amanda-arsenic:
I haven’t seen anyone else talking about this and it’s about to drive me crazy.
I hate that Raja won Season 3 of Drag Race, for exactly the above reasons. I understand that high fashion especially has always appropriated other cultures, but for someone in the position Raja is in, someone who is able to speak out against appropriation of cultures and racism, for him to continue “dressing up” and costuming himself as Hindu deities and native peoples really really bothers me.
It pisses me off.
I know a lot of people think “oh it’s just fashion, lighten up” and whatnot, but NO. NO IT IS NOT. People are not costumes. Gods are not costumes. If I was Hindu, I would be so fucking mad about Raja’s outfit for the Season 5 reunited episode, because it’s pretty obviously Krishna.
Now I also understand that Raja is Indonesian and Dutch, but still. The Hindu deity costume offends me. Coming out dressed up as a Native American offends me. Coming out dressed as an African tribesperson offends me. And I’m not even going to touch on all the problems in Drag Race like white and brown people essentially doing blackface for stuff like Snatch Game (which again, Raja did Tyra Banks, which is costuming himself as a black person).
I firmly believe that for all of us to be liberated (women, LGBTQI, black people, brown people, native people, etc.) from patriarchy and from white cis heteronormative oppression, we have to band together. We must be intersectional. We cannot do that if we go around costuming ourselves as other races and as other people’s Gods.
Would you tell a painter to not paint others races that he may or may not be apart of? Would you be less offended if Raja dressed up as a white woman with big blonde hair (like most Drags Queens)? No that would be offensive to white woman. But he’s dressing as a woman so is that offense to? Would it be less offensive if he was a transsexual? This seems like the very same things as saying a woman wanted to get raped cause of wore a short tight fitting dress. You do need to calm down and let people live there lives accordingly. You could be right or you could be way off in your stance of Patriarchy in the same ways Raja’s Hindu god inspired drag can be seen as art or racism. Everyday people assume they are correct. I don’t think people should live there lives being at war with “white men” we all have so many races in us we call could possibly be every race. And people not taking bits and pieces from other races I think we’d be completely separated. We can pick what’s okay and what’s not but in the future will it matter? Black face was purely making fun of another whole race made to be a joke made to entertain one race. I’m getting ahead of myself here but Gods are fucking characters. Greek Gods are the hugest example. I would not be offended if someone dress up as Jesus, even if it was tasteless like a sloppy drunk Jesus or something. My mom says she stresses so much to take her kids stress away, I’m like no mom you can’t take anyone’s stress away you’re only stressing more than you should. That makes me think of you, you said you’d be super offended if you were Hindu…we’ll you’re not, you don’t have to be. Yeah you’re “allied” whatever but is a winner of drag race that powerful? If anything I want to research hindu gods are learn more about them, and it’s as if a real one came down from the Heaven and it’s actually really inspiring to want to learn more about the Hindu Gods.
we were born naked the rest is drag.
sidenote: Raja’s skin tone matches Tyra’s if not her’s is lighter who is he doing black face? Is it because she’s black? The Snatch Game is not about parodying a race it’s about impersonating a character the character famous people also put on for the media. Just think how many people are Marilyn Monroe, her persona is now a character. Her race isn’t but her image and personality is. Pale skin, curly blonde hair, smoky high voice, red lips. You wouldn’t even need to do the skin cause it’s obvious once the hair is done.
