feet of clay
So I will admit that I sometimes/often place people on pedestals (while at the same time fully expecting them to disappoint me.) I know that you shouldn't do that, that people are just people, and we all have feet of clay yadda,yadda, yadda.
But this week has been a week of serious disillusionment with the people I used to think of as heroes.
The femme girl who I thought was all TCB actually ended up being kinda flaky.
The surly guy at my job who said he'd stayed for so long because he really liked coffee/espresso theory just upped and quit.
I just realized that Genre and Gigi, the two most amazing drag performers in Atlanta, really have no intention of holding a costume workshop. I think they were just bullshitting the stupid fan to get me to shut up about the idea.
And my burlesque inspiration, Dirty Martini, ends up being a racist. Well, not exactly a racist. It just turns out that she supports the work of Shirley Q. Liquor, a notorious, southern drag queen who performs in blackface, speaking in what he believes to be black vernacular. Who likes to make jokes about picking up her WIC check, not knowing who her baby daddy is and, in short, is a charicature of everything that racist whites believe about most black women.
I happened to visit Dirty's myspace profile and noticed she has a Shirley Q. Liquor bit as her profile song. I was shocked and a little disappointed. But instead of jumping to conclusions, I decided to send her an email asking what was up. Maybe it was an accident, maybe she wanted folks to hear the fucked up things this queen has been known to say? I was hoping for anything positive. I really wanted to believe that the person who has inspired a good part of my burlesque wasn't just some vapid , "can't-ya-just-take-a-joke", passive asshat.
And her reply was saddening for me to say the least:
"The reason that I choose to support Shirley Q.'s unique comedy is that I find her reflection of popular culture and musical performances hilariously funny...."
and later in the letter:
"Please remember that the actor that brings Shirley Q. to life is a gay man in the south and most likely knows a thing or two about oppression...."
I'm sure he does know a thing or two about opression, but if you're raised in the south you probably know a thing or two about the history of blackface,too. And how perfoming in blackface, as a stereotype of the modern welfare mother might be construed as insensitive at best or downright offensive to black women.
Gah, it's just so frustrating.
I'm trying to take the stance that everyone has a right to their opinion. But my feelings are really hurt. A fat, queer grrrl should know better. This one does.
But this week has been a week of serious disillusionment with the people I used to think of as heroes.
The femme girl who I thought was all TCB actually ended up being kinda flaky.
The surly guy at my job who said he'd stayed for so long because he really liked coffee/espresso theory just upped and quit.
I just realized that Genre and Gigi, the two most amazing drag performers in Atlanta, really have no intention of holding a costume workshop. I think they were just bullshitting the stupid fan to get me to shut up about the idea.
And my burlesque inspiration, Dirty Martini, ends up being a racist. Well, not exactly a racist. It just turns out that she supports the work of Shirley Q. Liquor, a notorious, southern drag queen who performs in blackface, speaking in what he believes to be black vernacular. Who likes to make jokes about picking up her WIC check, not knowing who her baby daddy is and, in short, is a charicature of everything that racist whites believe about most black women.
I happened to visit Dirty's myspace profile and noticed she has a Shirley Q. Liquor bit as her profile song. I was shocked and a little disappointed. But instead of jumping to conclusions, I decided to send her an email asking what was up. Maybe it was an accident, maybe she wanted folks to hear the fucked up things this queen has been known to say? I was hoping for anything positive. I really wanted to believe that the person who has inspired a good part of my burlesque wasn't just some vapid , "can't-ya-just-take-a-joke", passive asshat.
And her reply was saddening for me to say the least:
"The reason that I choose to support Shirley Q.'s unique comedy is that I find her reflection of popular culture and musical performances hilariously funny...."
and later in the letter:
"Please remember that the actor that brings Shirley Q. to life is a gay man in the south and most likely knows a thing or two about oppression...."
I'm sure he does know a thing or two about opression, but if you're raised in the south you probably know a thing or two about the history of blackface,too. And how perfoming in blackface, as a stereotype of the modern welfare mother might be construed as insensitive at best or downright offensive to black women.
Gah, it's just so frustrating.
I'm trying to take the stance that everyone has a right to their opinion. But my feelings are really hurt. A fat, queer grrrl should know better. This one does.