BACK IN BLACK...FACE

Apparently, Shirley Q. Liquor'ss blackface routine has now raised enough eyebrows and inspired enough protests at her gigs that GLAAD has issued a statement condemning her, even though GLAAD seems to base their objections on hearsay. Here's their proclamation from a couple weeks ago which lead to an LA gig being cancelled. It also lead to Shirley's Hartford, Connecticutt gig being cancelled at a gay club called Chez Est, which I was glad to fill in as the headliner last weekend. Because of the name Chez, I assumed it was a long E and therefore a latino club. (Is that racist if love cheesy foreskin?) I was mistaken, but nevertheless delighted to make my Hartford debut and announce to the crowd that they had cancelled the controversial performer in favor of possibly the only area queen who was filthier and even more offensive! And I finally revealed that Lady Bunny is actually a character portrayed by me, actually a black male actor in whiteface. And that unlike Shirley, I did not dress up as a fat, poor, trashy black woman--just a fat, poor, trashy white one. And that appropriately enough, it was black history month: Shirley's black and face it, SHE'S HISTORY! Just kidding, Shirly-girl! Shirley, as alter-ego Chuck Knipp, called to say "hi" after the show and I told her I'd never performed in Connecticutt. Without missing a beat, s/he quipped "Me either!" Hee hee!

before.

Anyhoo, Frontiers mag asked Jackie Beat and I, as dragoons, to comment on the issue. Jackie include a picture of her in blackface to illustrate how different it was to dress up as a glamorous black woman, as opposed to Chuck's poor, fat, welfare mother of 19 "chirren". Well, I don't think the fat is part of either Chuck or Jackie's costume--it doesn't come at the end of the night along with my wig and braw either! But Jackie does look wild. Those highlighted cheeks! She does the best shading, the shady bitch! In truth, though, Jackie did not intend for Frontiers to use this pic as her main photo, only as a bonus image of something she tried once. And Jackie was a peeved at the photo's usage. And you don't peeve that ho. I imagine her response is on her blog on ww.jackiebeatrules.com, but I couldn't get on.

"BLACKIE BEAT"



Here's GLAAD's statement:

GLAAD CONDEMNS OFFENSIVE “SHIRLEY Q. LIQUOR” CHARACTER

Los Angeles, Tuesday, February 6, 2007 — Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), today condemned performance artist Charles Knipp’s “Shirley Q. Liquor” character for promoting and perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes.

The character, a staple of Knipp’s live local performances and spoken-word recordings (including a CD entitled Spirit of Ignunce), is performed in drag and blackface. “Liquor” is described as a welfare mother with 19 children, and Knipp’s depiction relies on a stereotypical misappropriation of African American dialect often associated with the South.

Recent email communications by several community members speaking out against Knipp’s performance brought his act to GLAAD’s attention, and local activists protested a scheduled – and subsequently canceled – performance in Los Angeles.

“While our work at GLAAD is about promoting fair, accurate and inclusive media representations of the LGBT community, this issue has risen to a level of visibility and importance that we feel compelled to add our voice to those speaking out against this awful portrayal,” Giuliano said. “Based on what we have heard from community members and read about this character, we are joining those taking a stand against Knipp’s offensive caricature.”

“We recognize that this performer has a right to free speech and expression, but we also have the right to condemn his performance and speak out against this harmful depiction,” Giuliano added. “This performance perpetuates ugly racial stereotypes that are offensive, hurtful and simply unacceptable, and we are urging our constituents to visit glaad.org so that they can express their concerns to the venues at which Knipp is expected to perform in the coming months.”

Here are Jackie's and my response from Frontiers archives.(I added my unedited version which is not found online. I also added my response to Jackie's take on it but could not find her response to mine online in their archives.)



THE SHIRLEY Q. LIQUOR COTROVERSY


After a series of complaints led the Comedy Store to cancel Charles Knipp’s drag performance of his blackface character Shirley Q. Liquor, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) joined the fray when GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano released a statement saying, “Based on what we have heard from community members and read about this character, we are joining those taking a stand against Knipp’s offensive caricature. … This performance perpetuates ugly racial stereotypes that are offensive, hurtful and simply unacceptable.” Frontiers spoke with two of today’s hottest—and most controversial—drag performers, Jackie Beat and Lady Bunny, to get their take.


BUNNY: I see several sides to this controversy. In my own act, I frequently venture outside the realm of tastefulness. I’m also a drag queen who’s dressing up as something I’m not. Oppressed by men, some women feel that a man in drag is as offensive as blacks find blackface to be. I’m also less PC than most, and actually can’t completely condemn Tim Hardaway’s recent “I hate gays” vent. I may not like to hear it, but it’s his truth and freedom of speech must be upheld. Shirley’s freedom of expression must also be upheld and her detractors should have every right to protest her appearances freely.

I’ve never seen Shirley’s entire act—only snippets online which I found funny. Her “How you durrin’?” has become a popular catchphrase—in fact a black queen said it to me just last night. RuPaul used Shirley for a voiceover on his last album—so Miss Liquor obviously doesn’t offend all blacks. But I was also told that Shirley’s act contained a joke something like this: ( I’m paraphrasing) “My son had diarrhea—and I thought he was melting”, which equates black skin with shit. This shocked even a black friend of mine who’d once opened for Shirley because he was such a fan of hers.

