I found this question from the handout on Tuesday
interesting and I wasn’t sure how to answer it.
I think it’s a little of both, which is contradicting. I thought it was copying because the men in
the film wanted to be accepted and blend in with the mainstream culture so
much. A big accomplishment for them was
to go outside of the ball and pass for whatever they were pretending to be. Many of them were also very concerned with
wearing designer labels and having the luxuries that the “white, privileged”
class had, which is another example of copying.
There was a scene with one of the men who aspired to be a model and
saying how he would be in photo-shoots with the model he was talking about, which I found to be
unrealistic. While the drag/transgender
community definitely supported each other, I thought that supporting
unrealistic dreams like that is more of detriment than a good thing. Just like anyone, regardless of race, class,
sexuality, there are dreams and goals that are out of reach, like every kid
wanting to president someday. The dreams
of someday being a model, just like the one he was talking about, are another form
of copying and emulating the group that is oppressing them and they are at odds
with.
I understand how this is a challenge to the mainstream
culture, but I didn’t see how they took their struggles outside of their
community. The drag balls seemed very
isolated from the outside society. Their
community was also isolated from the mainstream culture so I wonder if other
people knew this was going on. Obviously
their families knew, but “white, privileged” class they emulated might not
have, which makes me wonder if a movement can challenge something without the
group being challenged knowing that they're being challenged.
I never really thought of whether or not the white culture actually knew they were being challenged. Or for that matter, did they really care? People today are so focused on complete acceptance for all individuals. So it would be interesting to see if more people were shocked by this kind of culture or if they completely accept it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think this movie was made in the 1990's. So would the 20 year span make a big difference in how we viewed the transgender community?
Kasey, you bring up some really good points! I think some of them may tie in to the reading tomorrow. In chapter 9, "Is Paris Burning," Bell Hooks mentions that the transgenders at the balls were ultimately trying to impersonate ruling-class white women and says that it's "clear that the femininity most sought after, most adored, was that perceived to be the exclusive property of white womanhood" (p. 148). I think this might go along with your observation that the ball culture was actually copying mainstream culture.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Hooks mentions frustration with the fact that the movie did not accurately portray the transgender community because it does not reference the family or friends of those who participate in the balls, but makes them seem completely isolated and cut off. It seems like the movie might not have portrayed the transgender community and the balls with complete accuracy.