As an organizer of the Jewish Purim drag show, I was disappointed that the story on our event did not include the broader political context (”At this Portland Purim party, the kings and queens come in drag, March 16). Queer people are under attack. Tennessee’s new law significantly restricts drag performance. Iowa banned gender affirming health care for trans children.
Drag is a public display of queerness that draws attention to the performative nature of gender expression. The Purim drag performance had fat, straight-sized, disabled and able-bodied performers of many genders, all being lifted up as the positive center of attention. The drag performance at the Purim party was more than entertainment; it was a political act.
It was also disappointing there were not more photos of one of the performers who is fat and transgender. Fat and trans bodies are often erased from the narrative, and, in the words of that performer, “not allowed to exist in the media.”
I write this not to accuse intentional omissions of political context, but to highlight the often unconscious bias caused by fatphobia and transphobia. These omissions have consequences, and contribute to the creation of legislation like that in Iowa and Tennessee.
To view additional photos of the performers, please visit https://colabpdx.org/purim/. I encourage The Oregonian/OregonLive and the public to examine biases that contribute to the dangerous erasure of the political nature of queer art, especially trans and fat bodies in media.
Caryn Shebowich, Portland
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