To use the ideas of Authenticity-and its importance to social and emotion health-as a critique on Ball Culture is a bit of a mistake. I agree whole-heartily that remaining true to your authentic self is paramount to your psychological well being. When you try to hide your true identity by taking on the attributes of a specific person or society you deny your own wants and needs, and create self-esteem and identity issues (as you may realize that you are unable to really conform to this ideal). You see this often in Middle and High School when kids are trying desperately to fit in, and to figure who they are.
For the transgender individuals found in drag culture, the female impersonation IS their true identity. They are making their outward appearance match the gender identity they experience on the inside, and not denying their identity in the least. What is damaging to these individuals isn't the time they spend at the Ball, its in Normative-Straight society when they play at "being a man." You must ask yourself, what defines who a person truly is? Is it their outward appearance or their heart and minds? If you (like me) define a person by what's inside, you must not deny a transgender person his/her true identity.
As for the men that identify as a drag queen, the female impersonation also doesn't compromise their authenticity, as they still feel like a man. Drag for them is an art, and even while they may look incredibly "real," if you would ask, they still feel like a man in a dress. It would be like questioning the authenticity of an actor because they enjoy portraying people different from their own personality. They make no claim of "becoming" a woman, they simply enjoy playing like one.
This is why I believe these critiques aren't really applicable to Ball culture, while they are quite relevant to the social-emotional issues faced by Tom Ripley.
Not to say I disagree with your ideas on this, but just throwing it out there- one could look at it another way and say that maybe the drag queens are participating in these balls and cross dressing in order to try to find a place to fit in. Maybe its the environment, and the accepting nature of the place, that makes them actually want to become involved in something like that- and they may not truly feel like a woman at the start but becoming immersed in the culture, they then grow into identifying as feminine.
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