Just wondering, …
Will we one day look back on drag queens in the same way that we now look back on the Black and White Minstrels?
Is it the same or is it different? I can’t make my mind up.
Just wondering?
Comments
21 responses to “Just wondering?”
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asked the man who dresses up in gold, dripping with lace (etc)!
🙂
Just watch The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert again, and you’ll come to a decision I’m sure.
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Actually, when I posted that comment last night, I just had watched Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
I’ve never been into lace, funnily enough.
Gold yes. Lace no.
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No, the drag will continue as long as we enjoy panto at the King’s, traditional liturgy and glam rock stuff like Mamma Mia which iIwas watching last night!
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Are pearls involved, here, I wonder ?
‘Pearly Kings AND Queens’ having stood the tests of time.
I guess that lace has done quite well over the centuries, too.
Maybe the greasepaint was the problem……. Kelvin, if you feel in need of face paint, and eschew ‘The Braveheart’ look, or ‘Toddlers’ Tiger’, then note that ‘Revlon’, ‘Boots No.17’ and ‘Maybelline’ makeup seem to be doing ok……
No. Maybe better not………
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John Penman – I applaud you ! Mama Mia Triumphs Again !!
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I’m grateful for the make-up tips.
I don’t think I’ve ever consciously worn pearls. Though the 365 Tay Pearls which bedeck the Bishop of St Andrew’s, Dunkeld and Dunblane’s glorious mitre catch my eye every time I see them.
At this point, I introduce Shakespeare into the argument, and note that although we still enjoy the cross dressing that is an element in so many plays, we might feel uncomfortable about an actor blacking up to represent Othello.
I don’t seem to feel troubled by people playing with gender. However is there not a reciprocity in Shakespeare that is missing in a drag queen’s act. Does the same go for panto? Do the principle boy and the dame kind of cancel one another out?
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I thought drag queens were ok, PC wise, because gender etc is , unlike race, a construct so it is a good thing to play with boundaries in that way. On Saturday, I found it odd that so many drag queens look like Sarah Jessica Parker.
Robert Downie Jr blacked up for his role in the movie Tropic Thunder (don’t think it’s out here yet, but Gadgetvicar has reviewed it on his site) and that caused a lot less controversy than expected.
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A few more thoughts to sprinkle into your mellifluous mixture:
– Making up is often to be commended, but requires most careful attention to detail…
– ‘Playing with gender’ seems a basic need for most persons from quite a young age, and tho many appear to ‘grow out of the notion’, the relaxed clothing options of today maybe allow much more flexibility than was available to previous generations. Maybe ‘gender’ is a balancing act in many more ways than usually acknowledged.
– as for pantomime – seems to me that dames have very much much much more fun than principal boys………. tho I guess Shakespeare might disagree……. -
PEARLS!
WITH CORDUROY!
ARE YOU MAD!
🙂
ps the capitalisation was deliberate, so don’t bother trying to flame me!
pps Priscilla is a great film.
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Priscilla is indeed a great film.
Ryan – I’m not sure whether drag queens are always going to be PC. I’m not sure that all other people who identify as T in LGBT would find drag queenery that helpful.
As for what us feminists think of it all…
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