Drag Queens, are they outright offensive?

[Sophds]

Now I’ve never been the biggest feminist, I know that’s probably not the best way to characterise myself on a feminism board but I don’t want to quickly be dismissed as wrapped up in groupthink.

Read about todays protest at the tate modern against drag queen story hour and I’ve not read enough in to the story hour thing to have a strong informed opinion about that specifically it got me thinking aren’t drag queens just a misogynist version of black face?

I’ve never really thought too much about it and have never really had an issue with drag queens but now I just feel like something doesn’t sit right with me about men dressing up with hugely caricatured female features and caricatured stereotypical female behaviours that often cross over in to overt sexualisation.

I just feel like the entire idea of drag is to caricature and degrade women? Does anybody else feel like this?

The likes of Lily savage or mrs brown doesn’t offend me that much only a bit, but the main reason I don’t find them as bad is that their names aren’t sexualised and they don’t aim to entertain kids. But drag queens are highly offensive and if a woman claims to be feminist but enjoy drag then they’re not allies of women. Liberal feminists are horrible for this… i class myself as a radical feminist and we have a local drag queen and he is horribly misogynistic

Funny how these men don't want to organise story time to elderly people in local libraries, it's always for the kiddies!

Never ever underestimate the steps a man will take to erode boundaries!

Totally agree... trans rights are men's rights. We don't even have a right to call ourselves women or call women health problems the appropriate terms related to women... but yes allow men to dress up and behave in stereotypical ways

I find them grotesque.

I think it's adult entertainment. My parents liked hinge and bracket and dame Edna, who were somehow gentler - and cleverer humour.
The current vogue seems to be way more sexualised - suitable for Raymond's revue bar adult entertainment, certainly not for kids. The humour seems to be bitchy and the make up is scary af. Its a very aggressive and disturbing look, deliberately so.
Very good point jemofawoman where are the drag queen for the elderly?

Dame Edna wasn’t “gentle humour” it was misogynistic unpleasantness.

I've always hated it since I was a kid 40yrs ago. even Mrs Bucket, Lily Savage, dames, Mrs Doubtfire etc. Men making fun of women because women are shallow and stupid and should be laughed at. Never understood why it was so popular.

On the other hand, i am impressed by the make up/wigs etc these days - admit there's some serious artistic skill going on there! Wish it was for something else though...

Adult entertainment and not for me. I wouldn't outright ban it - apart from in front of children- because that usually has the opposite effect.
I'm old enough to remember the Black and White Minstrel Show on TV -ffs. I'd hope that eventually, enough people will start seeing it like that - a revolting parody - and it will fade away. But I doubt it will.

I'd occasionally chuckle at Lily Savage who was, I think, more paying homage to strong women. Edna Everage creeped me a bit out although I would laugh at him and he was GC.
RuPaul's Drag Race makes me nauseous.

And Panti Bliss in Ireland can go fuck himself into the Shannon.

oy! leave the Shannon alone, there's enough eutrophication from the excessive cattle numbers.

What we have imported from the US is a performance much more based on stripping, porn imagery and brash exhibitionism.
Drag today has been rebranded and has little to do with drag queens from the past who developed characters.
Drag queens today objectify women and dehumanise them.

https://x.com/ThePosieParker/status/1692062778192752820?s=20

Drag is offensive, misogynistic and sexually inappropriate for children

Posted without comment.

Completely offensive. Misogyny.

Oh this in droves.

The drag queen is doing this for kicks, no other reason.

No! Not the Shannon. It's a very slow-flowing river, already under stress from pollution, and with too few large predators to clean up dumpees. Even if PB had the decency to rmove the toxic cosmetics and plastic clothing elements first. Why the Shannon anyway, why not the Liffey? Or the sea.

Drag is ghastly and very often framed as abuse of women by the use of derogatory 'female' images - anyone remember Dick Emery?

I don't like drag queens particularly, i think they're mocking and degrading

But they certainly don't belong at a kids reading session

They're overtly sexual: why dont they dress up as an average mum with a nice smock dress or sweaty betty leggings ?

If you take away the fact they are male, would it be acceptable for a female to dress up in a very sexual manner to read stories to children, the answer is no.

would it be ok for a male to wear a “normal” dress and a light covering of make-up, the answer is yes.

Then move on to the fact that a very large portion of drag acts make a mockery of women, under the guise of “art”, or “fun”. It is males mocking females. That it has been done for years and is deemed by some to be cultural does not make it acceptable.

see blackface performance

womanface is equally unacceptable

And I go over to twitter and what's the first thing I see? This DQ who participated in DQSH arrested for masturbating at a public park.

https://nypost.com/2023/09/13/sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-member-caught-masturbating-at-park/

From that NY post article

He apparently participated in multiple Sisters events, including drag queen story hours in which he read to a group of young children.
[…]
Ellis-Gilmore’s social media posts were also flooded with sexually suggestive content.
One graphic he posted featured a pacifier, a lollipop, an ice cream bar and a penis with the caption “Shhhhhhhh….it’s ok, you’ve been preparing for this your whole life.”

I wonder if anyone has done the mirroring by creating a proper Drag King character. Something with a giant penis sticking out from the trouser fly, lots of groin scratching and plumber's crack and smashing beer bottles etcetera. (trying to think of similar sexist stereotypes here).

I don't think it would be supported by librarians and teachers for children's entertainment. Or would it?

I absolutely loathe them and have to switch channels when they appear on TV.

It genuinely baffles me that it is considered a form of "entertainment". Particularly in the likes of places like Benidorm. How exactly is an 20 stone bloke in a sequin dress and high heels amusing?

It's offensive and has absolutely no place in the world of education (except perhaps, with older high school children, discussing how awful it is!)

I don't know. I'm very divided on this. I know older drag queens that were really just closet gay men that didn't have a healthy way to express themselves or meet men like them in a safe way and drag was their escape. They really mostly just dressed up as funny exaggerated versions of their favourite artists and sang karaoke and drank and had fun.

But these modern ones are definitely what I would call questionable and make me really uncomfortable. Is it okay to say I think it's a grey area for me?

For the record I definitely feel it should remain strictly adult entertainment and not forced on parents and children.