I come to men dressing up as women from the affectionate portrayals of Northern Matriarchs, a la Les Dawson. I am a huge fan of Les Dawson and I happen to think he was a genius. His pairing, with Roy Barraclough, as Cissie and Ada, was hugely enjoyable, especially for those of us in the North of England who recognised many of our relatives in the pair. Cissie is “a cut above” Ada and despairs of her more vulgar friend. Women with curlers under their headscarf’s, constantly adjusting their ample bosom; while “kalling” (chatting) with a neighbour. Being reduced to mouthing dangerous words which could be deemed risqué (lots) or even the word “cancer”.
👆YouTube clip for anyone unfamiliar.
Pantomime
Les Dawson also played the dame, Widow Twankey, in my very first pantomime. This is a very British phenomena where the Dame is played by a man and the Prince Charming figure my a female. It is children’s entertainment and a Christmas season tradition. There did tend to be some jokes for parents, designed to go over the children’s heads, but these were mild and inoffensive.
I have only once been to a drag show (work related) and that was tailored to a female audience and men were the target of the jokes. I found it funny and not offensive, if slightly risqué. Quite whether the brave men, in the audience, were as amused I could not say.
I’ve also heard gay men say “drag” was their way of playing around with being gay, not uber masculine, and reclaiming being gender non-conforming as a positive.
The case against.
I have also heard that some of the performances are vilely misogynistic and certainly some of the one’s active on twitter seem to hate women. It’s also problematic that some drag performers think they are tapping into an inherently “feminine” energy by performing hyper-sexualised “women”. Drag Queens tend to deal in adult content and are usually to be found in nightclubs not at children’s events in Libraries!
So, I have a complicated relationship to drag but re children it’s very simple. It’s not suitable; most especially if your evening work is of a sexual nature and kids can find it on the internet.
Here is drag queen, Kitty Demure, explaining why drag is not suitable for children.
Full YouTube from Kitty Demure below. 👇
Here is Aidee H Dee, currently touring Libraries at the invitation of local councils, like Leeds City Council.
And
See also a picture from one of Aidee H Dees performances, seems a tad inappropriate to me.
Brought to you by the city that let Jimmy Savile have the run of the largest hospital!
Moreover, I will add it also seems to be a thinly disguised attempt to brainwash kids re genderidentity ideology. I would be curious about which books they are pushing.
Protesters
As many of you will know there has been a recent protest, against Drag Queen Story Hour, by members of the far right. In contrast this is the statement put out by Leeds Resisters, who declined to protest in real life. Instead they put out this statement.
I enjoyed my first drag show in NY NY back before any of y'all were born or at least almost. My attitude and reactions were similar. I had a blast. Although under certain controlled circumstances it may even be ok at a library. But on the other hand....the imagery could be stalled for regular child consumption until well they are old enough for adult entertainment. As much as folx are striving to normalize and mainstream transgenderism (sic) keep drag entertainment away from children.