Comments

1
Love you Glasgow. Yes, you did make a mistake, you rectified it and now everyone can enjoy the party.
2
Shame that, when quoting their statement, you failed to also acknowledge the astonishing and appalling level of vitriol (including violent abuse and harassment) that's been directed at them.
3
@2: Some people are assholes. I think I covered that.
4
Wow. Good on them for admitting they were wrong and genuinely apologizing. That is not often seen these days.
5
My sense is that a lot of the tension here stems from... how to put this. Drag, as I understand it, is a subversion of gender by way of reducing (or elevating) gender roles to absurdity. It's a you-can't-fire-me-I-quit sort of move born of the misogyny historically targeted at gay men in our culture (which isn't to say gay men are the only dragsters, etc.). On the other hand, trans* and nonbinary folks seem largely committed to refuting gender roles by embracing, rather than ridiculing, gender itself (in all its variegated glory, etc.).

So both groups are trying to reject or subvert gender roles, but one group is doing it by treating with extreme earnestness that which the other treats with extreme disdain. It's just not surprising to me that there'd be both assonance and dissonance when the two are put into proximity.

Caveats: the above are crude generalizations based on my limited experience, limited further by being an early-30s straight white cisdude, etc.
6
What a shame. I was really hoping for a Drag Queen vs Trans-woman Thunderdome match to settle this. Two queers enter, one queer leaves. My money would be on the DQ, but I would not expect high odds either way.
7
@ 5. If you're healthy, kind, rich and handsome- tick all the boxes.
8
Well, at least there wasn't excessive ennobling of either side in this kerfuffle, though it's a shame they didn't settle it at golf.
9
A controversy created becasue a bunch of Tumblr SJW's didn't want to make a simple rule of "Don't be an asshole". Jesus fucking christ.
10
@7 Pleading the fifth. But definitely not rich, at the very least.
11
@5: "So both groups are trying to reject or subvert gender roles"

No, "both" groups are not necessarily. If you're a transman or woman, how are you necessarily "subverting" gender?
12
@11 That's precisely what I'm getting at. My assessment is based on distinguishing between prescriptive gender *roles* (which both drag performers and trans* folks are subverting) and gender itself (which trans* folks generally revere and which drag performers generally satirize).

Again, I could be totally off base here, because my interest here is academic/empathetic rather than experiential, but these are the assumptions I'm making.
14
I definitely think it was the thought they might have to ban kilts which clinched it.
Jean-Paul
itsmyhusbandandme.wordpress.com
15
I kinda like the old rough & ready, '60s-style, we're-all-freaks-and we-don't-give-a-damn philosophy. Radical acceptance & radical inclusion. Much better than a sort of curated, specific-identities-only parade. 'Least, that's how I see it.
16
I love how they explain that it's okay not because it's acceptable in and of itself, but because trans people of color approved it.
17
@15 Interestingly, Free Pride has described itself as "de-radicalized".

As best I can tell, this protest group sees itself as apart from the regular pride group. They are free of charge, free of corporate sponsorship, free of offensive gender norms, free of those who are not marginalized, and - most especially - free of fun.
18
@16 I only have one close friend who is a trans person of color, so I can't really generalize. But, damn, she's way more fun and way less angry and professionally offended than the Free Pride people seem to think she should be.
19
@16 Just another example of people acquiescing to the overly-touchy, prickly and belligerent faction of the trans community. It was a mistake to exclude drag queens regardless of what "trans people of color" thought, because drag is not about them.
20
@ 15 - Oh, how I miss that attitude!
21
I give them credit for changing the policy (back) and acknowledging it was a mistake. Too often we let our egos take over and we dig in our heels rather than listening.
22
@9: "a bunch of Tumblr SJW's"

Did I stumble upon Reddit? This isn't gamergate, drop the bullshit pejoratives.
23
The patriarchal cis gay men's agenda wins again. Because the don't get enough attention already, they have to steal the limelight from the trans people that most hold in very low regard as 'traitors' to the gay scene. How much lower can they get?
24
@23. Getting attention. That what Pride events are about for you?
I've always thought they were about having Pride in one's queerness.. And every queer was welcome to be part of it.
25
@23: "they have to steal the limelight"

So the only two options available are outright banning a subset queer performers or having "limelight stolen"?

Is this about a celebration or attention? Is Pride a zero sum game? Why were the queens booked in the first place if this festival is trans-only?

Your angry response is not explaining how to better shape your ideal gathering besides complaining that drag is drawing attention away from trans-persons.

You're also arguing a point that nobody has offered, that the trans scene is considered considered to be composed of "traitors"? I don't understand here, perhaps you can elaborate the subtext.
26
I do understand how drag and its exaggerations can make a person feel uncomfortable. But the other feedback loop of feeling marginalized, how do you positively take control without taking action like banning genderfuck performances from Pride celebration?

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