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Drag queens banned from Pride event 'because they may offend transgender people'

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Izuna

Banned
I think context and intent is what's important in addressing whether dragon queens are good or not. Would someone dressing up as a drag queen in support for transgender be harmful? Context and intent matters where as dressing up in a sense to mock transgender is a whole different issue. I don't think you can make a blanket statement regarding it.

Trans who are anti-Drag, are (hilariously) sexist. That's the way I see it.
 

FStop7

Banned
The LGBT community can be really vicious to itself, sometimes.

There are both straight and gay men who enjoy wearing both men and women's clothing and there's nothing disrespectful about it. Case in point: Eddie Izzard. He's very open about why he sometimes wears dresses: he enjoys it.
 

Rayis

Member
Back in the early days of the LGBT rights movement, drag queens and trans people were friendly with each other, there was mutual respect and support among the communities, many trans women started as drag queens and then transitioned, this hostility among drag queens and trans people is a recent development and is incredibly sad, both communities are misunderstood and need to support each other.
 
This is what happens when stories get twisted far from the reality of what happened and turned into something they're not.

In Glasgow, there's corporate Pride, and then there's alternative Pride that's free to attend, anti-corporate, and trans-centric. They came to a consensus decision to not pay drag queens to perform.
Due to the uninformed backlash, they've recently changed their stance and will be paying trans-identified drag performers to perform.
As a trans person, I've never been paid to stand on stage and hurl transmisogynistic slurs at Pride. Does that mean trans people are banned from Pride?

The fucking logic surrounding this discussion...

Gonna try this again for the new page. The misinformation in this thread is astounding, the discussion I'm seeing has nothing at all to do with what actually transpired.
 
As others have said the title is completely wrong and a bit inflammatory.
They're just not paying for drag acts. Drag queens, cis or trans, are still welcome to celebrate at what is a essentially a small non-commercial pride event.

Theres a interesting discussion to be had regarding drag and inherent misogyny and transmisogyny...

Dressing in drag mocks the feminine, be you trans girl or cis lesbian

No...what no..just no.
I'm honestly really mad at these statements right now.
While certain drag acts and specific drag queens can be both misogynistic and transmisogynistic (and it needs to be called out and explored), this is a complete and total misunderstanding of drag as both an art form and important outlet for gender expression.

Femininity does not belong to the female gender identity or dfab people.
There are plenty of gender-nonconforming feminine presenting/performing cis (and trans) queer boys who use drag as an outlet for expressing their femininity in a society which doesn't affirm or celebrate effeminacy in male identified or dmab individuals.
Dressing in drag doesn't inherently mock the feminine nor is it inherently misogynistic or transmisogynistic. It's completely absurd to make those statements, it's gender policing, and it also shows a large amount of ignorance on the part of the individuals making this claim.
 

Syriel

Member
essentially they are saying dressing in drag mocks transgenders...

i guess it can be true depending on the context? seems weird anyway

Sounds like they're picking up tips from the hard core conservative crowd.

Conservative: "Gay marriage is a mockery of traditional marriage."
Pride producer: "Hey, we can use that! Drag queens are a mockery of transgenders!"

Why be open and accepting when you can hate your way to the top?
 

Jokergrin

Member
The title is a bit misleading. They aren't banning drag people.

They are just not allowing drag performances up on stage

This makes sense, drag is a parody of gender. Nothing wrong with drag, but it does not relate to gender identity, a trans pride event doesnt seem like an appropriate time to feature drag performances.


This might also be coming off the heels of some friction between those communities, such as Rupaul, a cis-male, using slurs like tranny or shemale.
 

Wavebossa

Member
That was me and I was clear with the labels. Gay, Transsexual (didn't use tg), CD, and DQ are all different types of people to me. I wouldn't lump in the trans label with each other outside of TG and being TG isn't even the same as gay one is expression of gender the other is how you fuck. You conflated I didn't and am not doing so now.



Not even close considering that the LGBTQ movement and how closely the struggle has been on certain issues. Also another user even cited his own exact experience with what I mentioned. Fine it's not your personal experience but to say it doesn't exist is just nuts. It's irrational hate like most others but it's highly hypocritical considering the movement and some of its base causes.



