Madea is a Black-Ass Drag Queen
Welcome to This Black-Ass Life! Happy Pride! This week, we want to talk about when it is or isn’t “socially acceptable” to be a drag queen. Hint: It’s trifling! We also celebrate the most important artist of our time and the youngest artist to chart on Billboard and individually be credited in a Grammy Award win, Blue Ivy Carter.
I. The Facts
In the past year alone, state legislatures and conservative governors have introduced 26 bills aimed at strictly limiting drag performances. This past week, a federal judge ruled that the most draconian of these, the Tennessee law strictly limiting drag shows was "unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad,” infringing on the First Amendment right of drag performers. This is good news, but 9 GOP-led state legislatures still have pending anti-drag laws.
The Tennessee bill restricted "adult cabaret performances" in public or in the presence of children and banned them from happening within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, or places of worship.
The signs some held in support of the Tennessee bill tell you how unserious and foundationally ludicrous the reasonings behind these bills are:
"Queer theory is a nationwide playbook trying to indoctrinate our children!”
Drag Story Hour is “sexually manipulative sleaze!”
“Stop twerking our kids!” ← I (Jumoke) know this is not even the point, but it really bothers me how much sense this does not make. Marybeth, you have lost your mind!
The truth is that since we’ve been keeping records of such things, humans have participated in drag and have had a grand ol’ time. According to a historian, drag as an art form subverts “what people think they know about gender.” From the time of William Shakespeare to 1860s Harlem, the drag artists have been out here.
Fun fact! D.C. is actually one of the epicenters of drag history in America thanks to the incredible William Dorsey Swann, a formerly enslaved person who was also the first American activist to lead a queer resistance group and the first American to call themself a drag queen.
During one of the police raids in 1888, William confronted the police in a cream satin gown. The charge? “Being a suspicious character.” This is simply the coolest human to have ever lived.
Why does it matter?
The anti-drag people don’t actually know what they are fighting against. What they know is they love a strict adherence to enforcing rigid gender roles where patriarchy reigns supreme. It’s no coincidence that the anti-drag movement is happening at the same time as the heightened forced-birth movement and the attacks on no-fault-divorces.
These hateful laws are founded in nothing, revel in hypocrisy and punishment for punishment’s sake, and put us all at risk, especially Black-ass queer and trans people.
Moreover, Drag seems to only be ok if it’s done by men who want to engage in homophobia, sexism, anti-fatness, transphobia, and/or misogynoir.
Tennessee’s own governor was in drag.
As early as 1969, Flip Wilson brought out the liberated, Southern Geraldine.
Madea is drag. Look at the budget, vocals, and performance in MaChella.
White Chicks was drag. Here’s how much work went into this drag.
A few Martin Lawrence hits as Sheneneh and of course as Big Momma.
Jamie Foxx’s Wanda was a recurring character on In Living Color.
Making fun of fat people in Nutty Professor was a success while playing Rasputia in Norbit allegedly cost Eddie Murphy his deserved Oscar for Dreamgirls.
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.’s cult classic Juwanna Mann feels like a transphobic fever dream.
We deserve a world that is expansive and loving in its thinking, care, and resource distribution. Full stop.
What can my Black ass do?
Give to or share about organizations supporting Black trans people.
Support Drag Story Hour.
Donate to or share about the Drag Defense Fund.
Show up for and support your local drag queens.
Revisit the very complicated documentary Paris is Burning.
II. Other Things
Black-ass happenings
Internationally renowned creative director, tour manager, and tallest person in the world, Blue Ivy Carter, has graced Europe with her dance prowess.
This is not a drill. We have a Charlie Wilson Tiny Desk.
Here’s NPR’s Tank-curated Black Music Month Tiny Desk lineup.
Tyler James Williams seems like a lovely brother and co-star.
I (Mitu) am Spider-Verse hive. Shout out to its success at the box office.
Keke Palmer is so charming.
Our talented friend Cynthia Gordy-Giwa and her husband’s documentary The Sun Rises in The East, is now available on Prime Video. Please support them by doing the following:
Rent or buy The Sun Rises in The East (runtime: 1 hour) on Prime Video.
After watching, rate the film. And leave a (glowing) review!
Our Black-Ass song(s) of the week (Mitu):
Monalo and Flo Milli make a strong point with Goddess.
Things we look forward to:
I (Jumoke) look forward to the beach this summer.
I (Mitu) look forward to Janelle Monáe’s album The Age of Pleasure coming out 6/9 (get it? wink!).
lll. Text from a Black-Ass Parent
My (Jumoke’s) dad retired six months ago and is now in his dream interpreter era.
Stay Black, have a snack, and take a nap today. We'll hit your inbox next on June 20!