Dragged--Kicking and Screaming

Forty-nine years ago Ted Giannoulas donned a chicken costume:

The rest is history. Giannoulas became the San Diego Chicken, performing at San Diego Padres ball games. And, incidentally, initiating the wave of fuzzy sports team mascots across this continent and afar. 

What is especially worth noting today is that while conservative crazies (a tautology if there’s ever been one) are rushing to inflict punishment on men who dress as other human beings (i.e., women), Giannoulas’ dressing as a fowl (and those of his ilk who dress as wolves or bears or dinosaurs; isn’t there a whiff of sodomy about that?) passes without comment or legislation. 

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Men dressing as women—how horrible; it must be stopped. But where to begin? How about with Shakespeare?

In the Elizabethan theater there were no actresses. Female roles, therefore, had to be played by males—at least young males, boys. But how strange it was that some women characters that these males were playing (for example, Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Rosalind in As You Like it, and Viola in Twelfth Night) disguise themselves as men in the course of the action. Males-->Females-->Males-->Females. 

Tennessee Republicans—do you want to ban Shakespeare?

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There are numerous examples of actors in drag in films and in plays much more modern than Shakespeare’s. Here’s (of all people) Jack Benny in Charlie’s Aunt:

And of course there’s the comedy classic film (it’s now also a Broadway musical) Some Like it Hot, which starred Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon:

The hit play La Cage aux Folles had George Hearn in drag:

In the movies, we had Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire and Dustin Hoffman in the title role of Tootsie:

Robbie Coltrane and Eric Idle in 1990 were the Nuns on the Run:

Oklahoma GOP—should we abolish the theater and films?

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And then there’s television. In its heyday who did we see? Milton Berle, Flip Wilson, Jonathan Winters:

Texas Conservatives—axe TV?

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So what’s left to do in the drive to keep the world pure for little children? I’m afraid we haven’t dealt with the most insidious of artistic dragginess: the performances actually aimed at children.

The Circus. Look at the clown (a grown man) playing “Grandma”:

The Pantomime. Ok, this is British, but this holiday entertainment is renowned for males playing the leading comic role. And many times it’s a famous actor doing it. Here are Ian McKellen and John Inman:

The Ballet:

En Travesti: As in a male dancer playing Widow Simone in La Fille Mal Gardée:

Comes Christmas—ah, The Nutcracker. But all across the North American continent thousands of children are subjected to male members of the corps playing the drag role of Mother Ginger:

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I guess, kiddies, it’s goodbye to all the fun entertainment.

Is that all right with you, North Dakota wingnuts?