Didn't think you were or even mean to imply it.



Its nice to assume you didn't know what I clearly put out to most gaffers here about who I am. Good you wish to inform me but my point is pretty clear I don't get an irrational hate, not that I think everyone should be nice to each other. I'm not that naive I don't think most in here are either. Feel free to check my history and that I've said the same exact thing or made others aware of the BS hate that goes on in the LGBTQ movement.

Hmm... I feel like something was lost in translation here. I apologize if what I said wasn't clear.

Someone said "I cant believe gay men would ever hate/have something against trans people" I assumed his reasoning was something akin to "they have similar struggles, how could they hate each other"

And my response was, to assume that similar struggles would mean no infighting is oversimplifying it.

So... yeah that's all i was saying.
 

Izuna

Banned

Ummm, their post on their site is quoted in the OP.

They have done exactly what we in the thread are disappointed at.

ding ding ding

thread titled should be edited, its misleading.

Thread could be edited to say "Drag queen acts banned..." and you'll get the same response. A mod can change this, doesn't make it ANY less disgusting and the OP had their quote.

This guy just posted an opinion piece quoting the same text, that just argues semantics.
 
How is this any better? "Hey, welcome to the Pride event. But please shut up and don't sing or be happy because fuck you."

"We don't want to pay cisgender people to perform at our free-to-attend trans pride" is just fine. Are you suggesting that cisgender drag queens are entitled to be paid and given a platform at any pride event?

Ummm, their post on their site is quoted in the OP.

They have done exactly what we in the thread are disappointed at.

Not centering cis people at a trans event? That's ridiculous.
 

mantidor

Member
What? In my city we have gay pride events almost every month. And the LGBT community does stuff like this:

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ng1O4PkcBlU/hqdefault.jpg[IMG]

And this is not only on my city. This seems to be the face of almost every gay parade I've seen.

So why are gays and lesbians banning drag queens from doing their acts? Being a drag queen is not only about the clothing, it is also about the show. They are flamboyant and extravagant, that's the whole point!

Personally I don't think its fair. People who have struggled to be accepted by society are now dictating what others can or can't do?[/QUOTE]

Oh boy that image of the gogo boys dancing in their undies is controversial in itself, many gay people loath it and cite it as reason to not attend pride events.

I actually used to think like that, but I realized how wrong I was, if this is how people want to express themselves I'm really in no position to tell them they shouldn't, and maybe I should organize and make a wing of prudish gays like me in the parade, no one will probably pay attention because it would be boring. :P but that is the idea of pride, to not be embarrassed about who you are.

Pride is a very interesting event, it used to be about having the guts to show yourself, which as an lgbt person is not easy even now, imagine 30 years ago. Now it's a big party.
 

Rest

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
Yes yes, exclude people that are trying to move society towards accepting people, so that you can be more inclusive of people. That makes sense. Perfect, perfect sense.
 

VegiHam

Member
So here's the thing, I think all they've done is say they aren't hiring Drag acts or having any drag officially involved. They aren't saying Drag queens can't be there. The decision was as I understand it a vote among Trans and non binary people who feel drag is negatively affecting them. If we're forced to choose between the Trans community feeling welcome at the expense of the Drag communities right to be the centre of attention then that seems like a fair choice.

Drag isn't inherently transphobic or anything but there is a lot of transphobia in the modern drag community. I think if your main joke is 'hey look, isn't the juxtaposition between my bodies masculine characteristics and my feminine performance hilarious?'; then any audience that agrees is going to be an unpleasant place for a transwoman to be you know? I feel like we need to examine Drag and its role in the community and not yell 'hey remember stonewall though' at people who feel offended and marginalised. Drag runs the risk, as I see it, of becoming our Zwarte Piet; where we refuse to listen to people's genuine grievances because it's 'traditional' and 'just fun and not meant to offend anyone.'
 

Izuna

Banned
"We don't want to pay cisgender people to perform at our free-to-attend trans pride" is just fine.



Not centering cis people at a trans event? That's ridiculous.

