Everything about every part of this comes part and parcel with progress. Taking all emotions out of the debate, it's interesting to see where people choose to draw their lines. Women fought for civil rights. Black people fought for civil rights. Gay people fought for civil rights. Transgender people are fighting for civil rights. And now I guess we are transitioning socially to a post-gender culture and all those prior identities are being swirled together and people who belong to the disparate identities seem to be drawing lines in the sand.
I don't have a dog in the fight, so to speak, but here are my candid feelings about it all:
--I admit I find it confusing that someone who was born an XX woman feels she is a man and has had surgery, has taken drugs and has adopted a mannish style of dress, but with a definite gay male affectation and chooses to dress as an exaggerated version of a woman to make money and to garner attention. RuPaul describes his early drag style as 'genderfuck,' and his version of genderfuck is really fucked to shame by a woman --> man --> woman.
--This probably reveals a personal prejudice, but I think I am especially confused by how gay (male) Gottmik comes across to me out of drag. It seems most of the time that women who transition to male have masculine mannerisms as many lesbians do, but Gottmik just seems straight up twinky. Has he discussed his romantic interests? I sense he dates gay men, which would really be quite a knot of sexual identities.
--I find Gottmik very cute as a guy, more than most Drag Race contestants, and that is really quite confusing but I'm being honest.
--He's not especially curvy in the video above, but the lower half definitely is that of a slim young woman. So yeah, I see where Nina is coming from.
--I have no resentment for the Victor/Victoria identity in day to day life; however, it does subvert the whole notion of drag. Drag used to be called "female illusion" and someone who was born a woman and who is pretty putting on makeup and being praised for looking like a beautiful woman isn't drag, exactly. I don't even know how to think of it. I am not mad about that. To be honest, I find it interesting from an analytical angle. But from a drag angle, it loses my interest because it just isn't as much effort and creativity for a person in a woman's body to look like a drag queen. So I guess I am admitting to a bias/prejudice/bigotry with respect to the show, and at the same time I do not mind Gottmik's personality.
--Speaking of which, I kind of like Gottmik as a TV personality. I suspect they are a narcissist (which many drag race and reality TV contestants are), but honestly, the personality fits in perfectly with prior drag race personalities. Gottmik passes well for a catty attention-starved gay guy.
--(I honestly don't know how to refer to them--we usually refer to drag race contestants who identify as male with "she" in this forum, but to refer to Gottmik as she seems like it would be interpreted as an insult despite them wearing drag.)
