The Stigma of Cross-dressing vs.Drag Kings

http://www.glbtq.com/arts/drag_kings,2.html

As I was googling information about drag kings (Mind you this became a difficult task because most of the information was about drag queens) I came across this interesting article that came from the site I posted up above. After reading the article Drag Shows: Drag Kings and Male Impersonators I got a better understanding of the culture that follows drag kings, male impersonators, transgender, crossdressing and the butch/fem lesbian.

This article alone posed a lot of differnet idea's about the masculine culture of woman that our book doesn't  fully go over. But the one topic that really caught my eye discusses the risks of dressing like a man. Performing as a man for a show is one thing, but cross-dressing in everyday life is considered somethings completely different. As a drag king your job is to entertain the croud. So trying to pull of this masculine persona becomes accepted by the public because its just for the sole purpose of entertainment. After the performance is over the drag king is expected to go back to their gender appropriate clothing. I remember after the drag show was over for me I had trouble taking my male clothing off. In fact after performing in the drag show I went out in my drag clothing. I was lucky though because the people I was with were very accepting of this kind of culture. For many drag kings this is not the case. Many drag kings have reported the negative reponses they have gotten when they have gone out into the streets with their masculine costumes. Unfortunatly cross-dressing in regular day life is not widely accepted. "The horrific example of Brandon Teena, whose life and murder was depicted in Kimberly Peirce's film Boys Don't Cry (1999), is instructive as evidence that gender deception is still considered punishable." The second the costume becomes real and strays from the idea that it was just a performance is when the public cannot handle it. Suddenly this person's identity becomes ambiguous and I think thats what society becomes scared off. They want the control of understanding and catagorizing a person's gender by appearance, but when a person cross-dresses that aspect is taken away from us. So instead of trying to understand this way of life we they lash out at it. We understand and are open to drag kings because we know the drag king's gender is a woman when they perform. But when a woman cross-dresses on the street we don't know their gender from first glance so we become aggravated with the idea that we have been decieved.

To be honest I don't think I would have the courage at this point in my life to dress like a man in an everyday setting. There may be apart of me that really enjoys dressing like a man, but I feel like the pressure society puts on woman to dress a certain way is the reason why I would never attempt it.

Meet the Predators Study

I think I’ve mentioned this a few times during class, but if I haven’t you should read it anyway: Meet the Predators, which is a discussion of how rape is depicted in our culture verses how  it actually tends to happen.

The way the studies discussed in the article were carried out is a bit counter intuitive: the researchers surveyed a population of college going men of diverse background and asked them if they had committed one or more rapes. Now, if you’re how they managed to get people to say that they’d raped, the questions were phrased in such a way that they were unambiguous but didn’t use words like rape or sexual assault. Being anonymous also helps.

Notable results from the study include:
-Around 95% of the reported rapes were committed by between 4-5% of those surveyed.
-Most rapists only targeted  people (men or women) they knew.
-The rapists who used violence exclusively targeted people they knew, and the rapists who ever targeted strangers (less than a quarter) used intoxicants.
-The averaged number of rapes around 6 each.
-None of the men in the survey ever used violence to rape a stranger.

The take away from this should be that 1) most men aren’t rapists and 2) most rapists rape repeatedly.

Tomorrow I will try to follow up on this with what the study means in the broader context of rape culture.

Naked Cowboy

This week we discussed the Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother."  We talked about how different the photograph would have been if the mother had been a father or if the photographer had been a man.  We agreed that the photograph would have been less affective.

Currently, my two friends are in New York City.  I told them to send me pictures of what they were doing so one of my friends sent me a picture of the "Naked Cowboy" in Times Square.  The very muscular man is completely naked except for his cowboy boots, underwear, and his guitar.  This obviously made me think 'what if this were a woman?'

When walking past the naked cowboy in the square, I'm sure people laugh, take pictures with him, or try to avoid him and the awkwardness altogether.  But, if it were a cowgirl, things would be different.  It would be more expected that a girl was doing it because girls "like attention." The cowboy does it to make money and get a few laughs out of people, but the audience would feel bad for a girl if she were doing it.  The people of New York would think "wow, that girl wasn't raised right" or "ew, I can't believe she would go out like that."

Also, because my friend was a girl taking these pictures of a guy, it is not as strange of a sight.  If it were a man taking pictures of a cowgirl, people would think of it as pornography or just wrong.

I am not an artist but I do have a sense of humor

In class on Monday we discussed thoroughly about women and the media. Through photographs and artwork women are often portrayed in sexually objectifying ways. After viewing a famous painting called Olympia I was able to draw a few of my own conclusions. I took from this painting was that this woman, although she was beautiful, her pose may seem to be sexual. Professor Iovannone gave our class a fun activity where we could recreate this painting and instead of a female in the picture we could add in a male. Since we rarely see men sexually objectified in paintings or artwork I decided to take the humor approach of sexually objectifying men.

