It doesn’t take the brain of Robert Oppenheimer or Barbie to figure out the three basic kinds of reactions in the 500+ comments on our social media about last week’s City Paper cover story on area drag queens.
First came the lovers — people who were tickled to see a celebration of diversity memorialized in Chelsea Grinstead’s story and in Ashley Rose Stanol’s strong photo of a drag queen with a beard.
- “Thank you Charleston City Paper for a wonderful spotlight on the thriving Charleston drag artist community!”
- “I am in LOVE with the cover and coverage!”
- “I love our drag queens. What a beautiful form of entertainment that the haters can simply scroll past if they don’t like it.”
Then were the wry observers and explainers addressing people who were offended:
- “I’m sure the comments will be civil.”
- “It’s 2023 and people in South Carolina are surprised by the Charleston alt-weekly publication posting about the drag scene. SMH [shaking my head].”
- “Really? You are that frightened by wigs and makeup? Buck up, buttercup. You’ll be OK.”
- “I beg the haters to open their minds and come to a show!! Charleston has so many different types of drag! Whether you like cosplay, glamor, soul, comedy, grunge, rock, the Charleston drag scene has it all, and it is all art and a lot better than anything these haters can come up with between their three brain cells.”
- “A drag show is little more than a fashion show. Hateful hayseeds have problems understanding that but have no problems with 5-year-olds in full makeup in heels and bathing suits in ‘Little Miss’ pageants. Who are the real groomers?”
And then came the hateful comments from people who wanted to argue and incite, which led one person to smirk, “And the bigots show themselves.”
Those unhappy with the newspaper’s profile of drag culture in Charleston used social media platforms to rant and rave about everything from lying and mental illness to personal attacks on obesity, sexuality, perversion, prostitution, sexual predators and facial hair. Some talked about how pro-drag commentators needed more God in their life. In one comment, Santa Claus (guy with a beard in a red costume) even made an appearance.
If it weren’t all so sad, some of it would be Laugh-Out-Loud funny (and some of it was).
We live in a too-tribal society in which Americans are losing the ability to tolerate, accept and compromise. Where some people are insisting on teaching history about slavery in ways that bluntly ignore the truth. Or they want to ban books that they haven’t read. Or they want to take control of school boards to push a narrow agenda. Truth, in fact, regularly gets thrown under the bus these days as people try to score political points and divide by fear.
Let’s reject modern-day bigotry and ignorance that sprouts from generations of hate that fueled slavery, racism, Jim Crow laws and economic segregation. Get out of your cocoons and meet people in your community who may not look like you. You may just find a drag queen teaches you more about America’s freedom than any of the rubbish spewing from television and political bubbleheads.
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