The glitter that comes with drag doesn’t shine<\/p>\n
Re “Banning Geraldine,”<\/a> April 5: The letter to the editor worried about the demise of the “greatest comic minds” as a result of Ohio’s ban on drag shows was perplexing. The ban, it should be emphasized, is for those under 18<\/a>.<\/p>\n First, did anyone notice the performers named were all men masquerading as women? Not the reverse, for it’s not so funny when women adopt men’s clothes, jobs or roles.<\/p>\n Second, these men such as Flip Wilson \u2013 and don’t forget the inimitable Monty Python \u2013 did so for satire, for comic effects. But many of us (yes, even liberal women) do not find funny the bizarre, overdressed, lavishly made-up, bewigged men prancing around in drag shows.<\/p>\n Letters: Some of greatest comic minds would be banned if Ohio reps get way<\/a><\/p>\n There is no satire or political point intended here. It is over-the-top stereotyping, as the men enact misogynistic travesties of women and womanhood.<\/p>\n Not an “art form,” this sort of drag, often highly sexualized, trivializes women. The costume, the clownish makeup, the “performance” of the ultra-feminine is the point. Although some of these performers may identify as women, they never identify WITH women. If they did, they would not present this form of blatant misogyny.<\/p>\n Opinion: I went to war in my heels, wig, lashes. My art, rights matter<\/a><\/p>\n I suggest that instead of shopping for evening gowns and glitter, these men could appeal to women (if they really care about us) by campaigning for women’s reproductive rights, helping to ensure single-sex spaces, such as shelters, and working to prevent violence against women.<\/p>\n Alden Waitt, Hilliard<\/p>\n We can’t forget about children<\/p>\n Re “Calling childcare a scam ignores the reality for Ohio families<\/a>,” April 8: Thank you, Lynanne Gutierrez, for your strong and important column about the importance of safe, quality early childhood education and childcare programs.<\/p>\n In the midst of this tumultuous time we are trying to live through, with daily frightening headlines of violence, obscenities, war, racism, cruelty, hatred, greed and mistrust, it is so easy to forget about our youngest children.<\/p>\n Thousands of struggling families are desperately seeking accessible, safe and quality programs for their children.<\/p>\n The challenges are multiplied when the president of the United States refers to early childhood programs as “little scams,” diminishes their value and insults the vital work dedicated early childhood educators and childcare professionals do each and every day to enrich the lives of the children and to enable their families to continue their work and education.<\/p>\n When budget items supporting health care and child care programs are threatened and slashed, everyone suffers.<\/p>\n