Drag artists - am I the only one who doesn't find them funny?

I'm inclined to agree, I do think they parody women as a sex, they come across as very one dimensional "wag" type only, with all the accoutrements of fakery which are imo unrepresentative of the female sex per se and tend to veer into bitchiness. I recall I felt that, as a child, when I saw Danny La Rue, if I remember rightly he presented a bossy persona with snide comments, an exaggerated version of a woman, but I knew he was a man and wondered why he put all that effort into emulating some sort of quasi female that was completely over the top, which is what many of them do now.

Having said that I suppose I'm not consistent, I have always found Dame Edna hilarious, and have laughed at Paul O'Grady's alter ego Lily Savage who does play up to his moniker. I like his understated Liverpudlian humour. I also admit to snorting into my flat white when I met up with my Brighton pal and she told me of a local drag queen down in her neck of the woods, the sublimely named Betty Swallocks

Side stepping from drag queens to transwomen, I've got a bit of an issue with Eddie Izzard not so much for cross dressing or presenting as a woman, but making the ridiculous comment about being in "girl mode" Eddie is 57 Women around that age can often be struggling with menopausal symptoms, I was mine was late and had just started at that age so ffs it doesn't make one feel like a girl anymore, woman please! it's not all fluttery fun, flicking one's hair and flashing perfectly manicured nails, there's a bit more to being a woman of a certain age than that Caitlin Jenner's not much better either when being asked what she found the most difficult aspect of being a woman her reply, "deciding what to wear" I'll put that down to living with a Kartload of Kardashians.

Oh god, I absolutely love drag queens. I'm addicted to Ru Paul's Drag Race UK - they are lovely people and I think the higher their profile and the more they share their stories, it can only be a good thing, especially for young people who may be struggling with their sexuality. Many of them have spoken about being bullied at school, for instance, or shunned by their families.
The current season featured two non-binary queens and the discussion they had about the whole "non-binary" tag and so on was really enlightening and explained it in a way which made it very easy to understand.
As another poster has said, it's not about parodying women or shaming them - drag is actually all about being inclusive and the fact that you can be anything you want to be. Surely that is something to be celebrated - not to be ashamed of who you are?

NellG

I think they are worrying if there is a feeling of 'black face' and offence about what they do Doodledog. In 2021 anything that invites that type of comparison has to be hitting a nerve. So not sure it's me who needs the flavour of the OP explained to them.

I never mentioned either black face or offence, Nell. I think you are seeing things in my posts that aren't there.

Drag just doesn't interest me. I therefore know nothing about the performers, who or what they are. or any of the detail other posters have written about.

I just find it boring. I would rather read a book.

Blondiescot drag is actually all about being inclusive and the fact that you can be anything you want to be.
But you can't use blackface to be black for any reason at all, so you can't always dress up as whoever you want to be. It is always deemed offensive and mocking of black people, no matter what the circumstances. Why is this different?

Doodledog

NellG

I think they are worrying if there is a feeling of 'black face' and offence about what they do Doodledog. In 2021 anything that invites that type of comparison has to be hitting a nerve. So not sure it's me who needs the flavour of the OP explained to them.

I never mentioned either black face or offence, Nell. I think you are seeing things in my posts that aren't there.

Not in your post, I'm reading things in the OP that are there. Hence my comment.

Chestnut

Blondiescot drag is actually all about being inclusive and the fact that you can be anything you want to be.
But you can't use blackface to be black for any reason at all, so you can't always dress up as whoever you want to be. It is always deemed offensive and mocking of black people, no matter what the circumstances. Why is this different?

I don't find it offensive or demeaning to women at all, I'm afraid - I don't really get the comparison to blackface either. If you actually watch the likes of Ru Paul's Drag Race, for instance, they are always talking about how the women in their lives are an inspiration to them. It's all about inclusion. As Michelle Visage, one of the resident judges on Drag Race says "For all the people who never felt like they fit in, they have a place in drag."

