blog




  • Essay / The social problem of gender deviance in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a film by Stephan Elliott

    Trans women in drag: the social problems in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the DesertAs our manual explains explains, social problems are conditions that cause mental and financial distress to a portion of the population as well as behaviors that violate a society's desired norms (Eitzen, Zinn, & Smith, 2014, p. 10). Among society’s most restrictive and constraining norms are those that define sexist behavior. In our current patriarchal system, those who are considered women are less valuable, as evidenced by women's lower income levels and other issues (Eitzen, Zinn, & Smith, 2014, p. 232). Since being a woman is undervalued, a man who acts in a way defined as feminine is very likely to face some form of social censure. This is demonstrated extensively in the 1994 film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (TAPQD). The three main characters are usually seen during the events depicted as men of different genders, including the transgender woman of the trio. Their shared and respective struggles highlight how society's view of gender deviance as a problem causes more problems than it solves for themselves and others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Approaching issues of TAPQD as gender deviance instead of strictly focusing on sexual orientation issues is a necessary choice to properly explain it on a sociological level. If I were to even discuss how heterosexual characters react to homosexuality, the entire plot of the main female character would be erased. Although she is portrayed by a cisgender man, Bernadette is a transgender woman. As she is a woman, her attraction to men is heterosexual in nature. It is the presumption that transgender women are always men that leads to the problems they face. As for his compatriots Mitzi/Tick and Felicia/Adam, they are cisgender men who dress in drag. When they do, they confront their biggest issues or deviate from heteronormative norms by being openly gay. Ditching the sequins and heels in favor of traditionally masculine attire would render either man's deviances invisible to view. Bernadette just talking independently about her clothes is enough to raise questions in most people's minds. The manual's complete ignoring of transgender issues is unfortunate for several reasons, but it does not make this analysis impossible. The fact that our textbook focuses on the United States while TAPQD takes place in Australia is not at all a burden when it comes to exposing the reasons for transgender-based oppression. gender-related behaviors have developed and continue to exist. As both countries were founded by empire builders from the United Kingdom, we share a common economic origin. This common root is capitalism. Capitalist systems have maintained and enforced gender stratification for centuries due to the belief that men are inherently more economically productive (Eitzen, Zinn, & Smith, 2014, p. 215-6). The question of whether homosexuality is considered appropriate in a capitalist system is both evolving and historically ironic, as it can be argued that the rise ofwage labor at the expense of family farming as the primary means of earning a living has given our culture the capacity to even have a conception of sexual orientation, let alone witness the rise of a subculture focused on models of non-heterosexual relationships (D'Emilio, 1983). Regardless of where lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender people fall in this count, deviance is part of our social fabric as a way of comparing those who behave properly and those who do not (Eitzen, Zinn, and Smith , 2014, p. 244). Advances in the acceptance of same-sex marriage seem to indicate both a change in one social meaning of deviance and the strengthening of another, since marriage can now be imposed as the ultimate goal of deviance.this kind of couple as well as mixed gender. It also does not eliminate legal discrimination against members of this group, since only twenty-eight states prohibit people from being fired or denied employment based on their sexual orientation (Fu, 2017 ). Where the above places transgender people, particularly trans women, is a different argument. In today's society, trans people are not accepted. In fact, they tend to suffer far greater economic hardship than cis people. A study conducted by the Movement Advancement Project and the Center for American Progress found that trans people in the United States were four times more likely to live in poverty than their cis counterparts (Kellaway, 2015). This has been attributed to the wide social acceptance gap for trans people as well as widespread and legally acceptable discrimination against them in housing and employment. For every Laverne Cox or Chas Bono given airtime and a platform to express their opinions, hundreds of people like them are struggling to get by and are turning to other means of earning money. money. Doing drag shows like Bernadette is one such legal approach. The aforementioned increase in LGB acceptance despite shifting the T in the boilerplate acronym may make TAPQD seem a little dated to some eyes. However, even if the legal sanction exists, social acceptance must catch up. This delay is considered more likely in areas where residents are from lower economic classes and therefore are not as educated as their urban peers. But it appears the traveling trio would face fewer social obstacles if they set out on their journey today. The postal vote held in Australia earlier this year on marriage equality was a strong voice for the whole plan, but the areas that submitted more no votes than yes votes were working-class suburbs or rich in immigrants, while rural districts favored the plebiscite (Reynolds, 2017). This makes us wonder why the writers had Bernadette, Mitzi and Felicia traveling across central Australia. It seems likely that they thought the backcountry was a refuge for what we would call "idiots" living in the deep forests of the South or rural areas of the Midwest. So they could show the trio being refused service in bars or worse and comfort their urban audience that it wouldn't happen in their part of the world. A quick glance at the statistics on transgender murders over the past year would disprove this, as many have died in places like Chicago, Baltimore, and Manhattan (Human Rights Campaign, 2017). ). And the aborted desire to.