Dear Cyber Cynics,
Before I delve into this letter, please let me first make a clear distinction between the type of cyber cynic to which I am writing, and those with whom I actually have no problem (and, in many cases, even commend). I am not writing this letter to cyber cynics who use calm, sophisticated language in their posts. I am not writing this to cyber cynics who make logical, well thought-out arguments against that on which they're commenting. I am not writing this to cynics who actually start and engage in (civilized) discussions and debates about the post. I am writing this to cyber cynics who simply write mean, purposefully offensive, degrading comments online with no purpose other than to upset people who support the article/video/post. There is actually a phrase that our modern, plugged-in society has come up with for the type of cyber cynic to which I'm writing: cyber bully. Now that I've made that distinction, on with the rest of the post!
I recently came across a post on my Facebook feed that was posted on the fan-page of Raja Gemini, one of my personal favorite artists, fashion icons, and performers. The post was a link to an article about a photography spread by Leland Bobbé, in which he captured images of queens with half their faces made up in drag, and the other half out of drag. The photos are absolutely breathtaking. Seeing the two sides of the queens captured in one photo was really spectacular. For me personally, a large part of the draw to drag as an art-form is seeing the incredible transformation through which the artists go, and these photos really emphasize that aspect.
However, it seems that not everyone who read this article would agree with me. When I went to look in the comments section to see what other peoples' reactions to the article were, I was surprised at how many homophobes took the time to not only read the article and look at the photos, but also to sign in and comment on the article. Many of the comments were very positive, but there were a few that were at the polar opposite end of the spectrum. I'm all for freedom of speech and press, and with the internet now as big of a player in our globalized society, I would absolutely extend those rights to online interactions. That being said, though, there are limits on what people can say and write in the "offline world," and those limitations need to apply to the internet as well. There are, for instance, laws against verbal harassment and abuse. If you were to walk up to someone in school or your workplace repeatedly and tell them that they're "disgusting" and "freak" (in derogatory, serious, non-joking ways), they would probably be able to get you either fired or expelled, and in some cases they'd even be able to file harassment charges against you. Why, then, should your actions online in these cases be any different than they would be in person? Just because you're sitting safely behind your computer and using an anonymous username to post these potentially very hurtful comments doesn't make it okay. And, if you're any kind of a decent person, it probably doesn't make your conscience any quieter when you're laying in bed at night. While there were a lot of really generally negative comments to the effect of "freakshow," or "men should be men - this is disgusting," I'd like to just point out a few personal favorites.
First up is a comment from Username Shakirah Miles, who says "In this society men are just way too feminine and not manly enough to be good heads of the household." First of all, who says that a man needs to be the head of a household? Honestly, I know a lot of "manly men" who were (and still are) absolutely terrible heads of their households. Your machismo-driven nuclear family ideals are outdated, my friend, so you need to get with the times! Besides, that's why we have lesbians like me: to keep the world's balance in check with all those "effeminate men" running around draining it dry of testosterone. (Little known fact: lesbians are actually just human storage containers for the testosterone leached from fabulous gay men in their weekly cleansing ritual. When a gay man wants to become a macho-man again, he and his dyke best friend ride a unicorn - fed on a diet comprising exclusively of glitter and rainbows - through a deep dark wood filled with bears, and when they come out on the other side he will have regained his machismo.)
Next up we have a comment from tcam053 who writes that "It's sickening and dispicable to the female species..." Well, ladies, we've finally done it. We have apparently learned to reproduce on our own without the help of those silly boys and, therefore, become our own separate species. Quick, somebody alert FOX News! I'd like to add that as one of the newly evolved species, "female," I actually find drag to be fascinating, inspiring, and generally marvelous, and would really love to see more of it in the world. Although, I do agree with you on one point tcam053: these are some sickening bitches in these photos! (Werk it, ladies!)
Username Gumby commented with "These guys got issues." Clearly your grammar has more issues, my friend! Next, please!
Here's a fun comment from Username sweetmomma8101 reading "Who remembers the good old days when men actually wanted to look and act like men? Wasn't that nice? Miss that." Well, unless we're going to go further back than the ancient civilizations of Rome and Greece, I'm pretty sure you actually won't find any culture or society in which cross-dressing and drag had no role. As long as there has been performance art, there have been men dressing up in women's clothing and wearing make-up to portray a specific idea of femininity (as was often required of theater in ancient times since women were not usually allowed to act). I'd also like to ask you: do you have a problem with women wearing jeans? Or sneakers? Or baseball caps? What about t-shirts? All of these clothing items, after all, are staples in pretty much every woman's wardrobe in America despite their traditionally male origins. It's socially acceptable in our culture for women to wear skinny jeans, converse and a t-shirt with her favorite band's logo on it as a form of self-expression. Why can't a man wear funky heels, a hot dress that shows off his fantastic legs, and some sassy make-up as his form of self-expression?
People really need to chill out when they're sitting alone at home behind their computers. Think about your actions, for goodness sake! I think it's been pretty clearly established that even if you post something without the intention of hurting anyone, degrading, vicious, abusive interactions that happen on the internet actually can deeply affect people. Case and point: Tyler Clementi killed himself because of cyber bullying. He was a successful college student. Besides - you'd better be prepared to deal with quick, witty comebacks if you're going to try to knock the LGBT community on an article about drag, because, honey, we will eat you alive!
Cheers,
Bee
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