A former Olympic athlete has sparked debate on social media with a tweet she posted Saturday in which she spoke out against drag.
Sharron Davies, who competed for Great Britain in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics (where she took a silver medal), has in recent years become an outspoken critic of allowing trans women to compete in female sports. Over the weekend, she broadened her criticism to also include drag queens.
“Am I the only person fed up of drag shows? A parody of what a real woman is, like black face. Woman are juggling kids, rushing out a wholesome dinner, doing the laundry & cleaning, holding down a job all with period pains & leaky boobs if breast feeding. Enough of the stereotypes.”
Am I the only person fed up of drag shows? A parody of what a real woman is, like black face. Woman are juggling kids, rushing out a wholesome dinner, doing the laundry & cleaning, holding down a job all with period pains & leaky boobs if breast feeding. Enough of the stereotypes
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) December 21, 2019
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The tweet has had over 12.5k likes and prompted 7k comments. Some of her followers have agreed with her. However, many others have criticized her comparison to blackface, and her own – some would argue stereotypical – definition of womanhood.
Among the high-profile names to speak out against the tweet were RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Michelle Visage.
OR…you can see it for what drag actually IS, which is a celebration and homage of all things feminine, giving power to those who need it! Strong women aren't threatened by drag queens, but rather empowered by their chutzpah. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! https://t.co/Ycux4c8epy
— michelle visage (@michellevisage) December 21, 2019
“OR…you can see it for what drag actually IS, which is a celebration and homage of all things feminine, giving power to those who need it!” said Visage. “Strong women aren’t threatened by drag queens, but rather empowered by their chutzpah. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!”
Several DragRace queens were also quick to comment.
“STOP ALL DRAG SHOWS!! @sharrond62 is fed up and is suffering from Drag Fatigue!” chipped in Vinegar Strokes. “My love, have you never thought that a majority of Drag Queens are celebrating woman and the fantastic achievements woman have made to shape the world. YOU do nothing but shape a stereotype! TRASH!”
STOP ALL DRAG SHOWS!! @sharrond62 is fed up and is suffering from Drag Fatigue! My love, have you never thought that a majority of Drag Queens are celebrating woman and the fantastic achievements woman have made to shape the world. YOU do nothing but shape a stereotype! TRASH! https://t.co/oZY66M6xdk
— Vinegar Strokes (@TheOnlyVinegar) December 21, 2019
Only weak minded people view it this way. If you are THAT strong of a woman/mother .. a man dressing up in women’s clothing to lipsync a song shouldn’t even be on your radar. Sounds like straight white privileged ignorance to me.. but what do I know?? I’m just a man in a dress.
— Trinity The Tuck (@TrinityTheTuck) December 21, 2019
Omg, comparing drag to blackface? what an idiot 🤢 https://t.co/6VgZfHYqk7
— Blu Hydrangea (@BluHydrangea_) December 21, 2019
High-profile breakfast TV host Lorraine Kelly was also having none of it.
Oh Sharon. You can’t underestimate the power of drag and how it empowers people who often feel like outsiders – they can find their family, grow in confidence, learn to love themselves and be who they really are. It can literally save lives. And it’s such a lot of FUN! https://t.co/y5LgIcndv9
— Lorraine (@reallorraine) December 21, 2019
“Oh Sharon. You can’t underestimate the power of drag and how it empowers people who often feel like outsiders – they can find their family, grow in confidence, learn to love themselves and be who they really are. It can literally save lives. And it’s such a lot of FUN!”
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Neither was singer and broadcaster, Myleene Klass.
Whilst I have leaky boobs n s**t loads of laundry, I’d like to think this isn’t the only view of womanhood available. I adore drag queens, my daughter is obsessed with them. More importantly, I want my girls to see tolerance from women who have the power to shine a light. https://t.co/twyYAaEjph
— Myleene Klass (@KlassMyleene) December 22, 2019
Others said they weren’t fans of drag, but comparing it to blackface was wrong.