I will be the first one to admit that I am no artist and I do hope everyone could look past my lack of technique and drawing skills. I do hope people can find the humor in my drawing though. Since the original painting is sexually objectifying women, I did the same for a man. The male is drawn in a suggestive position. I gave him muscles and made him very hairy. As he smoked his cigarette he managed to show off a simple smirk that gave way to his entire personality. Although this assignment was a silly activity, I really think we can learn something from it. It is very rare to see men in sexually objectifying positions that may in fact be degrading to them.

 

Bridget McKnight

 

 

Olympia(o)

Olympia, the beautiful painting by Manet, was very controversial. What made this painting so controversial was, in fact, her confrontational gaze and a number of details that show that she is a prostitute. These details include the orchid in her hair, her bracelet, pearl earrings, the black ribbon around her neck, and the oriental shawl in which she lies. Olympia's hand firmly protects her vulva, as if to emphasize her independence and sexual domination over men. The is also a black cat at the foot of Olympia's bed which is, in fact, a symbol for prostitution. Comparing Olympia to the beautifully drawn (totally kidding) Olympio, I feel as if Olympio would have had caused much more of an uproar. Men were portrayed in the nude quite frequently in art, but they would never be seen in this reclining nude form. They wouldn't have these details that hinted at them to be a prostitute. Men weren't considered to be prostitutes. I believe that Olympio's confrontational stare would not be as much of a problem as it was with Olympia. In my opinion, when trying to analysis this Olympio image, I feel myself jumping to stereotypical observations. Today, some would assume what to be going on was a homosexual, transgender, and even a drag queen being portrayed. This is because of the reclining position, the different accessories being worn, and also the presence of a man in the background. Back in the day, a sexual relationship between two men was not looked down on. It was a very acceptable action. But, I feel like an image like this would still be very controversial. It was such a strange experience to make Manet's Olympia into Olympio. But, it was such a hysterical outcome. I would like to try to do this with other art work to see what the outcome would be.  

Wheelchair as a prop

     I read in an article for class that after the show in Sydney, Australia that Lady Gaga came rolling out on in a wheelchair, some hostility had been triggered and offense was made to the disabled, so a group of disability activists chucked eggs at her for pretending to use a wheelchair. Jesse Billauer, founder of "Life Rolls On", said in a scolding manor — “I invite [Gaga] to learn more about the 5.6 million Americans who live with paralysis; they, like me, unfortunately, don’t use a wheelchair for shock value”. While I do agree in general that it would be nice for more disabled people to be casted in television and entertainment, I don't think we can blame the all-famous Lady Gaga, someone who is not disabled, for using a wheelchair as a prop in one of her shows. The main reason I believe this is because she was also dressed as a mermaid...
      I feel as if the people offended by this did not take into consideration much that she was "a mermaid", and she physically couldn't walk. I actually felt pretty crummy about her being attacked by eggs, because she certainly was not trying to disrespect anyone, if anything she's just being alternative as usual. Lady Gaga is an entertainer, and a pretty liberal one too if that means anything, and she even does that song,  ‘Born This Way’ ”, a song about all the ways in which it's fine to be different (including being disabled). She has all these crazy, over the top costumes and sets for her shows and I don't see why this got any criticism by anybody. Anyway, I feel like the shock value wasn't intended for the wheelchair that she was sitting in, but the fact she was a mermaid. The mermaid could be a metaphor for feeling different, and we know how Lady Gaga feels about being different... You can't assume though that because she's in a wheelchair that she's making negative connotations about wheelchairs,  or trying to "compare" mermaids to the disabled.
     When I saw the group of Montreal play at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, front man Kevin Barnes came out on stage on a majestic white horse and pet the horse while he belted out a tune. They announced right after that they booked a horse for this show in particular and no future shows, just because they loved New York so much.  I thought it was a cool sight to see a horse on stage. I figured if they did that every show that touring with a horse would be a very unpleasant to the creature, and some wildlife activist you find at the circus would come throw tomatoes at the band. But you couldn't reasonably say, "Kevin Barnes favors animal cruelty because he was on top a horse on stage".  So I understand that a wheelchair is more of a subtle prop ( or message) than a white horse, but when it comes down to it, it's just entertainment, and maybe Lady Gaga actually preferred to make her entrance as a mermaid on a unicycle... 

Sexual orientation should not affect one's rightfully earned achievements

     Today I was watching the Ellen DeGeneres show and she had a guest, Ryan Andresen, on the show who started as a cub scout and has worked his way up to the status where is able to receive the Eagle Award. He also happens to be gay. In light of our recent discussions surrounding LGBTQ issues I felt that this was extremely relevant and I wanted to post about it. Once Ryan's scout master found about him being gay he refused to sign the paperwork allowing Ryan to officially earn this award. Ryan's mom has started a petition against this action and is working to help her son get the award that he has rightfully earned. The petition can be found at this link:
http://www.change.org/petitions/boy-scouts-don-t-let-your-anti-gay-policy-deny-my-son-his-eagle-award
     After having the PRIDE panel come and talk abou their identities as a LGBTQ individual, I felt that this issue deserves to be recognized. This boy has worked for 12 years towards obtaining this award and his accomplishments should not go unrecognized simply because of his sexual identity. I love that Ellen has put something like this on her show. She is allowing exposure to issues of young adults who struggle to be proud of there identity in the queer community, when such hurtful consequences such as this may be the result. Ryan is so lucky to have the support of his mom and family through a tough situation like this. It's awesome to see that Ellen is allowing individuals to become aware of these inequalities and hopefully seeing they can do something about it by signing this petition!

