Drag Performances were always rooted in sexism (Some videos of lesbians also speaking in the 70s about this at a Gay Rally) You can see the dismissive looks from the men in the crowd...as usual.

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[–]MarkTwainiac 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

But a lot of drag artists are really just men looking for a fun and creative outlet for their femininity.

I think most drag artists are men looking for a lucrative outlet for their flamboyance and histrionics that will get them lots of attention. And which will allow them to impersonate and mock 51% of the human race whilst telling themselves that we "are really just men looking for a fun and creative outlet for our femininity."

In fact, gay male flamboyance, theatricality, narcissism and playing dress up have absolutely nothing to do with femininity - which Oxford defines as "qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of women."

These men are not acting demurely, putting others first, making sure everyone else is happy and fed, fading into the background, wiping everyone's noses and asses, tending to the elderly and sick, swallowing their feelings, taking up as little space as possible, shutting the F up and suffering in silence.

To the contrary, these men are on stage saying "look at me me me" and celebrating themselves and other men like them for adopting twisted, stereotypical, superficial notions of what it means to be female and laughing their asses off as they rake in the bucks.

I've known lots of gay male drag performers over many decades. None of them was in way what I would call "feminine." They are theatrical, flamboyant, attention-seeking showboats. Funny and entertaining, often devilishly so - yes. But there's nothing female-like or feminine about them. Just like there was/is not anything feminine or female-like about Liberace, Little Richard, Harvey Feinstein back in the day or Sam(s) Smith(s) or Jacob Tobias or Alok Vain Menon today.

We have to stop describing men who dress and behave a bit differently to stereotypically macho men as "feminine." It's akin to "not like other girls."

[–]yousaythosethings 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I don’t think they’re “feminine” either, but I see this mostly as semantics based on the lack of a better word. I would also say that “feminine” is absolutely not understood to be the same thing on a man as on woman.

I barely know anything about the people you mention at the end of your post. I agree from what little I know that they are attention-seeking, not effeminate. But again, my personal experience doesn’t exactly line up with your own.

[–]MarkTwainiac 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I barely know anything about the people you mention at the end of your post. I agree from what little I know that they are attention-seeking, not effeminate. But again, my personal experience doesn’t exactly line up with your own.

That's fine. I never expected that our experiences, or the experiences of any strangers on the internet, would line up.

But I am confused: I thought in your comment upthread you claimed to have special insight into the psychology and motives of gay men who do drag and to have far more authority on the subject than most of us here:

a lot of drag artists are really just men looking for a fun and creative outlet for their femininity. I don’t feel satirized by it and I am probably much closer to the subject of the supposed satire than most people who flock to Gender Critical spaces.

That statement of yours struck me as full of prejudice - I mean, how do you know what these men are looking for, and how can you tell what people who "flock to" GC spaces look and behave like? But I chose not to argue over your presumptions about GC people here. Instead, I took issue with, and attempted to debunk, just the part in which you claim that

a lot of drag artists are really just men looking for a fun and creative outlet for their femininity.

Now in response, you don't answer any of my points. Instead, in reference to my mention of long world-famous flamboyant gay men such as

Liberace, Little Richard, Harvey Feinstein back in the day or Sam(s) Smith(s) or Jacob Tobias or Alok Vain Menon today.

You say you

barely know anything about the(m).

Then how on earth are you an authority on this topic and why are you claiming to have more insight than someone like me? LOL

[–]yousaythosethings 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I have to respond to this later when I can write a full response bc I kept falling asleep while typing out my last comment to you. To be clear, the people I know little about are the new non-binary types like Alok and Tobias, and this is because I actively try to keep them off my radar though unfortunately they try to find their way in.