Thank you for writing this piece. I am so glad to read it because I have been thinking about this for some time. I find it interesting that the performances by these (presumably) straight men who ventriloquize women on social media hardly register as "drag performances" in the manner that would otherwise trigger homo/transphobic anxieties. I have been wondering why this is the case because their accounts are quite popular as you noted, and their gender-bending performances are well-received. It is interesting what is read as gender/sexual deviance and what is not. For instance, it was not the character of Mama Maiko (with the wigs, the headscarf, and the vocal feminization) that gave his alleged gayness away but that crop top post.
I wonder if it has to do with how ventriloquizing women (I love that phrase) is based in making fun of us, but performing in drag is viewed as trying to BE us by heteronormative society? It’s okay to ostracize women and make us the butt of jokes, but trying to become feminine steps over the arbitrary line heteronormativity drew in the sand.
I wonder if some of it is the rural persona they adopt. After all, the girlies on insta and TikTok—we have to call them girlies—do full face and wig and often narrate queer and trans encounters. So many get ready with me (GRWM) videos feature stories about dating, sometimes sex, so there is no subtext. It's openly queer and trans. A place where rural and urban(ish) aesthetics make the difference?
grateful to have found your writing. really appreciate you pushing against (what i find to be) the reductive umbrella of feminine vs masculine. reframing of gender through roles/careers adds an acknowledgment of class to the gendering system
Thank you for writing this piece. I am so glad to read it because I have been thinking about this for some time. I find it interesting that the performances by these (presumably) straight men who ventriloquize women on social media hardly register as "drag performances" in the manner that would otherwise trigger homo/transphobic anxieties. I have been wondering why this is the case because their accounts are quite popular as you noted, and their gender-bending performances are well-received. It is interesting what is read as gender/sexual deviance and what is not. For instance, it was not the character of Mama Maiko (with the wigs, the headscarf, and the vocal feminization) that gave his alleged gayness away but that crop top post.
I wonder if it has to do with how ventriloquizing women (I love that phrase) is based in making fun of us, but performing in drag is viewed as trying to BE us by heteronormative society? It’s okay to ostracize women and make us the butt of jokes, but trying to become feminine steps over the arbitrary line heteronormativity drew in the sand.
I love how you put this. Thank you!
Because of TikTok’s algorithm, I’m now getting more and more Kenyan men ventriloquizing women. It’s definitely a research project for someone.
I wonder if some of it is the rural persona they adopt. After all, the girlies on insta and TikTok—we have to call them girlies—do full face and wig and often narrate queer and trans encounters. So many get ready with me (GRWM) videos feature stories about dating, sometimes sex, so there is no subtext. It's openly queer and trans. A place where rural and urban(ish) aesthetics make the difference?
grateful to have found your writing. really appreciate you pushing against (what i find to be) the reductive umbrella of feminine vs masculine. reframing of gender through roles/careers adds an acknowledgment of class to the gendering system
Thanks for reading!
I really, really like this one. Thanks for your insightful and compassionate interventions.
Thanks for thinking with me!