Where are you getting this "trans pride" stuff from? They themselves said LGBTQ... community and are basically saying the Q part is offensive to the T, so fuck the Q because T comes before Q.
 

Scrooged

Totally wronger about Nintendo's business decisions.
Rejecting your own cis allies? Sounds like a great plan.

This 'us' vs 'them' mentality is getting out of control.
 
Where are you getting this "trans pride" stuff from? They themselves said LGBTQ... community and are basically saying the Q part is offensive to the T, so fuck the Q because T comes before Q.

It's a free pride event that centers trans pride, because most other pride events don't. My city (7th largest in the US) had zero trans booths at Pride (though many trans orgs certainly wanted to participate), and the only group to bear a trans pride flag during the parade was an anti-fascist organization. Lots and lots of drag, tho.

Also, omg, are you suggesting the Q stands for Queens?
 

Ishida

Banned
Oh boy that image of the gogo boys dancing in their undies is controversial in itself, many gay people loath it and cite it as reason to not attend pride events.

I actually used to think like that, but I realized how wrong I was, if this is how people want to express themselves I'm really in no position to tell them they shouldn't, and maybe I should organize and make a wing of prudish gays like me in the parade, no one will probably pay attention because it would be boring. :p but that is the idea of pride, to not be embarrassed about who you are.

Pride is a very interesting event, it used to be about having the guts to show yourself, which as an lgbt person is not easy even now, imagine 30 years ago. Now it's a big party.

Yeah, don't get me wrong. I didn't post the image as a rant or anything. I just posted it to illustrate how the gay pride parades usually look: Guys in their underwear, dressed as fairies or butterflies, partying, singing, screaming, dancing, etc.

I mean, that looks like a party to me, nothing serious at all. I was replying to the user saying that the gay pride event is supposed to be "serious", and "that would be the reason they are banning drag queens from performing".
 
Funny considering how much RuPaul Drag Race pushes gay acceptance. This is really counterproductive.

RuPaul famously got into a spat recently because of a mini-challenge called "female" or "she-males", where queens had to guess the biologically born gender of a person based on closeup photos. The backlash caused Logo TV to pull a "You've Got She-mail" catchphrase from the show.

This continued when she went on Marc Meron's WTF podcast and defended the use of 'tranny.' The context partly because Ru is much older than she lets on, and has probably been hurled every insult on the planet including that and feels like she owns it enough to regard it as a term of empowerment when used at queens.


I can see where the potential disconnect and friction comes from in the larger LGBT context, but eeeeeeeeeeh I have an opinion but it's based on a lifetime without gender dysphoria so I'll defer to those with a very personal horse in this race.
 
I think context and intent is what's important in addressing whether dragon queens are good or not. Would someone dressing up as a drag queen in support for transgender be harmful? Context and intent matters where as dressing up in a sense to mock transgender is a whole different issue. I don't think you can make a blanket statement regarding it.

oazrnIR.gif
 

BamfMeat

Member
Oh boy that image of the gogo boys dancing in their undies is controversial in itself, many gay people loath it and cite it as reason to not attend pride events.

I actually used to think like that, but I realized how wrong I was, if this is how people want to express themselves I'm really in no position to tell them they shouldn't, and maybe I should organize and make a wing of prudish gays like me in the parade, no one will probably pay attention because it would be boring. :p but that is the idea of pride, to not be embarrassed about who you are.

Pride is a very interesting event, it used to be about having the guts to show yourself, which as an lgbt person is not easy even now, imagine 30 years ago. Now it's a big party.

They are there, they call themselves Log Cabin Republicans :p (I kid!) But seriously, you don't have to be in fancy-pants wear to be in the parade. I've been in a pride parade and I'm as fairly plain looking as you can get. And I wasn't wearing skimpy shit - I'm a big boy - aint most people wantin' to see my ass.

Pride is for everyone, gay, transgender, straight ally, everyone.

That being said, there are some guys in short-shorts
and they make great eye-candy.
 

collige

Banned
"We don't want to pay cisgender people to perform at our free-to-attend trans pride" is just fine. Are you suggesting that cisgender drag queens are entitled to be paid and given a platform at any pride event?



