We have several here in SF that live in that gender full-time, like Princess Kennedy. There would have been no original movement for us to be a part of without Stonewall and Compton and both of those events (one on each coast) were pretty much drag queen riots. You do realize that back in the 60s and early 70s there were no TS/TG, no gender bending, no GID, or any of that, all men dressing as women were all called drag queens.
And 'ja know, the standard public perception of a lot of the gender deal is drag queens, like RuPaul, or Divine, or Dame Edna. And, I don't think that is all bad. Might be a shame, but its not all bad. And I say that because performers have a very good ability to communicate (its their job more or less) and are comfortable in that role. Rather than a harsh, strident tone, RuPaul sets one that is far more open to far more people. And, in being pretty successful, RP is not a bad role model for any of us, nor a bad public face for the movement. I always loved two RP quotes, the first hangs in my office because its the best simple statement of a reality that I sometimes have to contend with, and in this biz any sort of realism is welcome:
Nobody promises anything in show business and you understand that from day one.
The other one I carry close to my heart, because it not only moves me, it also informs me. And I think the last line is pretty valid for this thread.
What other people think of me is not my business. What I do is what I do. How people see me doesn't change what I decide to do. I don't choose projects so people don't see me as one thing or another. I choose projects that excite me. I think the problem is that people refuse to understand what drag is outside of their own belief system.