“Drag is really not OK, it ridicules women, no doubt,” agreed Andreia Nobre. “But blackface led to direct violence against black ppl. Many black women have now explained that we could question drag without comparing with blackface bc they feel it diminishes the fight against racism.”
Davies, 57, – who was previously married to black athlete Derek Redmond – did not accept the criticism.
“With mixed race kids & loads of wonderful friends from all over the world don’t think I can be accused of racism,” she said. “I’m not reducing anyone else’s struggle just saying promoting ridiculous stereotypes is dangerous, as is racism.”
With mixed race kids & loads of wonderful friends from all over the world don’t think I can be accused of racism .. I’m not reducing anyone else’s struggle just saying promoting ridiculous stereotypes is dangerous, as is racism.
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) December 21, 2019
Others just ridiculed her specific view of womanhood.
Hmmm who is stereotyping womanhood here? A drag queen painting on killer brows and getting down to some disco or the one who sees us as downtrodden milk maids slaving away for men and children.
Also juggling kids sounds dangerous, but possibly an excellent drag act.
— Hatpin Drill (@PippinDrill) December 21, 2019
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Am guessing her tirade is rooted in the fact that she is disturbingly masculine looking and probs is mistaken for a Drag Queen very frequently….
JessPH
Blackface = done by racist people to mock the black race
Drag = done by pro-equality men to celebrate femininity
garthjosen
When you like Ms. D does, seeing some of those girls, might make her feel insecure.
Hussain-TheCanadian
As a huge fan of drag shows, it has never crossed my mind that the performers were trying to mock or mimic women, but celebrate femininity, celebrate the underdog, flip gender roles.
Some of my female cousins are religious, wear the hijab, and are the biggest fans of Rupaul drag race. Drag queens are impacting cultures all over the world, it’s a showcase of humanity.
bobbyjoe
Poor thing, what with all the drag show fatigue she has from being forced at gunpoint to watch Rupaul, with her eyes forcibly held open like that guy in A Clockwork Orange. Apparently competing in an Olympics 40 years ago makes her an expert on womanhood. Who knew?
controversial2019
She does have somewhat of a point though.
I have seen BME people do drag and make their faces whiter than white. As though they are white people. Nobody batters an eyelid. Because apparently people don’t consider ‘white face’ to be a thing.
Yet if a white person makes their face brown/black; that’s instantly racist.
Where is the consistency? Where is the equality? And don’t talk sh*t about the past and how doing X in the past led to Y and doing Y led to Z. I’m talking now. There is just no consistency.
It’s like the (side) issue of last Christmas people starting complaining about the song ‘Baby it’s cold outside’ saying that a woman is trying to leave and the man isn’t letting her. That she asks what’s in her drink as though something might be in it. Thus people asked for it to be banned as in light of #MeToo etc. It’s not and appropriate song’. This year I’ve not heard a single radio station play it.
But what have I heard them play? Fairytale of New York in which the woman says to the man; ‘You sc*mbag you maggot you cheap lousy fa*got”. Radio stations have no qualms with that. Where’s the consistency?!
It needs to be across the board:
Either you can paint your face to be a race you don’t belong to…or you can’t. No exceptions.
Either you can play songs which at the time of writing DIDNT have the same political connotations as they do now…or you can’t. No exceptions.
KiraNerysRules
I think you have an argument, but it’s doesn’t relate to this article. Davies is stated drag, as a whole, is like blackface. Her opinion lumps in all races of drag performers and likens their profession to those who paint their faces black to mock and degrade black people. Her criticism includes white drag queens who perform as white women, black drag queens who perform as black women, Asian drag queens who perform as Asian women, etc. Blackface and whiteface within drag is an interesting topic, though.
Man About Town
She lost me at “fed up of” instead of “with”
KCStuffedAnimal
Thumbs down on Queerty for deleting my comment. It wasn’t abusive and you know it. I’m done with your website and your politics.
seaguy
Sharon who? This bitch needs to go right back to what she was doing before living in obscurity and keeping her mouth shut.