quote:

Originally posted by CHAS:
Glad I am simply G. That is enough to deal with.

Moi aussi.

quote:

I wonder if they realize they are affirming those traditional roles when they take on the label.

I have actually always sort of thought this about drag queens. It's basically the same esthetic as Kim Kardashian, all kinds of things that feminists in the 70s were trying to get away from in terms of expectations of female beauty.

Plus, I f*cking hate high heels. To me, they are the ultimate symbol of sexist expectations for what makes someone sexy. Bad for your feet, bad for your back, not comfortable to move in, walk in, dance in...

But there's something to be said for being transgressive...

In any case, I'm more interested in supporting someone's right to be a drag queen, or claim a trans-identity, so maybe there are some contradictions? I can live with that.

As long as I'm not the one wearing heels.

It's a paradox. I did and didn't conform to gender expectations when I was growing up. I knew I was a gay male, and a lot of adults knew it but would never speak about it.

On the other hand, I failed at many male gender normative (as they existed for boys of my social background at the time). I couldn't play baseball. I couldn't play football. My stepfather would have settled for soccer. He didn't even get this.

I liked gymnastics and tennis. My mother and stepfather had no frame of reference.

It wasn't enough that you played, "sports." You had to sit around and watch sports on television every holiday while the women and girls had to stay in the kitchen.