Drag Show

I took this photo at the drag show last year. Last year, my friends were performing the song Barbie girl at the drag show. My female friend dressed up like a boy (Ken) and my male dressed up like a girl (Barbie). Looking back through my photos, this one stuck out to me. Before taking this class, I assumed that people who dressed up like the other sex were gay. I also thought that transgender people were gay and that transgender meant the same thing as transsexual. However, now I am aware that just because someone dresses in clothing associated with the opposite gender, doesn’t mean they are gay. They could just like that type of clothing better. Maybe those people are transgender. A transgender person is someone who thinks he/she was born the wrong sex. For example, someone can have female sex organs, but more closely identify with the male gender. Someone can also have male characteristics and more closely identify with the female gender. However, being transgender does not mean you are gay. Someone can be physically a woman, mentally a man and attracted to women. Since they identify as a man, they are not gay. In addition, transsexual and transgender is not the same thing. Transsexual describes someone who undergoes a sex change operation or hormone treatment. Transgender people do not go through an operation and just remain in the body they were born with. The reason my friends performed this song at the Drag Show and dressed this way was to create awareness of gender stereotypes. Men and women are more than what they wear. Girls do not have to wear dresses, and men should be able to wear female clothing if they really want. Today’s society is becoming more accepting of women wearing men’s clothing. I see several women wearing jeans, jerseys and t-shirts. However, the same is not true for men. Why can’t men also wear skirts and dresses without being judged? Society should not tell men and women how to act and it should not tell them what to wear either. Society should also not put on labels on those who dress like the opposite sex. Not all of them are gay or even transgendered. There is nothing wrong with being transgendered or gay anyways. It is not hurting anyone, so we should be accepting of everyone, no matter how they dress or identify themselves. They are just people like you and me.