, I don’t find them ‘fabulous’ and I don’t understand why people do! But each to their own, I find rugby boring as sin too.

I do think they mock women, and are seedy. And I don’t understand why parents would take their kids to drag story hour.

They come from very different histories, and comparing the struggle of white women to the struggle of enslaved people/black people is, at best, ignorant and at worst a little racist.

I hope it's not racist to say that they are both examples of one group being parodied for entertainment by members of the group which has historically oppressed them. That doesn't at all mean that the manner of oppression or the levels of suffering resulting from it are comparable.

This says it better than I can.

Not into them

I've always hated them, but I have a phobia of clowns and drag queens share a lot of similar characteristics (overly exaggerated, feature hiding/changing makeup) so they totally creep me out

They are creepy. I don't see the attraction/humour.

It's fine if you want to watch it you'll buy a ticket if you don't want to watch it you don't buy a ticket but it's adult entertainment and shouldn't be for kids.

Boring, I wouldn't waste my time.

Dislike them. Always have.

Drag shows are not a form of entertainment I would choose to go to see myself, but I wouldn’t choose to go to the ballet either. Not my thing at all.
If some people do enjoy these things as much as I enjoy, for example, the Six Nations rugby, good luck to them. Each to their own. Live & let live.

I went to one recently. It was extremely crude and the acts were incredibly bitchy.

I went to a drag cabaret recently for a group outing for a friend's birthday. I'm a radical feminist and gender critical and aware of the woman-face objections to drag discussed on MN. I went along as a mate to the birthday person and out of interest to see how I thought and felt about drag firsthand.

My other context is a scholar of Shakespeare and literature and an awareness of the long, long history of cross dressing in the theatre and in culture in general. I do think that as long as we've had gendered culture (and all it's associated nonsense) we've had a playful culture of cross dressing, performance etc. And I like Sarah Waters and Tipping the Velvet and aware that women have dressed as men too at least a bit.

I had a great night at the drag caberet. Excellent standard of dance, performance, theatricality. It was crude and there was a fight in the audience near us. It was certainly low brow and unsophisticated. But also incredibly fun, inclusive, silly and joyful.
I though the caricature of Tina turner was mean.

Interestingly there seemed to be a shortage of actual drag queens though. The compère was a drag Queen. In the performers there were 2 drags queens, 2 women and 2 camp men who switched back and forth between men's and women's clothing.

Boring, sexist and not for me, but I appreciate there's a market for it (much like tripe or fried tarantulas, somebody somewhere will find it appetising). I find som, if not most, of the names these men choose totally abhorrent and spiteful, and am a bit confused as to how anyone finds it entertaining in any way.

If it is actually entertainment, it's adult entertainment and I despair at the parents handing their kids over to DQ story hour without a moment of critical thought.

the equivalent of black face insulting to women.

This ☝️ Agree I just don't get it! I don't find it even mildly amusing. Just totally weird

Yes this as well 🤣🤣

Don't like it at all.
Exh to their own though

Interesting comment. How is it a ‘celebration of femininity’?

I think that’s probably a fairer way of putting it. I think when you start using the directly comparable terms women face/black face (the comparison is implied in using the same language), people are inadvertently placing the struggles along the same lines of oppression.

I think there probably needs to be a better way of expressing it, as ‘women face’ draws too much on the legacy of racial oppression. It’s probably mostly coming from a clumsy place

I don’t find all drag shoes are equal personally, and don’t universally hate them all. But I understand how it can make some women feel. I’ve seen drag shows where there is definitely a love of feminine beauty, of glitter and well
done makeup and wit. I admire their abilities with makeup. But this was seasoned performances, also making fun of men’s receding hairlines in the audience (all gender tropes were up for comedic scrutiny). I have never seen the same mastery of performance on, for example, televised drag performance. I think cross gender performance/dressing as the opposite sex does have some place in comedic performance (think of humour in Shakespeare or British humour in general)

Because very often (not always) the performers have associations or connections to femininity that they cannot express in every day life without being accused of being a pervert, trans, gay, "too gay", femboy etc.
So drag is a safe space to celebrate a love of their effeminacy (movement, makeup artistry, hair, glitz and glam) etc, where they can be fully accepted for being the way they are and loving what they love. Many of the performers I have seen don't tell crude jokes at a woman's expense, refer to themselves as "fishy", or have comical boobs on etc.

That's not a "celebration of femininity", though, is it? It's a celebration of THEIR non-conformity in an environment that they feel it is safe to do so in. It's got bugger all to do with celebrating femininity. They're just clapping themselves on the back for wearing glitter.

I mean clearly we don't agree which is fine, it's not for everyone. I think it's a celebration of femininity and you don't.

I'd say that our different views are exactly what keeps the world interesting, but I do want to just mention something. I have strong views on what I do not accept in drag and I can definitely see the problems with the older styles of drag

I view it the same as I would someone doing a black and white minstrel show. Offensive and demeaning to an oppressed group.

@SliceOfCakeCupOfTea how is men acting out a parody of womanhood/femineity a celebration?
why do we not see women stuffing their pants with banana's, fake man muscles and hair sticking out in every possible direction not funny and grand?? lets add in some body odor while we're at it?
a parody is a joke not a celebration.

Well we do, they're called drag kings.
We also have women being drag queens and men being drag kings.

Also, like I keep saying, many drag queens don't act out a parody of womanhood. Many will indeed wear makeup, dresses, sparkles and feathers etc but they aren't exclusively for women are they.