Chestnut Is that a serious question? I'll happily answer it but it will derail the thread into another debate on what is and what is not racism.

I preferred the Two Ronnies when they dressed up for their sketches or Les Dawson with his Cissie and Ada. Comic acts I don't mind.
Danny La Rue was fabulous as a music hall act as was Lily Savage but I don't like the brashness of drag artists.

I like them. At least now they look a lot better than when I first saw them doing their acts in the 60s

I don’t like the modern ones didn’t mind Danny la rue and Lily savage in the day but these modern ones are such caricatures and so unfunny and pretty vile
I did love seeing the ladyboys of Bangkok got to admire the way they are all such pretty men and dance so well on high heels

Never watched any of them, never appealed. But Dame Edna or Mrs Brown I would watch.

Thank you for your comment Blondiescot. I too can't see why a comparison to blackface is made however. This comment has made before. Some years ago Mary Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, outraged the drag and drag-allied community by comparing drag to blackface in a post on her private Facebook page. It went viral resulting in commentators ranging from college professors to RuPaul herself condemning the comparison, mainly defending drag as a means of self-expression and empowerment.

I've watched both UK series with Ru Paul and enjoy watching them transform their looks. Over the weeks their confidence grows probably because they're getting the opportunity to talk and discuss why they chose drag in the first place. It's been very emotional for all of them.

BlueBelle
“I did love seeing the ladyboys of Bangkok got to admire the way they are all such pretty men and dance so well on high heels”
Agree with you BlueBelle very talented as well as stunning looks!

Lily Savage is great but, in general terms, I don't like this sort of entertainment. I accept that other people do enjoy it.

Can’t stand them. Barry Humphries and The Two Ronnies were more in the tradition of pantomime dames: they never tried seriously to look like real women.

I liked Dame Edna as Barry Humphries' humour was very irreverent.
Lily Savage was ok but I much prefer him in RL. Paul O'Grady's programmes about dogs make me quite tearful.
My Mum always enjoyed watching Danny la Rue.

Perhaps it was because these drag artistes were more in the tradition of pantomime dames therefore brought a smile?

Cissie and Ada were classics, EllanVannin ?

Drag Kings exist as well.

I enjoy drag. I like the way it shows gender as performance. We all perform gender, drag just caricatures it.

don't like the Drag artists at all. except danny la rue

Loved Two Ronnies when they dressed up as old women
in their shows and Les Dawson with his Cissie and Ada was hilarious........Dame edna everadge yes love 'her'.....

I don’t like drag either. To me, they’re parodies and caricatures of how they think women ought to be. Some are ok, Barry Humphries and the Les Dawson pair, but the others I think are belittling to women.

But actually some drag artists challenge the stereotypes women are supposed to conform to. They will for instance dress in clothes that would be considered unsuitable for fat women. They dress and present as they choose. It is an artistic statement.I wonder how people feel about Grayson Perry who used to dress as girl but now appears sometimes as an older woman.

The Lady Boys we saw whilst travelling around Thailand were some of the most beautiful people we have ever seen. Those we spoke with appeared to beautiful on the inside also.

In not particularly entertained by drag queens but we all like different things. But I think that the caricatures of women portrayed by the Two Ronnies and Les Dawson do more damage to the image of women.

Discuss....?

I like them and find them very entertaining. After all, it's art, comedy and entertainment - so they're not aiming to be 'real life' but an exaggeration, a caricature.

I really do wonder about people who, somehow, feel 'threatened' by them. Why?

It’s not for me - I watch a few minutes of Ru Paul’s Drag Race each week out of curiosity, but find it quite grotesque. Oddly fascinating and clever makeup and costumes, but that’s about it. I must have double standards though as I enjoyed the Rocky Horror Show when I saw it on stage a few years ago - it was at least entertaining, but I don’t find the Drag Race in the least entertaining. And I don’t like that Visage women who sometimes hosts it. I do like Dame Edna Everage - amusing and quick witted. The Drag Race is not entertainment to me, but each to their own.