I honestly was super excited to see Professor Lukin's connection of Paris is Burning to Tom Ripley. I did read Linden's post and do agree that in the case of transgenders it is not the same. As Linden said, transgendered folks do identify as the opposite sex. Tom Ripley was not identifying as another person he was choosing to impersonate them.
In that sense, I think that drag is very similar. I think for many of the queens in Paris is Burning drag is an escape from their reality. The reality of their lives can be extremely difficult. As said by Dorian Corey, they do not have the opportunity to be an executive in real life, so they choose to do so at the balls. I think this is similar to Tom because in his real life he cannot be the charismatic, exciting person that Dickie is. He is unable to change who he is to fit this ideal. By impersonating Dickie, he is able to get the thrill of being someone everyone loves.
A big difference I see between the drag culture and Tom is that the imitation stops after the queens go home. They have their own lives that they go back to after the balls. Tom is living the life of someone else. There is no stopping it until he has to go back to being Tom Ripley.
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ReplyDelete"By impersonating Dickie, he is able to get the thrill of being someone everyone loves." I disagree here. The very fact of Tom's impersonation precludes him from encountering anyone who "loves" Dickie- this is why he moves from city to city, because being recognized by anyone who knew Dickie would mean arrest and imprisonment. Even setting aside the possibility of encountering someone who knew Dickie, Tom had to be very careful when interacting with complete strangers lest they remember him and mention the encounter to inquiring police. This is why the social aspects of Tom's impersonation are, I think, irrelevant. The only functional elements of Tom's impersonation are his appearance and handwriting, because these allow him to pick up checks and, also, to leave a paper trail which alludes to Dickie's still being alive.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I have a hard time understanding the drag queen thing. “They do not have the opportunity to be an executive in real life, so they choose to do so at the balls” - parading around in a drag ball does equate to “being an executive” beyond the mere sensation of wearing a jacket and tie. All that this does is demonstrate a pretty facile concept of what being an “executive” entails. Contrarily, Toms impersonation was understandable to the extent that, criminality aside, it facilitated his expensive lifestyle. Drag queens masquerading as “executives” do not share this utility.
I think that it's important to remember Tom experiences a lot more mixed feelings inside himself than the drag queens. For them, it is a rather complex game of identity and self-esteem, while Tom is simply a criminal mind, attempting to conceal himself. Though he does equate the drag queens in some respects, I don't think he can afford to have "everyone love" Dickie, because he knows that "everyone" would recognize him as being Tom (i.e. Friends, family, etc). Thus Tom is working in a game of concealment, while for the drag queens its almost the opposite...
ReplyDeleteI think I wasn't clear when I said the everyone comment. By everyone I meant new people he encounters. I think when Tom meets new people he is timid and awkward while Dickie has a presence that people he meets enjoy. Tom, obviously was drawn in by Dickie's allure and I think he wanted to have that same effect on others.
ReplyDeleteMy bad for not being clear.
I agree that Tom and the drag queens are quite different. The drag queens don't convince themselves that that are what they dress but rather it's more like theater and they get in there frame of mind as the businessman or whatever it his they are dressed as. They see it as a way to escape while Tom sees his impersonation as a way to escape but also a means to live. I think that without his alternate persona he would no longer want to live as Tom Ripley. You make a really great point as to how Tom never lets go of his identity of Dickie, he simply doesn't stop acting and it is something he starts to believe is true.
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