Jam'ie - male actor plays schoolgirl - BBC Three

[OhHolyJesus]

Leading on from the Drag Queen thread, has anyone had the misfortune to stumble across this on iPlayer? I watched 5 mins, I think it was meant to be funny. Chris Lilley is an Australian comedian apparently and he plays a bitchy schoolgirl in the cool crowd, as far as I could gather from my brief watch.

I felt really uncomfortable with it, one image on the 'next episode' promo shows the main character getting undressed behind some towels that are being held up by the other schoolgirl friends. I'm sure it was all done respectfully on set but the whole premise of the programme felt wrong, and it wasn't funny. There's something very wrong going on at the BBC...

There seems to be a concerted campaign to normalise drag as funny, cute, etc etc, which I'm sure the fond idea is the general public will get blasé about people with beards in prom dresses and corsets strutting about in women's spaces. And just go ahh bless a lot.

What they don't see is that it's just rubbing the insult into women's faces and making it more obvious, and women will just get steadily more pissed off. Hence the thread of people who used to find drag harmless fun and now find it flat out offensive.

Chris Lilley also known for his ever-so-racist Jonah-from-Tonga character portrayal.

just googled the show

do you think I'm allowed to be triggered by the sight of a male in a nylon wig? It certainly feels like I'm getting that way.

He looks really weird next to the actual teenaged girls.

The TV series is from 2013. Chris Lilley is pretty foul about everyone and he plays all the main characters regardless of age or sex so I'm not sure what he is doing is drag exactly, more an exercise in overwhelming hubris.
Not a patch on Kathy Burke's wonderful Perry.

Would love to see Catherine Tate's Lauren and Vicky Pollard beat the crap out of him/her.

A bit of context - this is from 12 years ago though. Doesn’t make it any better, but my point is it’s not a new thing written with an particular agenda. He plays a lot of questionable female characters across his work, bit like David Williams.

David Walliams, not Williams!

I think it was made in 2013, so 6 years old?

I wonder why the BBC are showing it now?

This is actually really funny-I went to a school just like the one he mocks with people just like the girls he mocks at the time it was released. You clearly just don’t get it.

Oh and it’s not drag in the traditional sense.

It’s really funny.

*also worth noting that men dressing as women is an essential part of Australian humour. Look up dame Edna-yes we are a bit simple.

Oh come on - have you actually watched it? It's a very funny satire based on stereotypical private school girl traits.

Imdb says 2007 but maybe it just got to the BBC in 2013? I certainly feel like it was earlier than that when I saw it, it was on BBC3.

Mr G is hilarious!

It's funny. Like every plastic girl i remember from school.

You also get male actors playing female comedy roles in panto and Shakespeare etc.

Not watched this one but sounds like satire in the Vicky Pollard style.

Ja'mie Public Schoolgirl is a spin off from Summerheight's High.
I also went to school with girls like Ja'mie - I think it's very funny.

I bloody love that show!

I went to an all girls school in Australia and you would think he did too, it is scarily accurate. The number of assemblies I had to sit through with some sort of dance routine.

I don't think it translates well into the UK. Also, his later series are not as funny and some of the characters are veru questionable.

The first series was in 2008.

I love it too.

This I believe is a spin off from Summer Hights High which was shown on BBC 3 about 11 years ago. It was hilarious.

It’s parody. I also find it funny.

I’m not sure about the rest of his work but Ja’mie is hilarious. It’s satire.

I can't get on with the rest of his stuff but I went to a girls school and lived in Aus for a while, I think Ja'mie is spot on!