Here We Are Now, Entertain Us

(Repost from Substack when I moved my blog)

This song in the above's title repeated over and over in my head while I was thinking about this concept. The concept of queer and trans people being liked and accepted when it comes to entertaining others until we ask for rights, and suddenly we’ve gone too far. That’s right, your bigoted Uncle has probably secretly watched Drag Race, listened to Lady Gaga with fervor, or even *gasp* gone to the theater to see a play. Queer people are accepted everywhere in the US, if they’re entertaining others.

But, you say, they went after drag story times first! And you’re right. However, with how active Grindr was at the Republican national convention, It makes me feel as if that policy is only pandering to their religious base. For example, Republican Candidate for Governor in Arizona came out against Drag shows in 2022, only to then have her drag friend speak up and reveal that she’s done shows for her and her kids in her own home.

Photo By Bret Kavanaugh on Unsplash

The hypocrisy makes me think about the envelopment of Republican’s love of art and media, and how much of that same media they are also condemning? To me it seems obvious that they only accept us as individuals if we are making certain kinds of art. If we are in a Broadway play that they go see, if we paint the art that they hang above their mantle. It gives me an uneasy feeling knowing that they only care if we’re entertaining them, but want us invisible the rest of the time.

This isn’t new, not by a long shot. The early 1900’s were ripe with this hypocrisy, but for black people. They were seen by white people for their entertainment as they treated them like a spectacle. Jazz shows, actors and actresses in movies, singers, and more entranced the white population so much that they tried to take it for themselves, as white people often do. So much so that they turned them into a caricature, manifesting as horrible minstrel shows put on in black face costume.

“By distorting the features and culture of African Americans—including their looks, language, dance, deportment, and character—white Americans were able to codify whiteness across class and geopolitical lines as its antithesis”, (NMAAH, Smithsonian). Many, including myself, would say this is what we sometimes still do with Black entertainers. ‘Other’ them as entertainment and then use it to justify white supremacy.

So where do we see this parallel with queer and trans individuals? Well, it’s been made clear before that bigots only have one playbook. Queer and trans culture is very entwined with black culture. There are black queer trailblazers that made queer culture what it is today. Many of these folks are entertainment oriented as art has long been used to make someone’s voice louder and prouder. Usually furthering queer rights and visibility in the process.

Channing Gerard Joseph in 2022 explained in a TedTalk this very history, “People like Bayard Rustin, a gay Black man who organized the March on Washington in 1963, leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Or Frances Thompson, a formerly enslaved Black woman, assigned male at birth, whose harrowing congressional testimony about the Memphis race riots of 1866 helped shape the course of Reconstruction and galvanized support for the 14th Amendment, which provided Black Americans with citizenship rights and the promise of equal protection”. So it’s clear that throughout history, black and queer trailblazers have spoken up with their voice, and secured the rights that benefit all of us.

The entwined fate doesn’t stop there. Drag was inspired by ballroom in the Harlem Renaissance and the black queer scene. So was Voguing, and even most of the words that we consider to be “Queer culture” words used in modern conversation. ‘Cunty, Shade’, and many more. Courtney Cureton on WomensRepublic.net wrote a really good piece on this with an important quote about how ‘African American Vernacular English’ has been often adopted by the queer community.

“While the subculture of black and queer intersecting spaces have blurred the understanding of who is able to use this specific intersectional dialect; at the end of the day, phrases are taken out of context and deemed ‘ghetto’ in black mouths, but hilarious or ‘iconic’ in White or non-POC queer mouths”. The base of queer entertainment culture was inspired by black queer culture. And being aware of this is important, especially when we examine those who seek to erase queer culture, while still enjoying our art and entertainment.

So do I believe that eradicating queer culture is ultimately about eradicating black culture? I would probably make that assumption, though I’d want to read more viewpoints from actual black queer people. As I am white, and don’t know enough about this intersectional comparison. What I do know, is that we have the same bigots after us.

“Drag became a common component of vaudeville in America around the turn of the 20th century, with the “female impersonator” Julian Eltinge even performing on Broadway. Changing social norms and anti-crossdressing laws led to drag becoming a private activity, but during prohibition, underground clubs, already breaking the law, led to more opportunities for drag performances in what was known as “The Pansy Craze.””, (HRC). These performances ultimately led to police raids and to the famous Stonewall protest that we know the history of today.

Photo By African American Registry

In the present day, we have queer and trans artists that speak out and make points with their entertainment as their art is being actively loved and cherished by much of the US population. Those like Lil Nas X and Janelle Monae, who rose to stardom by embracing their queerness in their music. Lil Nas X was attacked by conservatives for making queer rap and country music. While Janelle Monae showcased gender nonconformity and engaged her audiences in trans and queer culture within her performances during the last Trump presidency, giving many queer people hope of a more queer world.

As artist Nik Dobrinsky of Vancouver reviews one of her performances, he describes, “But at Monáe's show there was a great deal of variety in the appearances of those in attendance. Many looked to be in their 60s, many teens and pre-teens, and every age in between. Black people, white, Asian, Hispanic—every ethnicity represented. Many appeared to conform to the so-called gender binary norm, and many didn't -But otherwise there was no clear dominant group in attendance. Some were dressed more conservatively, some more eccentrically. Hippies. Hip Hoppas. Burlesquers. Businessmen/women-looking folks. Short, tall, skinny, fat, young, old. Whatever”.

This kind of diversity is what the bigots are really afraid of. They are afraid of the inclusion that is possible, they are afraid of queer art being embraced as the norm, and they are especially afraid of everyone coming together. Maybe it’s a type of FOMO that they still engage in queer art while actively condemning it, maybe they’re just full on hypocrites. One thing I want to focus on though in the coming years, is that no matter what they do we are going to make more queer art. We will only become more visible. If they want to give us more money for it, feel free to partake.