I recently came across an article that described a Facebook status posted by Mary Cheney, the openly gay daughter of the former Vice President. In response to an ad for Logo TV's RuPaul's Drag Race, she posted: "Why is it socially acceptable- as a form of enterainment- for men to put on dresses, make up and high heels and act out every offensive stereotype of women... but it is not socially acceptable for a white person to put on blackface and act out offensive stereotypes of African Americans?" To some extent, I understand where Cheney is coming from- I realize that it is unacceptable for a person to impersonate someone else in a demeaning way as a form of entertainment. But what really got me thinking was the last part of her post. She asked: "Shouldn't both be accepted or neither?"
Did she really say that perhaps both blackface and dressing in drag should be accepted? That perhaps blackface should be accepted? Frankly, I thought we were past that point in history, that people had finally realized that the practice of dressing as an African American and impersonating them in a hateful and deriding manner is morally wrong. Cheney's post left me angry and worried.
Secondly, I don't really see a strong connection between blackface and dressing in drag. At the time that blackface was popular, America was running under the Jim Crow Laws, laws that legally segregated African Americans and whites. Blackface was used as a form of entertainment and blatantly racist. The fact that African Americans were the objects of this contemptful "entertainment" was purposeful. However, is it true that people dressing in drag are trying to make fun of women? Perhaps they are simply trying to become a character and be all that a woman is; perhaps drag is not done out of hate. Do you see a clear connection between blackface and dressing in drag? I don't.
Ellie,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I too never thought if equating drag to that of blackface. I think as a society, there is a very fine line between drag and transgendered people which is why we view drag as "okay". However, I do find it offensive when men go out of their way to act of stereotypical traits of women as a form of entertainment. I now am really wondering where to draw the line between offensive and acceptable.
Rayna- You're right. I think that we accept drag because we don't want to offend people who want to dress that was and who are not trying to be offensive. Of course, as I said before, if a person chooses to respectfully dress or act like a woman, they have the right to do so. However, should this be used as a form of entertainment?
ReplyDelete