May I suggest to Max Wallis that next time he watches his “visual Valium” Drag Race, he takes a moment to consider how women feel about being parodied and openly disrespected on primetime television (Drag is under attack across the world: RuPaul’s Drag Race shows why we need it more than ever, 31 March).
Drag queens take the trappings of femininity and exaggerate these to create a grotesque caricature which, at its core, humiliates women. Wallis notes that one of the drag queens was derided for her looks and labelled the Baroness of Basic, yet the pressure on women, particularly young women, to conform to an idealised body image and be attractive to men has been shown to lead to intense social anxiety, eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
Drag can be compared to blackface and yellowface: those holding the reins of power utilise performance to mock those without power through a demeaning parody. This reassures the dominant group of their superior status while effectively silencing the group being parodied.
Drag is being utilised – RuPaul’s Drag Race being an example – to tick the inclusion box, when it is, in fact, exclusionary, sexist and insulting to women. The last thing women need is yet another strand of popular culture reinforcing the necessity for their silence concerning an issue that has damaging ramifications for all women.
Dr Grace Barnes
London
• Drag is a fabulous, funny and fascinating art form that has been around for more than 100 years. But it is also highly sexualised adult entertainment, which many people feel is pretty misogynistic. Mrs Doubtfire and panto dames are nothing like RuPaul’s Drag Race. Paul O’Grady was a brilliant performer, wholly respectful of the women he drew on for his inspiration for Lily Savage.
Nobody was protesting against drag when it was restricted to late-night pubs and nightclubs. In the last few years, it has moved into schools and libraries, and many people find that of concern. These people are not “staid”, but include men and women of all ages, sexualities and backgrounds who are concerned about the erosion of boundaries, and the impact that could have on issues of consent.
Katharine Rogers
Bristol
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