Why is there such a mean and militant streak within the trans community?
And that guy's line about photographers mocking gear is total bullshit.
Someone in that thread seriously compared drag to blackface. Insulting your friends and allies by comparing them to straight out racists... that's amazing.
I tried to bring up Eddie Izzard, who is about as non-hateful as a human being can get, but it went nowhere.
Unfortunately the internet, for all of its positive points, is a breeding ground for a lot of negative viewpoints that really don't add to anything other than being another way to be attached to one's identity. A lot of the transgender people often having nothing going for them or identity besides being transgender, so they attached themselves to that. Historically, a lot of trans people separate themselves from drag because at one point drag was likened to be trans according the unwashed ignorant masses. Still, it doesn't make it okay, because: 1. drag shows fucking own and 2. being an obsessed asshole who demands, demands, demands and never gives is something nobody ain't got time for.
Also, I haven't read the thread, but I have read the title, and from the title, it sounds like they're doing to hopefully not offend trans people more so than actual trans people are complaining.
But, i will have to say I have encountered trans people who are holier-than-thou about drag, and have said some really, really nasty things about Kings and Queens. One caveat and important facet of this that's always been true, however is this: they're usually baby boomers or old as fuck. Young T folk use drag slang all the damn time, and are pretty cool with it even if they don't associate with it. In Houston, one of the top T spots is a drag bar and Queens will give you makeup lessons.
So your thing about mean streak comment really seems weird, but that's not to say it's not an element. You seem to be acting like Phoenix Dark and Dufus are about internet atheists. You haven't really met an actual atheist in real life, don't know we are, so your main exposure of them is on the internet, and the internet in general has a mean streak because everyone's angry and pissed all the time no matter the group. So things get cannibalized from reality and you end up seeing a microcosm of a community being represented by a bunch of loud morons. Laverne Cox and Janet Mock for instance, don't have a mean streak at all. Please do yourself a service and don't attribute trans people to tumblr morons. They're turmblr morons because they're morons. This also unfortunately speaks true for a lot of transgaf. Not all, but some.
