In January, conservative politician, daughter of Dick Cheney and open lesbian Mary Cheney took to Facebook to express what she feels are similarities between drag and blackface:
[quote]Why is it socially acceptable — as a form of entertainment — for men to put on dresses, make up and high heels and act out every offensive stereotype of women (bitchy, catty, dumb, slutty, etc.) — but it is not socially acceptable — as a form of entertainment — for a white person to put on blackface and act out offensive stereotypes of African Americans?”[/quote]
I have been looking, since the day the news of this comment broke, for the perfect way to explain the differences between drag and blackface. I even posed the question in the Dragaholic Facebook discussion group, asking for opinions: “Drag is parodying the external elements seen to ‘make’ a woman,” commented Guillotina Munter, “which in fact it does not. It’s a commentary on the social construct of gender roles, not actual women. It’s nothing to do with having a uterus or XX chromosome. Blackface undermines an entire race.”
In the video above, Matt Baume breaks down the differences perfectly and in great depth. He does take a few shots at Mary Cheney that aren’t crucial to the argument, but those are more for humor than anything else.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Stefy
I am yes/no on this. If gender is a construct then there is no transgender. The fact is there is a gender identity which is why the first thing that FTM and MTFs do is to change their appearance to match that traditional concept.
I love drag. I love it because it’s artistry and I am entertained and it makes me question myself.
However, some drag pushes it. I have been to drag shows where the performer was so misogynistic that there was almost a fight.
That’s not true for most, but there are some which take it to a bad place.
Aaron Sobriquet
Being mixed race and gay, I can see a clear difference between blackface and drag. Until Mary Cheney brought it up, I had never considered the two in the same thought.
We need to go to a source that covers both aspects: black women. I don’t think that drag is on the radar of the women’s rights arm of the NAACP, the WIN.
If drag was on the same playing field as blackface, we would never have so many people of color, men and women, partaking in the glorious spectacle that drag is.