hi again, actually to say someone's a drag queen does not mean that they are gay in terms of sexuality (many crossdressers identify as heterosexual; transvestites, whether performers or not, are not the same as transsexuals either). since I've never seen Barry Humphries perform his Dame Edna character, I must say that at least on the radio sounded like a drag queen to me, in terms of the fact that he's doing a very campy female impersonation. now to bring this back to Jewish music (and sorta Purim):
in fact, Molly Picon, onstage and on screen, did lots of crossdressing: not just Yidl mitn fidl, that was actually pretty late in her drag career... her first big hit was her first big crossdressing role, Yankele, in the waning years of WWI; she toured it for years afterward worldwide. she was married though, to her mentor and frequent co-star; and her boy-dressed roles at least the ones I'm familiar with [East & West, the 1923 silent film is another] always left plenty of room for the audience to perceive her straight persona. and when she was younger, she passed better in those costumes. I still wonder about how she chose that pinky ring she's wearing in the photo they took of her receiving the lifetime achievement award from YIVO in 1981 though; the tuxedo looks great and fits in with her mischievous attitude over the years — but it's pretty queer telegraphy with the pinky ring; maybe there's a different meaning from her generation (she does have in-jokes about queer Greenwich Village bars in her "Busy, Busy" lyrics English version that are quite clear; typescript in YIVO archives). you can see the tux picture and a 1937 post-Yiddle drag photo of Molly from a NYC stage production of "Bublitchki" at our site; click on the lecture description link from the home page. any interpretations most welcome. thanks (still avoiding finishing the taxes), Eve ---------------------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------+ Hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network http://shamash.org A service of Hebrew College, which offers online courses and an online MA in Jewish Studies, http://hebrewcollege.edu/online/ * * FREE JEWISH LEARNING * * Shamash invites you to join MyJewishLearning.com, a comprehensive, objective, authoritative and interactive learning resource in all areas of Judaism. Free membership via http://www.myjewishlearning.com/shamash ---------------------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------
