can you explain why you like drag shows? personally, the notion of cis men dressing up as women for show makes me feel uncomfortable as a trans woman. i can't quite pinpoint exactly why but something there seems wrong, or off. it's not that i'm saying it's terrible and everyone involved is terrible, but i can't say i endorse it or find it remotely enjoyable. as such a strong feminist, can you explain how you enjoy them? sorry to bother you, i admire you a lot and am surprised when you reblog it
So I have mixed feelings about drag!!
The reason I am NOT so keen on it is because a lot of people (cis men usually tbqh) can't differentiate drag from trans women. They lump them together when they are NOTHING alike!! They target trans women, and it's not okay.
The other reason I'm not okay with it is because some drag queens (not all!!) treat women like costumes- and a lot of them are gay men. And it goes without saying that cis gay men can actually be particularly cruel to women.
I think that part of it is very bad- without trying, it poses a negative stigma for trans women.
The thing is, drag queens are like... an aesthetic. Big hair, gaudy make up, overdone clothes, etc. Some drag queens are even criticized for being too feminine (Courtney Act). By that definition, even I could be a drag queen if I did my make up, hair and clothes right!
I like certain drag queens, definitely. My favorite is Jinkx Monsoon. In her respective season (5) she suffered from a lot of bullying, and despite that, she progressed with grace and poise- never once stooping to the level of the people harassing her. And despite what they said, she won! I admire her a lot for that, and for her genuine kindness and demeanor.
Some drag queens are even trans women! Carmen Carrera and Monica Beverly Hillz are- though I'm not sure how often Carmen does drag anymore.
I read a lot of articles about the disparity between these things... and I'm always caught in between them. (Ben Delacreme, Jinkx Monsoon, and Pandora Boxx all chimed in in the link)
I certainly can acknowledge that it can be problematic. Though I admire him for other things, RuPaul has said some things that make me uncomfortable.
On subjects like that, however, I value the opinion of trans women more because it affects them more than me.
I guess I always liked it because I love the creativity and the personas. My top are Jinkx Monsoon, Ben Delacreme, Pandora Boxx, Willam, Alaska and Bianca Del Rio. I like them because they treat their drag characters as extensions of themselves, but are not their characters. (Although, Willam is an enigma.)
I guess the long and short of it is, I like the creativity and certain queens are inspirational, but I can also admit that it's problematic in a lot of ways, through the drag queens and others.
I will also say that despite that, I would never let my appreciation for the art of drag stand between me and my views for feminism. If a trans women told me that indefinitely drag was likely a bad thing, I would have no choice to believe her, because her voice in the movement is just as valuable as mine.
((sorry that got so long I'm not very good at wording how I feel about things umu))
