Panti's Noble Call

There's been a pretty fantastic conversation about this in another thread

Eric, not the whole interview but here's the part that caused all the kerfuffle. It's just plain common sense, of course.
Interview

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Thanks so much Jay! He sure is well spoken. I particularly agree with the point Namo mentions. It's too bad that that, and other points (like why these people spend so much of their time focusing on writing editorials, going on TV etc to speak against it -- particularly those less "extreme" homophobes who insist they aren't homophobic -- I mean I kinda get why a completely whacko group like Westboro does it as they see it as their mission from god do it.)

When he said John Waters (who I imagine is some sort of Irish media person) at first I thought "What? The director of Pink Flamingos?)

Was that the year Ireland entered a singing Turkey or something? (And really, he's homophobic but writes for Eurovision? Utterly amazing.)

Was visiting my mum today and showed her the speech. She loved it. She also asked me a question that I'm embarrassed to say I don't know the answer to. It's a question of semantics, but I think it's an interesting and important one.

What would you say is the correct or preferred version of pronouns to use when referring to a drag queen like Panti? Would you say that [b]she[/b] gave a great speech or that [b]he[/b] did? There are so many things to consider. Firstly there's the conflation of transgendered individuals with drag queens. As we all know, not all drag queens are trans and, I would hope we all know, that most transgendered folks do not consider themselves drag queens/kings.

I have the good fortune of calling several transgender folks my friends -- most of them have a preference of using the pronouns for their true gender identity/expression -- whether they are pre or post-op. A couple of them use hybrid or gender-neutral pronouns, like Mx. Justin Vivian Bond does.

I'd also argue that a draq queen like Panti is a different kind of performer than a male actor who happens to portray female character(s) -- like Barry Humphrie's "Dame Edna". When I go see Dame Edna on stage, although I of course intellectually understand that Barry Humphries is under all those sequins and feather, he doesn't consciously make me aware that he's a man. I see a woman on that stage and would never refer to "Dame Edna" as a "he".

However, many -- perhaps most -- drag queens are portraying greatly exaggerated and garish (I mean garish in a very positive way) versions of "women". They are not expecting you to look at them and completely forget that there is a biological man -- usually a gay man -- behind this persona. That gender**** is part of what makes really talented drag queens so interesting, I think. And in this case, I'm not referring to two subsets of drag performers -- the female impersonators (portraying Cher, Babs etc.) nor the... service workers found in certain Manilla and Bangkok area clubs whose MO is to confuse and titillate.

In this particular case, I feel a bit like I'm watching Rory -- dressed in his drag persona -- give an impassioned speech. It doesn't have the artifice of a traditional drag performance. So is it fair to say I'm watching [b]him[/b] give a speech or do you think that's offensive? I suppose the short answer to my overly long post is that the answer will vary person-by-person and performer-by-performer. What do you think?

TL;DR, I know.

Horse, aside from your amazing taste, you apparently have a great mom.

I dated a couple of drag queens in Montreal. In my experience when they are doing anything in their drag persona, you should refer to them in the feminine. Out of drag, masculine. The little I've read about Panti since the speech went viral, makes me think he would be OK with that. I think that's a safe way to go, either way, unless you're told else wise by themselves.