Not centering cis people at a trans event? That's ridiculous.

I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that this only applies to drag performers hired by the event itself. The official comment on this matter calls it a "policy on having no drag performers" and the Facebook page refers to it as a "blanket ban of drag performers".
 

Jokergrin

Member
Thread could be edited to say "Drag queen acts banned..." and you'll get the same response. A mod can change this, doesn't make it ANY less disgusting and the OP had their quote.
.

There's a difference between declining to invite drag acts to perform and banning drag queens. This is an event specifically for Trans Pride, they are just taking the focus off cis men by declining to feature an art form which is dominated by them, and has nothing to do with trans issues, and which makes some trans people uncomfortable.
 

Izuna

Banned
It's a free pride event that centers trans pride, because most other pride events don't. My city (7th largest in the US) had zero trans booths at Pride (though many trans orgs certainly wanted to participate), and the only group to bear a trans pride flag during the parade was an anti-fascist organization. Lots and lots of drag, tho.

What it is, is a Pride event that is, as you are saying, excluding drag queens. And the agency behind it basically says that some find drag offensive and are basically agreeing that it is offensive.

How about telling the trans community to accept instead? After all, it is Pride right?

No matter how much you try to explain their reasoning for excluding drag queens, it's not accepting. And that is what is bullshit. If you don't think it is bullshit, that's fine. But were not uninformed by being upset at this decision.
 

Ishida

Banned
There's a difference between declining to invite drag acts to perform and banning drag queens. This is an event specifically for Trans Pride, they are just taking the focus off cis men by declining to feature an art form which is dominated by them, and has nothing to do with trans issues, and which makes some trans people uncomfortable.

Well, then those trans people should be a little more progressive and accepting. They have been demanding respect and acceptance for a long time now. The least they can do is to be accepting of others and let go of the dragphobia.
 
I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that this only applies to drag performers hired by the event itself. The official comment on this matter calls it a "policy on having no drag performers" and the Facebook page refers to it as a "blanket ban of drag performers".

What it is, is a Pride event that is, as you are saying, excluding drag queens. And the agency behind it basically says that some find drag offensive and are basically agreeing that it is offensive.

How about telling the trans community to accept instead? After all, it is Pride right?

No matter how much you try to explain their reasoning for excluding drag queens, it's not accepting. And that is what is bullshit. If you don't think it is bullshit, that's fine. But were not uninformed by being upset at this decision.

Y'all are ignorant. Not paying one group to perform at a free event isn't "exclusion", it's just not giving cisgender drag queens special privileges. It's literally an entitlement issue. Furthermore, they've taken the step of agreeing to hire drag queens who are trans at this event. If you have a problem with this, it's likely that you're either unaware of the oppression dynamics that trans people face from society or you just don't care.
 

mantidor

Member
RuPaul famously got into a spat recently because of a mini-challenge called "female" or "she-males", where queens had to guess the biologically born gender of a person based on closeup photos. The backlash caused Logo TV to pull a "You've Got She-mail" catchphrase from the show.

There's something interesting there, the challenge was supposed to be identifying women or drag queens, when the show used the term "shemale" it was meant to be about drag queens, not transgendered women. But both groups are mixed and those words are used as slurs against both groups, so a sizeable portion of transgendered people obviously felt offended. The thing is that most drag queens have appropriated those slurs and have all the right to do so, so they don't see it as offensive, because for them they are being playful, for them is black people calling other black people "nigga".
 

Chariot

Member
Y'all are ignorant. Not paying one group to perform at a free event isn't "exclusion", it's just not giving cisgender drag queens special privileges. It's literally an entitlement issue. Furthermore, they've taken the step of agreeing to hire drag queens who are trans at this event. If you have a problem with this, it's likely that you're either unaware of the oppression dynamics that trans people face from society or you just don't care.
The problem though, is that quote:
“The decision was taken by transgender individuals who were uncomfortable with having drag performances at the event. It was felt that it would make some of those who were transgender or questioning their gender uncomfortable."
 

