Mary Cheney Wonders Why Dressing In Drag Is Acceptable And Blackface Is Not
Mary Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has spent some time in the spotlight over the past few years. She married her wife in 2012 and has championed gay marriage for many years. Her views have sometimes been controversial in comparison to the majority, but her newest comments have many people wondering if she is purposefully trying to draw attention to herself. In a post on her Facebook page, Mary asked why it is socially acceptable for people to dress in drag, but it is not okay for people to wear blackface. The comments come just a week after she spoke with a group of students at American University about being openly gay and voiced her hope that the Republican party will someday embrace same-sex marriage. She opened the speech by saying, “I’m Darth Vader’s daughter,” referring to his vilification by politicians on the left.
According to the Washington Times, Dick Cheney was okay with being compared to Darth Vader. However, he has been quite silent in regards to the blackface comments, a topic of discussion that has been considered taboo for many years.
Mary Cheney’s Facebook post may have been written to coerce an intellectual discussion among those that are within her Facebook network. However, the topic was quickly spread across the internet where people were asking if she was condoning blackface or rejecting dressing in drag.
“Why is it socially acceptable — as a form of entertainment — for men to put on dresses, make up and high heels and act out every offensive stereotype of women (b***hy, catty, dumb, slutty, etc.) — but it is not socially acceptable — as a form of entertainment — for a white person to put on blackface and act out offensive stereotypes of African Americans?”
Although the post may seem to instigate some sort of arguments, CNN shared the final line in the post, which shows that Mary Cheney may have just been drawing a comparison to the two in that both are unrealistic representations of a minority.
“Shouldn’t both be ok or neither?”
Mary Cheney shared the status after watching an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, where a curious television add appeared and struck her curiosity. She did not mean it to be used against any race, lifestyle, or any other self identifying individual. It was simply a question of what is acceptable and what is not. She was questioned to clarify her post by a follower, to which she simply replied, “Seriously?”
[Photo Courtesy: Politico]
