Columnist J.M. Sorrell: Misogyny as entertainment and entitlement

By J.M. SORRELL

Published: 05-02-2023 5:54 PM

In 2019, I wrote a column suggesting that drag is to misogyny as blackface is to racism. I had read about feminists who questioned the preponderance of drag at annual pride events in other cities. At the time, I was called a TERF (trans exclusionary radical feminist) which was confusing because I had publicly supported transgender equality for years.

Feminist friends thought I was naïve in my earlier allyship, and over the last few years, I have come to see the wisdom in that observation.

Kelly Kleiman’s article in the Chicago-Kent Law Review as part of a symposium on feminism is titled “Drag=Blackface.” She writes: “Drag is misogynistic, no matter who performs it. The relevant fact about gay men dressing as women is that they are men dressing as women. Drag is not about gay men and their sexuality — not, that is, about the intentions of the performers. (As with blackface, the intentions of the performers are beside the point.) Drag is not about sexuality at all, but about gender, its images and stereotypes — and those always mean things that privilege men and injure women.”

She goes on to convey that rather than being subversive, drag reaffirms the worst stereotypes of women as cartoonish objects. It comforts the public to keep women disempowered in the way that blackface assured white people of their own supremacy.

In recent years, drag has merged with transgender identity as part of the big queer melting pot. Too many progressives and politically moderate people have bought into transgender ideology without question. The “transphobic” label is potent but not accurate in many cases.

Defending women’s sports and other spaces is not transphobic. Tennis great Martina Navratilova tweeted to transgender-identified swimmer Lia Thomas, “NEWSFLASH Lia — it’s not fair. We shouldn’t have to explain it to you over and over. Also — stop explaining feminism to feminists.”

Navratilova is a leader in an organization protecting women’s sports while seeking a way for transgender athletes to participate in another category. She is a lesbian feminist who has the compassion to support transgender participation in sports while being called a TERF at every turn.

In April, a Brazilian lesbian named Maria Silva attempted suicide because she was relentlessly threatened by students at her university as she was labeled “transphobic” for stating that women need women-only spaces. The violent threat of gang rape — a trans tactic toward feminists of all kinds — was used consistently against Ms. Silva.

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The abusive terms included the most reprehensible misogyny. She was excluded from social outings involved in her course of study, and even now she is being accused of seeking attention through her suicide attempt. She was on a ventilator for several days and her mother is deeply concerned about her safety once she leaves the hospital.

Another Brazilian lesbian named Alana Oliveira, age 22, died by suicide in recent months due to the same type of harassment — mostly from the leftist party that she was profoundly committed to as a student representative. She dared to be a radical feminist, and she endured social media posts suggesting she kill herself and calling her ugly and vulgar names.

Her friend Helena Kozlakowski wrote, “I had to say goodbye. I had to cry under her coffin and say my last words … And there were some members of that academic center, who contributed to this lynching. How dare you? Unfortunately the Twitter people got what they wanted, they managed to bury her.”

It is not transphobic to question the uber patriarchal violent tactics used against women who simply want to live their authentic lives. Lesbians are not threatening to rape and torture transgender activists. Why is this unchecked by progressive and moderate forces? I dare say that too many transgender activists only confirm that biological women are distinct from transgender people who seek to claim the identity: Their persistent and vicious misogyny is the obvious red flag that tells us something is wrong here.

I have been waiting for years for transgender leaders to decry lesbophobia and violent misogyny. Not holding my breath.

The ACLU insists that transgender participation in sports does not harm women. They go so far as to state that women questioning this are the oppressors. Are sexism and misogyny so intrinsic that when women fail to accommodate everyone to our own detriment, we are the outrageous ones?

Northampton and the surrounding area have a rich and unique history of lesbian life and contributions. It seems erased now. For 40 years, most of the organizers of Noho Pride and previous named organizations worked hard to be inclusive and expansive, even when the overwhelming majority of participants were lesbians. It was not perfect but leaders were thoughtful. It seems this year’s event has been marketed primarily as a parade and drag show.

It is true that nothing stays the same, but contrary to the predictable response that I am a humorless older lesbian, I am actually funny and fair-minded. I respect the activists who paved the path for me and I expect the same. One movement for justice should not cause so much harm to a demographic that has suffered centuries of persecution. Is anyone listening?

J.M. Sorrell is a USPTA tennis professional. She is a feminist at her core and has been moved to consider gender critical perspectives as attacks against women continue. More to come.

 

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