Izuna

Banned
Y'all are ignorant. Not paying one group to perform at a free event isn't "exclusion", it's just not giving cisgender drag queens special privileges. It's literally an entitlement issue. Furthermore, they've taken the step of agreeing to hire drag queens who are trans at this event. If you have a problem with this, it's likely that you're either unaware of the oppression dynamics that trans people face from society or you just don't care.

No what I understand is that you don't feel drag queens should share the call for acceptance as trans people. If this were a trans event, then there would be no need for even say that are banning drag queens.

Whatever reason, they are condoning people feeling discomfort to see people in drag. Be they trans or not, people who are offended looking at drag have no right to ask for equality.

Hey, I've been to drag performances. And sure enough, a majority of the performers incorporated vocal transmisogyny into their acts. There's a reason people feel this way.

So T's feelings comes before Q's huh. I'm not saying that I don't understand, but this is not the step in the right direction at all.
 

VegiHam

Member
Y'all are ignorant. Not paying one group to perform at a free event isn't "exclusion", it's just not giving cisgender drag queens special privileges. It's literally an entitlement issue. Furthermore, they've taken the step of agreeing to hire drag queens who are trans at this event. If you have a problem with this, it's likely that you're either unaware of the oppression dynamics that trans people face from society or you just don't care.

But you don't undeeeeerstaaand man, Drag is an ancient pride tradition and has a right to be everywhere all the time. It's so hypocritical that Trans people want to feel comfortable and not marginalised at pride, omg. /s
 

Chariot

Member
Hey, I've been to drag performances. And sure enough, a majority of the performers incorporated vocal transmisogyny into their acts. There's a reason people feel this way.
That may very well be. But you were confused why people are upset. And that statement is more of a reason than not getting payed to perform.
 
No what I understand is that you don't feel drag queens should share the call for acceptance as trans people. If this were a trans event, then there would be no need for even say that are banning drag queens.

Whatever reason, they are condoning people feeling discomfort to see people in drag. Be they trans or not, people who are offended looking at drag have no right to ask for equality.

Drag culture has a rich history of transmisogyny. At my local Pride, they always pay drag queens to perform, and they always trot out their anti-transgender bullshit. Not all drag performers are that way, but it's hardly shocking that many would feel it's an issue. They aren't preventing drag performers from attending the event--they're not addressing any discomfort one might feel "to see people in drag". They're simply not hiring cisgender drag performers, who are often transmisogynstic, at an event that's centering trans people as a response to most Prides erasing trans existence.

That may very well be. But you were confused why people are upset. And that statement is more of a reason than not getting payed to perform.

I'm not confused as to why people are upset. People are upset because entitled people have been spinning this story as "banning drag queens", promoting misinformation and trying to cause actual harm to the event.
 

Ishida

Banned
Hey, I've been to drag performances. And sure enough, a majority of the performers incorporated vocal transmisogyny into their acts. There's a reason people feel this way.

The issue here is that the event is supposed to be about PRIDE. As in "I'm PROUD to be who I am. I'm proud to be gay/lesbian/trans".

If a bunch of guys in drag makes you feel unconfortable about yourself and your preferences.... Then just how "proud" you really are? Not every proud, I would think.
 
I wish the organizers of this event would realize that just because you are transgender doesn't automatically make you progressive or for gender equality.

Do the right thing and ignore those who feel uncomfortable by drag.
 

cyberheater

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“The decision was taken by transgender individuals who were uncomfortable with having drag performances at the event. It was felt that it would make some of those who were transgender or questioning their gender uncomfortable."

I can't put my finger on it but something about this statement feels off. Someone who is male but self identifies as female is uncomfortable about another male who dresses up as female.

Nope. It's too nuanced for me. I just don't get it.
 

mantidor

Member
They are there, they call themselves Log Cabin Republicans :p (I kid!) But seriously, you don't have to be in fancy-pants wear to be in the parade. I've been in a pride parade and I'm as fairly plain looking as you can get. And I wasn't wearing skimpy shit - I'm a big boy - aint most people wantin' to see my ass.

Oh I've been to many prides, what I meant was actually participating in the parade forming a section of nerdy gays or something like theres a pflag section or lesbians in motorcycle sections, not just staying on the sides watching it.
 
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