I’ve been seeing a lot of memes like the one below and I get that the idea is to call out people who oppose drag queens, cross-dressing, or the very existence of trans people. But they’ve got it wrong.
Context matters
It’s not about a fear of things that resemble dresses on men. It’s a fear of threats to the status quo – especially male power. The following (all memes I’ve seen) are not equivalent because they do not upset the status quo:
- A king dressed in kingly robes and jeweled crown
- A priest in a gold-trimmed cassock
- A Scotsman in a kilt (I dare you to tell a Scotsman in a kilt that he’s not manly)
- A 17th-century courtier in the Palace of Versailles
Boys are deluged from infancy with messages that half the world is off limits for their exploration; that anything associated with (shudder) girls is gross and a threat to their very existence in society.
This is why it is important for drag queens to read stories to young children. Someone needs to model that you can be different and still grow up to be happy and successful. And that just maybe half the world isn’t so disgusting you’d be tainted for life if you touched it.
Alternate memes closer to the truth:
