Drag queens and Beauty queens

Throughout the course we have discussed the role of women in society not paying very close attention to the influence society has on males. Appearance has been and it is still an important factor for women. Women are constantly thrown into the fashion world and critiqued for their appearance. Everywhere you walk, and every direction you turn, cosmetic industries and clothing lines fill the pages of magazines, television and billboard ads to name a few. Women are pulled towards vanity, cosmetic surgeries, and everything else to look and be the "it" image of a woman in society because phsycial appearances all of a sudden define the person. After our class discussion on Miss America and the controversy associated with this beauty pageant dating back to the late 1960s when feminists protested its patriarchal ideals, I thought about men who deviate from the stereotypical role they are supposed to portray in society. What gave me this idea was watching a football player getting his eyebrows waxed. Movie stars and people in the media-men and women are always plastered in makeup to look good in front of the cameras, and that concept is understanding. However, when men go beyond makeup and manicures to dressing in drags, that is a whole other issue and a complete deviation from the stereotypes society placed on men. Men are supposed to be strong, uncommunicative, independent, financially secured, and dominant in their household and in the public realm. However, men dressed in drags deviates from this norm. A drag queen is defined as a man who dresses in women's clothing and makeup and performes in pageant shows and other functions. Women in beauty pageants are seen as putting on a show for male gazers and as objects of male control, but how are drag queens depicted in pageants that model the beauty pageants women are part of such as Miss America and Miss Universe? Miss Gay America is one drag queen beauty pageant that was formed around the 1970s by Jerry Peek and later Norman Jones, and it is currently under L&T Entertainment (Larry Tyger and Terry Eason) missgayamerica.com Do drag queens encounter the same issues that women in beauty pageants face such as being seen as objects? Has society drawn men to dress in drags in order to show their feminine side, which throughout history has constantly been put on the backburner as unnatural and wrong? Drag queens and other "drag artists" or performers are in the spotlight and judged by viewers the same way women are in beauty pageants. In beauty pageants, a winner is chosen as the "ideal" woman that personifies what is "beauty." In drag pageants, men as well compete against other men in drags to determine the best looking drag queen. Therefore, are drag queens and other performers chosen because of their appearance or as a deviation from the traditional depiction of men or both, meaning Are drag queens chosen because they are sort of depicting the true role of men?

More Questions to Think About:

What is your take on drag queens and beauty queens and the shows they perform?

Do you think Miss Gay America and other drag queen pageants are a mockery of women in beauty pageants such as Miss America and Miss Universe?

Do you think drag queens in pageants are portrayed as more feminine than women in beauty pageants?

What message do you personally think the Miss Gay America and other drag queen pageants are implying?

Below are some youtube videos that I thought were really interesting
What do you think of these videos?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgPa5hu8Mv4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfBqfUPdyFQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XLwOaMUdWo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NN4sYrRSDk