Why is Existing Outside the Binary Such a Joke
It seems like before 2005 the only way people outside the gender binary could have their stories told is if they were wrapped up in a funny campy little musical. There is something about the absurdity of the costumes, the way the characters are expected to always be a bit of a joke that doesn’t quite sit right in my soul. At the same time, I know that the world has changed, and I look at these films with a lens aged with at least 20 years worth of social progression and privilege, so please take my analysis with a grain of salt. The way that the musicals Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) rely on absurdism through camp to get through to audiences is a necessity of the time they were created, however it’s also problematic in a modern world.
Cis-het audiences of the past and indeed some of the present need to have that degree of separation between “us” and “them.” The only way they could connect to a trans person onscreen is if the trans characters are truly CHARACTERS in every way, including having a sense of unreality about them. The more absurd, the better, hence the authors of these stories turning to camp as a form of expression within their work, but also to act as a cushion for more traditional minded audiences.
It’s more than just a well weilded technique, the tradition of camp is deeply rooted in the queer community, going back to the ever dramatic campy queen that is Oscar Wilde. Except in his time, he called it aestheticism. “You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” Says he, and he tells no lies. Within the queer community camp has always been a form of expression and a way to control what the world sees of you, but in a modern society that asks nothing but equality for the girls, gays, and the theys, slackjawed awe feels insulting.
When dressed to the nines, artificial and hypersexualized is the only way you see yourself on screen, one can be tempted to squeeze yourself into that box. (Boltz & Yam 2017 )Even for those who extravagance comes easy to, by the nature of it it requires money, time, and effort that not all can afford to spend. Even for the most effortless queens, being ON all the time is a chore, and yet that seems the only choice. For Dr. Frank-n-furter of Rocky Horror Picture Show, ON and at volume 10 is his only way of being. The only time he doesn’t perform at this level is when he is face down in his pool, dead. Twenty five years later, we get Hedwig and the Angry Inch. We are graced with a bit more dynamism in her character. She has her character that she performs, but we see her real self when she’s off stage too. Finally, a little more reprieve, someone who looks just a fraction more like how someone may want to if they're not interested in continually performing their existence.
The best way to look at the campy queer films of the past is as a testiment to how far we have come as a community. These days, we’re blessed with more representation than ever, but we, the queer community are not blind to the fact that the fight isn’t over. Pose and Sense8 and Orange is the New Black give us vibrant, real and relatable trans characters, but that isn’t enough. We’re still called to fight the good fight, no matter how far we have come from the campy queens of the silver screen.