Here's a Theory: The Statue of Liberty is... a Man!

Well, based on a man.

So the assumption has always been that the French sculptor, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, modeled Lady Liberty off his mother. But author and journalist Elizabeth Mitchell has a different theory, as reported in "Secrets of America’s Favorite Places", and told to the New York Post:

“As I was looking at it more carefully, the structure of the face isn’t really the same. [His mother] has a more arched eyebrow, has a thinner nose, has thinner lips, even in her youth. And he was a bust-maker … and was known for his accuracy,” Mitchell tells The Post.

“Going through photos he had in his files of his brother, I started to look at the face more carefully, and it really did look to be like Liberty. His brother in his adult years had actually gone mad, and it was Bartholdi’s task to go once a week to visit, sometimes [spending] hours just staring at his brother, who was not speaking.”

Here's a close-up view of a copy of Lady Liberty's face, from the museum under the statue:

And here's a photo of Frédéric's brother, Jean-Charles:

So why would it even matter?

The Statue of Liberty is still iconic, based on a woman or a man. Still amazing. Still a beacon of hope for what America stands for.

But, knowing “Lady Liberty” may actually be the likeness of a beloved young man adds a lovely LGBTQ hue to the oxyidized copper green-blue statue's welcome to America.

Should we think of her as a man in drag? Pride.com suggests she might be a drag queen. The wonderful Peter Tatchell Foundation asks, in their Oct 24, 2019 newsletter where I first read about this, "Is the Statue of Liberty a giant drag queen? Could it be based on a Frenchman called Jean Charles Bartholdi? Well, 'Lady Liberty' is a great drag name!"

At the very least, if she's really based on Jean-Charles, it's pretty gender non-conforming!

Queer history really is everywhere.

Giuseppe Milo [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)]

Hold up your torch, Lady Liberty, and be proud of who you are—no matter who you're based on.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

Desmond is Amazing - a 10-year-Old "Drag Kid"

This is amazing...



I love how:

supportive Desmond's parents are of him being him.

confident he is in loving what he's doing, and who he is.

it's a window into how drag can be empowering.

I'm also struck (as I always am when watching RuPaul's Drag Race) at the mentoring element of Drag, and how for earlier generations, drag has sometimes been a way of finding family when a drag performer's own family of origin wasn't on board... For Desmond, with parents who are so supportive, it's like he'll have two families.

And that's something to celebrate!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

p.s. - thanks to my husband for sharing this with me, so I could share it with you...

Gender 101, episode #15 Redux: transsexual, transgender and drag queen/drag king

In episode #15, Lucy defines and distinguishes between the terms "Transsexual," "Transgender," "Drag King" and "Drag Queen."



The movie Lucy mentions is "Paris Is Burning" - I watched it years ago, and remember it being fascinating and really entertaining.

As always with these discussions, I learned so much. And I'm delighted to share these videos with all of you.

Namaste,
Lee

The original post had this anonymous comment:


Anonymous said...
I currently self identify as a drag king. To me, that means that I mainly identify as female, and normally am on the slightly butcher side of the female spectrum. However, I have a masculine facet to my identity that is expressed when I do drag. I use the term drag king because I am much more outgoing in drag and see myself getting into some type of drag performance when I'm older, but I'm not currently involved in any kid of drag performance, except for the occasional male role in the school play. I also sometimes will describe myself as a cross dresser, but that doesn't seem as applicable to my identity as drag king. Sometimes I'll also use the term gender fluid, because there are some days where I feel more feminine and others where I feel more androgynous or masculine. Another term I use a lot for my gender is just queer or queer femme, because I'm mostly female identified, but there are other aspects to my gender identity, and queer is the easiest way to explain both that and my orientation. I feel like drag king also covers how my masculine side is a facet of my identity, but isn't necessarily how I present myself on a day to day basis. With all that being said, I am fairly young, and I'm still on the journey of really finding what feels right to me gender wise.
Also thank you for mentioning drag kings. I feel like a lot of the time people only think about drag as being men dressing as women, whereas there's us women dressing as men, too.
June 20, 2012 at 10:40 PM

Debbie Harry Sings In French - A Novel About A Straight Teen Guy Who Dresses Like A Girl Rock Star

By Meagan Brothers

Johnny's 17, and fresh out of rehab for drinking.