It boils down to where you draw the PC line. A general rule in comedy is that you’re free to berate your own kind. So jews can make jewish jokes, HIV+ folks can make AIDS jokes, and the handicapped can make crippled jokes. Since these people experience the discrimination or hardships that come with their ethnicity, orientation or condition, they are less likely to be condemned for targeting their own. By wearing blackface, Shirley is clearly crossing that line.

A black person can't shed a lifetime of discrimination the way Shirley removes her greasepaint at the end of a show. In addition, since she’s dressing up as a poor, ignorant black woman with 19 children, she’s hardly creating a positive image. So if you’re already opposed to the notion of blackface in general, Shirley’s character would seem particularly reprehensible. Especially when you consider the history of race relations in this country. There are still blacks alive today who had to drink from separate water fountains, so deep wounds still exist. But humor can sometimes help heal wounds.

I think most people would find Shirley’s long list of her kids’ ridiculous names, in her dead-on accent to be amusing. Why? Because some blacks give their kids funny-sounding names. Black comics make fun of this and so do white ones. But is it too offensive coming from a queen in blackface? And if it is offensive, should all offensive performances be cancelled? If so, say goodbye to many beloved comedians. I’d hope that the venue which booked Shirley would have the conviction to back up their choice despite protests. There isn’t one answer to this because it involves personal boundaries. Because my own act may be considered offensive by some, I get very nervous about show cancellations. However, I rejoiced when Jamaican artist Beenie Man’s concerts were chopped because his lyrics recommended attacking gays. To me, Shirley’s act is not that seditious. But then again, I’m not black. But I also didn’t see fit to go and protest the negative, whiteface bimbo images portrayed by two black actors in WHITE CHICKS when the fucking atmosphere is collapsing and my tax dollars are unnecessarily murdering Iraqis every day.

JACKIE BEAT: “This liquor leaves a bad taste in my mouth”

Let’s get one thing straight: I am not a big fan of GLAAD. I have, in fact, referred to them as “the Nelly Nazis” in the past. In the spirit of full disclosure, let me also admit that part of the reason I dislike GLAAD is because I spent a hellish week sequestered in a horribly decorated West Hollywood apartment for a reality show called Seriously Dude, I’m Gay! attempting to coach a hetero hunk into passing for a flaming faggot and, thanks to GLAAD’s whining the show was unceremoniously pulled from Fox’s lineup. You can imagine my shock when I learned that I actually agree with them about “performer” Shirley Q. Liquor.

Anyone who has seen my act or read my writing knows that I am no prude, and am certainly not afraid to push the envelope. I have appeared onstage with a Hitler hand puppet, I have enough songs about human feces to do an entire 90-minute show (“For one night only, Fubar becomes Poo-Bar!”), not to mention songs with fun titles such as “Cancer Don’t Care That It’s Christmas,” and I am currently the opening act for legendary feather-ruffler and wave-maker Roseanne Barr. Enough said.

Yes, I will say just about anything on stage, and to me, when it comes to comedy, nothing is sacred. But, when I make a joke that could be considered racist, the audience is laughing at me—the ignorant white person who sadly knows no better. They are laughing at the self-centered white lady who is so wrapped up in herself and her world that she is a clueless idiot. They are laughing at the white lady, not a crude black stereotype. It’s called irony, and the definition is saying one thing to express the exact opposite. My simple rule of thumb is this: If a member of the KKK would laugh uproariously at your act, something is very wrong.

When you watch Borat, you have a gut feeling as to what the ultimate message is. When you watch Shirley Q. Liquor (who has none of the intelligence or irony of Sasha Baron Cohen), you may laugh, but it’s a shallow laugh, not a deep, healthy, cathartic one. People may think that Liquor is funny because she’s “so wrong,” but this just proves that audiences have become stupid and lazy and will settle for simple shock value instead of well-conceived, well-written, well-performed comedy. The same thing has happened to music. If you don’t believe me, I have two words for you: Paris Hilton.

Look, if I honestly thought Shirley Q. Liquor was funny, like Lisa Lampinelli or Sarah Silverman, I could and would forgive just about anything. But sadly, she commits the ultimate sin of any comedian, far worse than even blatant racism—she’s just not funny.


MY REBUTTAL TO JACKIE'S PIECE: So Jackie Beat is prejudiced AND cruel to animals! Otherwise she wouldn't exclude animal feces in her act. She takes great pains to specify "human feces"--It's just not fair! Seriously, few people are as funny as Jackie. But the issue here is whether or not Shirley should or shouldn't be wearing blackface. And though Jackie may not find her funny, if no one else did, then Shirley wouldn't be getting booked enough to warrant GLAAD's condemnation of her. Shirley has fans, and I don't think the fans get off on the shock value alone, as Jackie suggests. Whether it's offensive or not, Shirley beautifully recreates an interesting accent which is not only one of place, but of time and yes, ethnicity and poverty level, too. The accent appeals to me as much as her humor. And Jackie, I hate to tell you, but there was a guy in a KKK hood at your last show. And he laughed uproariously every second...that he was awake!