Drag everywhere

[ImaSababa]

Why has drag become the go-to LGBTQ activity? It's everywhere.

Manchester Jewish Museum's nod to the movement is a drag act called Chanukah Lewinsky. Call me a spoilsport, but I'd like to think that we LBGT Jews have contributed more to the fabric of culture and society than a fucking drag queen.

Just wanted to rant, really.

Chanukah Lewinsky?

I.e. a parody of the young intern who was the victim of a gross abuse of power by the POTUS and then later vilified by the mainstream media? Well yes I can see why we would all have a good laugh about that. Ha fucking ha.

If people want to watch stuff like that in their own time then it's nothing to do with me but the idea that we all have to celebrate this as "progressive" really grinds my gears.

I totally agree, when did drag become the epitome of Gay culture?

I'm with you. It's shit entertainment anyway. I turn off whenever it comes on.

What twoHopes said.

Absolutely appalling.

@twoHopes I was working in news during the Monica Lewinsky mess and plenty of reporters struggled with the gross objectification of her in the media...it was such a struggle because of there was such an obsessive focus on the dress and her physical comparisons to Hilary and Linda Tripp. It was a balance between biting your tongue and buying into the sensationalism of it (I was pretty naive then as well, so it helped to have older female mentors point out the sexism). Making fun of an inexperienced intern who was completely taken advantage of by so many people makes me angry now that I didn't see the full effects of this until much later.

I think this s a question that deserves some unpacking.

Why is it that there is a need for every museum out there to sit and think "how can we include gay culture, somehow?"

As opposed to regular culture which, it seems to me, includes plenty of gay people anyway?

And why is it that we now treat push pop culture as something that needs to be elevated to the same degree as high culture? I really don't want to be a snob about it, and sometimes certain forms can be under-appreciated for reasons related to class (or over-appreciated in some cases too.) But actually, not everything is the same.

Chanukah Lewinsky

Daylight misogyny

@Imnobody4

I totally agree, when did drag become the epitome of Gay culture?

I don't think it has. From what I've heard it's not very popular with gay men now. They prefer more mainstream entertainment. It's more likely aligned with 'queer' culture, which some gay men feel alienated by.

I'm not sure it's changed, drag was always everywhere when I was on the scene in the 80s and 90s, though I think there were more women only places for lesbians to go to avoid it, it's just that the trans issue has raised more general awareness.

There definitely wasn't drag (calling all misogynists) story-time for kids

If people want to watch stuff like that in their own time then it's nothing to do with me but the idea that we all have to celebrate this as "progressive" really grinds my gears.

Me too. And as for the Monica Lewinsky 'joke' - pathetic.

I dislike seeing companies use drag to sell stuff. Selfridges and Method have both had ads with drag queens, and it's obviously some marketing exec thinking they are so cool and edgy.

I don't mind drag. I just find it a bit dull and dated nowadays. Like end of pier entertainment.

Oh it can be way more offensive than that:

If any anti-abortion organization were to present abortion in quite such graphic and grisly terms {as drag act Blair Back did}, I think we know what pro-choicers would make of it. But there we have it: a drag queen presenting a doll-baby covered in blood to a soundtrack of Ke$ha’s ;Cannibal’ as a bit of performance art for Facebook.

spectator.us/even-drag-queens-mock-abortion/

The fucking BBC (as they are known in this house) have new lockdown fillers - one with people doing disco in their homes with fairy lights and one with ... drag queens!

What relevance do drag queens have to the British general public? Apart from trying to flog ru Paul's drag race which I'm guessing was heinously expensive, what's wrong with people baking? Or decorating? Or gardening? Or any of the many other home based hobbies that people took up during lockdown.

It's just propaganda.

It's just offensive to women, always has been. Womanface.

@twoHopes

Chanukah Lewinsky?

I.e. a parody of the young intern who was the victim of a gross abuse of power by the POTUS and then later vilified by the mainstream media? Well yes I can see why we would all have a good laugh about that. Ha fucking ha.

If people want to watch stuff like that in their own time then it's nothing to do with me but the idea that we all have to celebrate this as "progressive" really grinds my gears.

I agree that this is drag event is horrible. But can we disagree about the innocence to this intern? I'm younger than her and thought at the time what she did (regardless of what he did) was despicable.

Maybe the popularity of Ru Paul's Drag Race has something to do with it?

The worst drag queen name I have seen is "Cheryl Hole".

Clymene, did you mean this one?

Makes me bristle every time I see it! (Though searching for it has added the word ‘ident’ to my vocabulary which is cool). Apparently it’s called Cabernet Cooking(!)

Cabaret even!

Yes that ident there! FUCK OFF

RuPaul's Drag Race = normalisation of misogyny. I first heard about the term 'fish' when a lesbian friend explained, from her own personal experience, that gay men often referred to women using that term in a pejorative way. I honestly couldn't believe that it has been waived as being totally acceptable for prime time tv audiences because drag artists use the term:

A fishy drag queen is a queen that looks like a biological woman — usually to the point of actually seeming like a woman at first glance.
“Fish” or “fishy” in the drag world is a reference to that part of a woman’s body during that time of month, as some would say that it exudes a smell reminiscent of fish.
“Fishy: A term used to describe a drag queen who looks extremely feminine or one who convincingly resembles a biological woman. The term refers to the supposed scent of a woman's vagina, which is colloquially likened to the smell of fish.”

Here's Elle Aus, explaining how it's just RuPaul's drag race slang:

www.elle.com.au/culture/rupauls-drag-race-dictionary-19207

Now imagine a smell being used to describe any other protected group

I’d heard of Cheryl Hole before they appeared on Drag Race. Hated HATED the name and assumed they would be a really snidey, crass act. The queen came across as a really sweet person and was a huge fan of girl bands, their style, their dance routines - living out a fantasy as a performer, something they couldn’t do as a man. Still absolutely hate that stage name and am taking on board the discussions I see on this board about drag. I’m not an apologist. But it’s not always what it might seem.

Drag is vile womanface. It needs to be taken out; it’s one front in the war on women.

The worst one I've seen is JonBenet Blonde. I started a thread about it last week.

A drag act named after a murdered, fetishized 6 year old girl. Utterly vile.