Exposing

During the pride panel we had one of the members said something that really hit home with me. He stated that the queer community would rather have "bad" or skewered publicity then none, because at least they are being talked about. I feel like this doesn't just connect with the queer community but also with every single person that feels left out in society  I feel like right now that the queer community has the spot light with it but their are so many other issues as well that also need to be talked about. For example people with disabilities  are not really seen as people who can accomplish what other non disabled can. People feel like they must protect them and shelter then from the rest of the world. The article we read about Lady Gaga was a good example of this. People were upset about her showing up on stage in a wheelchair. Thinking she was poking fun at them. People who were disabled didn't even think twice about it. and why would they? Gaga is one of the top artist of our time, having her roll up in a wheelchair can be a sign of strength.  I feel their needs to be more moments like this in the world. Showing the world that people come in a million different ways and that we need to be able to showcase them all without thinking negatively about it.

Modern Family

The last few classes we've been talking about gay stereotypes in the media, particularly in Mitch and Cam, Modern Family's gay couple. I was home this week and had the pleasure of watching the show and there was a lesbian couple introduced.  This is the clip with which they are introduced.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151052986228204
This scene itself is full of stereotypes, and later in the episode more stereotypes abound, like all lesbians being vegetarians. The entire time I was watching this, I thought of our discussion of the way the media views people, and I can't help but think this episode perfectly sums it all up. There is a "man" in the lesbian relationship, she is somewhat butch and has a job as a contractor. In the gay couple, there is the homemaker, the mom.
This isn't the only show that is guilty of gay stereotyping, nor is gay stereotyping the only thing on TV. Everywhere you look, pretty much every show is a bag of extremes and generalizations. This is the media culture now for some reason. We are out reinforcing stereotypes, and I don't think it's helpful to anyone. Polarizing groups just reinforces the stereotypes, and even if in a show people are purposefully stereotyped, many people don't take the time to think about it and only take things for face value. It's creating a culture where it's even more okay to put people in boxes they may not belong in.

Gay Stereotypes, Helpful or Hurtful?

When talking to the pride panel there was a question asked pertaining to how they felt about the representation of gay couples on TV in particular Mitch and Cam on the show Modern Family. I remember one person had said they were glad that at the very least gays were being shown on TV, but that they were being represented in a very stereotypical way. They show one of the men as a "manly man who works and provides for the family", and the other as acting "girly, and a homemaker who stays home with the family". This is the typical gay couple stereotype that everyone believes to be true. After discussing this I opened up my Entertainment Weekly I had just received and there was an article titled "TV's New Gay Cliches", which was written by a gay columnist. The article which I brought to class basically said the same things that we had just discussed in class. This article and our class discussion made me think, are the stereotypes we have for gay couples helpful or hurtful? And is putting that same stereotype on three different TV shows helpful or hurtful? I think that it is helpful that we are starting to see more gay men on TV and that it is starting to be more normal. But placing this same stereotype on every TV show does not show an accurate portrayal of all gay men and their relationships. We need to start being more accurate in the media so that our society can really begin to understand what it is like to be a gay man or a gay couple in our modern society. 

Lady Gaga By Kate Rapp

 

On Monday October 8^th we talked about Lady Gaga in class about her depicting a disabled mermaid. My opinion about the topic was that she was giving power back to those who are disabled. And after reading a story that Perez Hilton tweeted about Lady Gaga and her reactions to what people are saying about her weight gain just proves my point even stronger. http://www.youbeauty.com/mind/celebrities-and-eating-disorders?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=OutBrain%2BCPC&utm_term=Lady-Gagas-Eating-Disorder-Is-Going-Publ

Above is a link to what I had read earlier this morning that was being passed around on Twitter talking about Lady Gaga’s “Body Revolution.” On her blog site LittleMonsters.com where she had posted pictures of herself in her bra and underwear with the caption “Bulimia and Anorexia since I was 15.” Now people anywhere, who sign up for the website, can post pictures of themselves and their body image issues and talk about them with people all around the world. This is the definition of taking back what is theirs; to be so brave to post those images on the internet and be proud of themselves. Images such as what Gaga did, people with scars who have cut themselves, dwarfism, disfigurements, and artificial body limbs have been posted on the site. Gaga has created a movement for all her little monsters everywhere to be proud of who they are because obviously… you were born this way. I give Gaga so much credit in starting this and putting herself out there for everyone to join her in this revolution. It just makes me love her so much more.

Here’s another link talking about what Gaga has done: http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/09/26/lady-gaga-puts-bulimia-and-body-image-on-the-table-in-a-big-way/