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Crip Dyke's avatar

>> onnagata in kabuki, Sigma Chi fraternity brothers in a distasteful ‘ugly woman’ contest, jogappa priests worshiping Yellamma, and Matt Damon depicting a Yale University thespian in The Good Shepherd - it is not clearly established that all drag shows are inherently expressive as defined in Johnson.” <<

Wait, WHAT?

Let me see if I have this right. Drag is found in:

1. Kabuki theater

2. Fraternity traditions

3. Religious ritual celebrations

4. Movies

Therefore, drag is not expression.

I am just bursting with curiosity as to how he even pretends to think that his examples support his argument. Kabuki theater is not expressive? Fraternity rituals are not expressive? Hindu festival rituals are not expressive? Movies are not expressive?

Going to read more, but it appears he's assuming that Spectrum cannot claim a liberty interest in drag performance unless drag not only expresses something, but unless it expresses a specific political message of queer liberation each time and every time drag is used, so if there was ever a drag performance which did not involve a political message advocating queer liberation, then it did not involve any expression at all which might be relevant to the first amendment.

If that is indeed his argument, he's even more of a whack job than I thought.

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oscarphile's avatar

How did this anti-drag obsession start? It seemed to come suddenly and out of nowhere from the right. Five years ago it was not even imaginable as an issue. Did they focus-group it and determine that America overwhelmingly hated drag, and it would be a winning issue for them?

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