Blackfishing debate got me thinking

[WhatFreshHellisCis]

And whilst I’m not in the habit of discussing pop stars fall outs because I’m old and cranky, the current argument on ‘blackfishing’ has got me thinking about the sex/gender debate (though no debate in my mind!) and it boils down to this
What is the difference?
Why is ‘blackfishing’ so offensive yet asking people to believe that a man is a woman is not?
It’s different sides of the same coin in my opinion…

The day may come, when future generations look at Drag Race the way we look at the Black & White Minstrels today.

"What were they thinking?" our great-grandkids will ask.

Dave Chapelle (black comedian) made that point in his Netflix special - the one that all the TRAs are so cross with.

He said (paraphrasing)

“TERFS are women who look at transwomen the way i look at black face , arghh that b*h is imitating me”

“I understand them, I do”

“I am team TERF”

It is called closer. It has a huge amount of views I think.

I loath the sexualised, strutting caricatures of drag - it is offensive. I also defend people's right to give offense. But I can't see why something so offensive should be on our national broadcaster, paid for by licence fee and not in some club in some city centre or some backwater of a pay per view channel.

The black and white minstrels were on the telly when I was a kid (old enough to remember) and it was considered "fine" things can change quickly. I hope drag will become equally viewed as not ok.

I've been thinking about starting a thread on this for a couple of days but couldn't think how to phrase it, so thank you OP. I completely agree with you.

Completely agree. There was also the case with Rachel Doziac (?) where she was rightly criticised and it was also understood she could not become black through surgery or identification so why do people not see this for sex.

Sometimes I think I’m going mad, I mean what is everyone else thinking that I’m not, what am i missing

Well it seems to be quite acceptable to at least one trade union. The trade union for university lecturers considers it possible to self identify as black as well as disabled.

@Blackandwhitehorse

Completely agree. There was also the case with Rachel Doziac (?) where she was rightly criticised and it was also understood she could not become black through surgery or identification so why do people not see this for sex.

Sometimes I think I’m going mad, I mean what is everyone else thinking that I’m not, what am i missing

You‘re not going mad, its the situation that’s mad and you aren’t missing anything. Trust yourself, there are thousands and thousands of us. And hopefully after Question Time last night and the Nolan podcast there will be millions of us who feel the same that’s it’s unacceptable to pretend to be female, just as it’s unacceptable to pretend to be black or Korean.

I listened to a Triggernometry podcast with Blair White about this and she felt they were totally different as you could 'see' gender incongruence in brain scans. That those who identified as the opposite sex often have brain scans that more closely matched that sex.

I think this can clearly be refuted but it's maybe why the comparison is often rejected.

I had a very interesting conversation with the teen junior hairdresser washing my hair recently.

He’s gay, wears makeup & stuff. He told me he was out with his pal & they went to drag show. He said he hated it & walked out. I asked why. He said there were 2 young drag queens presenting women as bitchy, man mad & only interested in apperancs. An one older drag queen was ‘past it, pathetic, bitter & bitchy’.
The older one in particular made him uncomfortable as his granny is that age & he felt it was particularly disrespectful.

Interesting

The difference is that "blackfishing" is seen as a cynical move to use black imagery and style for personal gain, whereas trans is seen as people defying society's gender conventions to authentically express "who they really are".

I'm not saying I personally agree with the latter (before anyone jumps on me), but that's why they are viewed differently.

Blackfishing or not, she wants a bad boy for life ....

I agree.

Yes! I agree with all this.

I feel permanently confused and angry by the situation. It impacts my life peripherally yet shakes me to the core - I feel like I’m being constantly gaslighted and demonised when I want to share my views.

And as a woman with no cervix - I cannot bear the term - people with a cervix. I don’t understand the experience of someone with gender dysphoria any more than they would understand my lived experience as a woman. It’s offensive to me.