Sharron Davies Compares Drag To Blackface & Reactions

Photo: BBC

The cast of 'RuPaul's Drag Race UK'

Drag has been part of our culture for centuries, but there's no denying it's captured the zeitgeist in recent years. At a time when we're questioning and exploring gender to a greater extent than ever before, funny and subversive performances by drag queens and drag kings can shine a spotlight on toxic masculinity and chip away at traditional gender roles.

Thanks partly to the success of RuPaul's Drag Race and its UK spin-off, and fuelled by growing LGBTQ acceptance across the board, it's arguable that drag has never been more visible. RuPaul has called drag "a big f-you to male-dominated culture", but British Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who won a silver medal at the 1980 games in Moscow, clearly isn't a fan of the art form.

AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT

"Am I the only person fed up of drag shows?" she wrote on Twitter on Saturday. "A parody of what a real woman is, like black face. Woman are juggling kids, rushing out a wholesome dinner, doing the laundry & cleaning, holding down a job all with period pains & leaky boobs if breast feeding. Enough of the stereotypes."

Am I the only person fed up of drag shows? A parody of what a real woman is, like black face. Woman are juggling kids, rushing out a wholesome dinner, doing the laundry & cleaning, holding down a job all with period pains & leaky boobs if breast feeding. Enough of the stereotypes
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) December 21, 2019

Davies's tweet immediately caused consternation on Twitter. Many found it offensive for Davis to compare drag, which is inherently celebratory, to blackface, a highly damaging and outdated form of entertainment which reflected and contributed to racial oppression by perpetuating racist tropes such as the idea that people of colour are in some way comically inferior.

Comparing drag to blackface is... Hear me out... FUCKING STUPID. I don't have kids, leaky boobs & abhor cooking.

*sighs in tired black woman* https://t.co/yaY5bH6MxJ
— 🦋 Shanaye 🦋 (@nayemonique) December 21, 2019

Comparing drag shows to black face, are you seriously for real? I think you've forgotten that using someone's skin colour to create entertainment isn't funny. I see my mother, sister, female cousins and friends, and then I see drag, I know the difference. Maybe you should too. 💅 https://t.co/40xHNC4oyc
— Francis Boulle 🏳️‍🌈🎄🌹 #LabourWillRise (@FrancisOBoulle) December 21, 2019

Meanwhile, some people pointed out that even though Davies accused drag of perpetuating stereotypes relating to women, she had done exactly that in her tweet.

enough of the stereotypes! just accept all women are mothers, all women do all the housework, all women have period pains and leaky boobs (and wtf is a ‘wholesome dinner’, anyway?) pic.twitter.com/BhXEZYGpTU
— Dr Charlotte Lydia Riley (@lottelydia) December 21, 2019

sharron davies: real women are too busy cooking, cleaning, and being mothers to do anything else

sharron davies: enough of the stereotypes https://t.co/qKEbfgmE7C
— 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎🧃 (@chvrlotte) December 21, 2019

Others said that while some bad drag acts may rely on sexist and reductive material, the vast majority of drag queens actually celebrate and pay homage to femininity.

Does misogyny exist in some drag shows? Yes.

Are all drag shows misogynistic? No.

Comparing drag to blackface is not ok. We can call out sexism without erasing another form of abuse.

‘Cause you know Sharon, black women experience racism & sexism... https://t.co/PpxNxEEY0D
— Rachael O'Byrne (@rachael_obyrne) December 21, 2019

STOP ALL DRAG SHOWS!! @sharrond62 is fed up and is suffering from Drag Fatigue! My love, have you never thought that a majority of Drag Queens are celebrating woman and the fantastic achievements woman have made to shape the world. YOU do nothing but shape a stereotype! TRASH! https://t.co/oZY66M6xdk
— Vinegar Strokes (@TheOnlyVinegar) December 21, 2019

OR...you can see it for what drag actually IS, which is a celebration and homage of all things feminine, giving power to those who need it! Strong women aren't threatened by drag queens, but rather empowered by their chutzpah. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! https://t.co/Ycux4c8epy
— michelle visage (@michellevisage) December 21, 2019

TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, who recently channelled her inner drag queen on the cover of queer magazine Attitude, said Davies had underestimated the power of drag and "how it empowers people who often feel like outsiders".

"It can literally save lies," she added. "And it's such a lot of fun."

Oh Sharon. You can’t underestimate the power of drag and how it empowers people who often feel like outsiders - they can find their family, grow in confidence, learn to love themselves and be who they really are. It can literally save lives. And it’s such a lot of FUN! https://t.co/y5LgIcndv9
— Lorraine (@reallorraine) December 21, 2019