Students in Drag ridicule Transwomen?

I think it may depend on whether a drag artiste takes themselves seriously or not, or has any real talent.

Barry Humphries is a satirist, therefore I enjoy Dame Edna enormously.

After reading the article, it seems to me that the banning of “drag socials” is more about the gimmickry of these particular nights which are hijacked by straight men for a laugh, which is what the trans community are objecting to.

The real drag scene is generally LBGTQ allied as drag queens have a high proportion of gay men/women who perform.
I don’t agree that drag is ridiculing women, rather ridiculing stereotypical gender roles.
I enjoy watching drag and there is a huge level of commitment and talent from many of these performers. There is a whole industry around it now - look at Ru Paul’s Drag Race as an example, which has included trans contestants and opened a lot of conversation around LGBTQ rights and struggles.

I must be very naive

I never thought that drag artists were ridiculing women

I don't find drag entertaining at all. A personal preference as I know it is popular.

I don't agree that drag queens always ridicule women some of them simply create another persona. Interestingly there were in the past women entertainers who dressed as men, that does seem to have disappeared, but Vesta Tilley was hugely popular. Was she ridiculing men?

Top answer lemongrove,i`m with you 100%.
As is the rest of the household.

Perhaps the most fabulous drag queen around -Ru Paul. His TV show is hugely successful.

I guess if someone is trans-woman they really do identify as a woman and to be mocked for how you look can be very painful for any woman who has any lack of confidence in her appearance or gender. Bullying behaviour, aimed at someones personal characteristics, is cruel and unacceptable.

Drag queens and artists are a different kettle of fish, they wear costume like armour and I very much doubt people like 'Mrs Brown' and Danny La Rue want to be actual women. I have seen really good panto dames. They trangress so many boundaries, including gender boundaries, as part of their act, and their mockery - when done well - is more of a comment on the whole absurdity of the human condition and I do think it has a place in theatre.

Just wondering what proportion of the population are Trans, and how much air time do this section of the community receive. There are usually one or two threads on GN for instance. Surely Trans people make up a tiny section of the population at large.

Trans women wishing to be treated exactly like other women will meet the same caricatures as other women do - the panomime dame, the dumb blonde, the gorgon mother-in-law, the mutton-dressed-as-lamb. All have a bit of truth to them, as well as a lot of exaggeration for dramatic effect. Anyone objecting strongly to one of them looks a bit of a po-faced killjoy.

I don't know how the drag students were played (and if it was rag week, the acting, costume and makeup abilities of the participants would be rudimentary), but if the trans women recognised themselves, it could be that was because the act had picked up on something that the trans women could see in their own mirrors, exaggerated like those standard comic characters.

Lol!

lemongrove

I’ve never found drag artists remotely funny, interesting or worth watching and the success of Danny La Rue was amazing.....who were all his fans!Weird.
Pantomime dames were just sinister.
I don’t know OP, why it should only offend trans women and not women, except it’s harder for a trans woman to look the part?

Agreed! I’ve never felt comfortable with women being mocked by men. Drag artists never seem to imitate the likes of Ena Sharples or Nora Batty.

lemongrove

I’ve never found drag artists remotely funny, interesting or worth watching and the success of Danny La Rue was amazing.....who were all his fans!Weird.
Pantomime dames were just sinister.
I don’t know OP, why it should only offend trans women and not women, except it’s harder for a trans woman to look the part?

Totally agree, lemon.

Elegran Could you please explain this to me then because that is how I read it. Sorry if I got it wrong Join the club, trans women - this is what being a woman is really about - called a wimp because you object to one thing, a bully because you object to another

Maybe there is an inherant difference in drag as a life choice and a means of expression of all the aspects of what makes them who they are and drag for a laugh....

My friend and I once saw a fabulous show while we were in Spain. It featured " drag queens " miming to singers and it was brilliant with the most beautiful costumes/dresses etc. and very clever it was too. I think friend and I were the only straight ones there but we were treated superbly by everyone------and not a fight in sight either inside the venue or outside !! It was a most enjoyable night.

Not me!

So because you feel women are ridiculed you want others to feel that way as well. Is that really inclusive and feminist?

Who said that?

No-one

I read it and it seemed to say that specifically the event being used to ridicule trans people openly and directly was the issue? Not the idea of drag itself?

Did I get that wrong?

Not really sure what I think about it all in general because I think people's feelings are valid whether or not I share them.

Personally not felt ridiculed as a woman by it, maybe that depends on experience

So because you feel women are ridiculed you want others to feel that way as well. Is that really inclusive and feminist? I don't have a problem with Drag Queens. As I understand it it is mostly about exploring your personality, developing confidence, building and expressing your individuality.
It does sound as if the student drag nights had been taken over by a group or groups who were ridiculing others. So it's probably best they have gone.

Join the club, trans women - this is what being a woman is really about - called a wimp because you object to one thing, a bully because you object to another

Yup, welcome to the Society of the Oppressed and Objectified!

Drag artists have always ridiculed women. Some trans women look as though they are ridiculing women, when they wear clothes that are exaggeratedly feminine. If women say they dislike being ridiculed, they are told that they are over-sensitive about the drag artists and abusive to the sensitive trans women.

Join the club, trans women - this is what being a woman is really about - called a wimp because you object to one thing, a bully because you object to another

At one time in the theatre etc all parts were played by men and boys. I suppose they were accepted as there had never been any different.
Would people laugh if women always played male parts?

I'm very find of drag artists

They are often hugely hilarious

I was at a theme park and going back to the hotel there was one at the door greeting us.

I ended up laughing so much I practically stopped breathing.

And I do like Lily Savage?Paul O'Grady

I miss Lily.

I think Barry Humphries took the proverbial out of drag queens too, in fact.