He's sent to live with his uncle, and starts to attend a prep school where his goth look makes him an outcast as everyone assumes he's gay.

He discovers Debbie Harry, and is fascinated by the singer's mix of tough and beautiful. He sort of wants to BE her.

Johnny bonds over music and being an outcast with Maria, and as their relationship grows, Maria encourages him to dress up and perform as Debbie Harry in a drag contest.


Add your review of "Debbie Harry Sings In French" in comments!

Queer Teen Poetry: RuPaul goes Poetic for National Poetry Month (Words To Live By From A Drag Diva)

"What other people think of me is none of my business."

- RuPaul

It may not rhyme, but those 11 words are pretty profound.

When I heard RuPaul say this for the first time on her TV show (RuPaul's Drag Race) I ran to write it down. And now she has a new book out, "Workin' It! RuPaul's Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style" in which SHE wrote it down for us.

And the empowering spirit behind those words? THAT'S poetic.

Thanks, Ru!

RuPaul Crowns the winner of her "Drag Race" (No Spoilers) ...And how it's about more than a reality show: It's about Mentoring.

So last night it all came down to

BEBE ZAHARA BENET

NINA FLOWERS

and REBECCA GLASSC*CK

in the finale of RuPaul's Drag Race.

And I sat there watching this latest iteration of the "reality" TV show, fascinated to see who would win the crown.

As the finale wound to it's ultimate beauty pageant apex, with a rhinestone tiara giving an additional 18" in stature to the winner, I found myself getting goosebumps.

That was unexpected.

And it was because of what RuPaul said at that moment.

...I pass the reins on to you, my dear. It will be your job to spread the love, the message, the beauty of being the next drag superstar.

And suddenly, I understood the show on a mythic level. RuPaul was passing the crown. An Empress selecting her successor as a Drag Diva Super Star of the world.

It wasn't so much RuPaul going into retirement, but acknowledging the facts - she ain't no ingenue anymore.

It's a transition many of us in our youth-obsessed culture, especially in the Gay (GLBTQ) community, fail to make.

There are 40 and 50 year olds still acting like they're 22, still thinking that the be-all and end-all of life is clubbing and how hot you look and landing the next hot conquest.

And I found myself really excited that here, in this world that I really know so little about,

this world of drag queens and divas, of men trying to get at the heart of what is beauty, grace, and poise, of men wielding the magic of gender to make us all pause and think - and entertain us as well -

that here in this world, perhaps, is a better understanding of the role of the tribal elder, and the generational interconnectedness we need as human beings.

And I realized, on this meta level, that it's what works for me (and millions of others) about the show "American Idol," and why I love how gushy and crazy Paula Abdul is as a judge - it's a passing-on of the reins there, too. Paula and Simon and Randy and Kara and the millions of us voting are finding the new generation - and through a grueling initiation - will crown one as the next Queen or King of Pop.

I see now that Reality TV has become the new "initiation" ritual in our ritual-starved culture, an initiation from one stage of life to another that many of us never experience ourselves - we only watch others go through their initiations, their passages. But we're human, and on some deep level inside each of us, we crave this acknowledgment of passing, of growing, of maturing.

What RuPaul did last night was not only crown a new "Queen," but cast herself in a new role, of mentor. She cast herself in the new role of a beautiful and powerful older "woman," passing on her knowledge, and happy to see a younger generation claim their place on the world stage.

And there, in the land of fakeness (for what could be "faker" than a man dressed up in pounds of makeup and fake boobs in a glittering dress, six inch heels, and a gigantic wig?) - there was something true and real: the answer to our botox injected, face peeled, and youth-obsessed adults of today.

It's something I didn't expect to learn from a 6 and a half foot tall drag queen with a wig the size of a Vespa.



As Ru said at the end of this finale:

"My Queen. Remember, If you can't love yourself - how you gonna love somebody else? Now walk!"

Amen, Ru. Amen.