https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/27/google-distances-itself-from-drag-performance-after-employee-petition.html
Google has distanced itself from a planned drag show after some employees signed a petition opposing the Pride event.
This is absolutely on brand. Can't trust these companies to do what's right.
Remember to follow the community guidelines before leaving a comment here. Regardless of affiliation, the rule for being respectful to other commentors still apply.
Locking this post, it's devolving into subjects and arguments that aren't at the heart of Mildly Infuriating.
Each year, Google sponsors a series of Pride events in San Francisco and other locations for employees and the public. This year, the closing event was a “Pride and Drag Show” featuring popular performer “Peaches Christ,” who was scheduled to perform Tuesday at LGBTQ+ bar Beaux in San Francisco to “wrap up this amazing month,” according to a now-removed internal description of the event viewed by CNBC.
So, during Pride, Google sponsors events held at various locations. And people are upset because someone with a weiner is wearing a dress and a fabulous wig while singing showtunes?
It's at a gay bar, but it's also an official employee event, which is weird. I wonder what the expectations are for employees to attend official events. For me, whether it's a drag show or bowling, I don't attend most after-hours work events.
Google is still sponsoring the event, it's just not an employee event anymore. That's probably how it should have been planned from the beginning.
That said, thin-skinned Christians can not attend if it's an optional event. The bible is silent about drag shows.
Leave it to Christians to feel victimized and "disrespected" when other people celebrate their own lifestyles. Religious fruitcakes and snowflakes.
Can someone fill me in on wtf is going on with drag in the US?
I'm from the UK, drag is like our longest running joke, and families go to pantomimes all the time. Recently theres been a more direct association with the LGBT community in the popular understanding of it. I'd say that most people's view on drag here is:
Some of the stuff I see out of the US is bizzare. I realise that the weirder stuff is always going to be amplified in the news, and people are not necessarily trying to show the full context in photos. But I've seen shit like
Like, wtf? Drag isn't the problem, it's the weird-ass way that people seem to be responding to it. Go to a show if you think you might enjoy it, read up on the performance or use context ques to understand what kind of drag performance it's going to be. Certainly don't go for political reasons and ruin the fun for performers who are just trying to have a good time. But equally, don't plan shows that are meant to provoke a reaction for political reasons, for the same reason.
And why the right wingers care so much if fucking beyond me. Imagine having enough free time to consider that important enough to spend your precious free time protesting it rather than doing literally anything else.
Just chill, it's a fucking stage show. It's like the whole toilet thing again, just hysterics over something inconcequential. I'm trans and fabulous as fuck and don't seem to consider these issues nearly as important than a middle-aged cishet blue collar dude from Texas who may never have met a single trans person or encountered anything like this outside of the Internet.
Is only fun show, why you heff to be mad?
Republicans in the U.S. have decided that drag shows are corrupting the children. But they can't stop with just "they're corrupting the children" now. They're going after drag as a whole. Because it's never just been about drag, it's been about oppressing LGBT+ people. And when they've gotten their way and made them fully second-class citizens, if citizens at all, they'll go after the next group. Maybe it will be Jews. Maybe it will be black people. Maybe it will be something else. But there always has to be a corrupting "them" for Republicans to fight against.
Even worse we have fascist Republicans who have been photographed in Drag and still oppose it. But same with blackface sadly...
Yes, but those people were making fun of people who wear drag. Don't you see how that is different? /s
And why the right wingers care so much if fucking beyond me.
It's modern blood libel. They don't care about drag; they care about libeling their political enemies as pedophiles.
Would be at least somewhat believable if they were doing something about pedophiles and predators in their own ranks. From over here the Repubs look like a bunch of black people in hoods or something similar ironic.
Yeah, especially after their top man, aka the annoying orange, talked about dating his OWN DAUGHTER if she would not be his daughter (there were other similar quotes).
It's not lost on non-republicans in the US either. most of the people assaulting children are either republicans or priests. There is a bombasitc member of congress who's husband (then boyfriend) exposed himself to minors in public. She lied to police for him (Republicans like to idolize the police in the media). Oh and he was 24 at the time and she was 17, so he was dating a minor. The calls are coming from inside the house.
Exactly. They all make it seem as if drag shows were sexual pole dance and strip tease shows. Which is absolutely wild! It's just a comedy show for f*ck's sake!
Unfortunately the right wing rags in the UK have started to join on this rabid right wing extremism from the US about drag shows.
Forgetting that christmas pantomimes, a very British institution, are usually performed in drag. We've had multiple drag performers like Dame Edna over decades and it was never an issue however if you peek at the rags then it seems drag performers are the downfall of society.
I've recently seen a video of one of Tom Scott's mates who went and did drag. It was pretty interesting to learn about it, but one of the things I had to think of when reading your comment was that in the video it was made very clear that US drag and UK drag are very different. In the UK it stems from performative art, in the US it was different. I can't recall what it was exactly, but I think that explains the sexual focus in the US compared to the UK
Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUf8-P3d5mk
Also, hello! I'm another Reddit user trying to create the internet I wanted back in the 90's. No time like the present!
I have a conspiracy theory on potential Google employees meddling with the algorithm on YouTube to push the far-right into mainstream yet again. It seems like there's some basis for it.
I really, really hate that 98% of our voting population formulates their worldview solely based on the nightly news broadcast that they watch. We'd be in such better shape of we could get either flavor of partisan to care half as much about their own economic power as they do about social issues, and more economic power would translate to more social power.
I wouldn't have said nightly news, but 98% of people are affected by mass media. Anyone that watches any form of news on the TV or reads the paper. Anyone with a smartphone that searches Google or reads any social media. And of those that don't, they have people in their life that do and tell them about it.
As much as we would all like to think we're above it and not affected by propaganda (whether corporate or state) it's just not true. The only people not affected by media are true hermits, Ted Kaczynski followers, and the Amish.
Same. I live in Dallas and i hate that people think we're all gun-toting kooks. Our cities are blue and statewide voting is much closer that people realize. A lot of it is gerrymandering and voter suppression.
Can't trust these companies to do what's right.
This has to be drilled into the collective consciousness as much as possible. There is no such thing as an ethical corporation, or an ethical company that is for-profit -- they simply cannot be ethical, they are amoral by design. If Target or Walmart or Netflix do something that is seen as positive, the only reason is a profit motive, not because they are moving towards being 'good'.
"Religious discrimination". I don't think you can vehemently discriminate against a group of people and then claim YOU'RE the one being discriminated for it simply existing.
How is this a thing at work?
Why not just not waste money on bullshit and pay people better/work them less hours?
Well it's a regular comedy show, sometimes companies host such events for their employees. Just like christmas parties or summer events.
Yes. Additionally, as part of the push for diversity, equity, & inclusion, many companies host cultural events to celebrate andi educate. For example, my previous employer hosted an annual Diwali celebration that included henna, food, dance, & trivia. A Bay Area company hosting a Pride event during Pride month is hardly out-of-place or surprising.
Why am I getting "error: language_not_allowed" when I try to comment in this thread?
I'm using connect for droid. I haven't had this problem before. Is it a Lemmy error, is it a lemmy.world error, or is it a connect for Lemmy error?
This posted. So, are there certain words I can't use on lemmy.world? If so that seems weird, unless the list exists somewhere so I can remove whatever word is problematic.
Is this anything to do with the whole "We're here, we're queer, we're coming for your children" thing?
I have no problem with drag. Where I start to have a BIG problem is when kids are dragged (lol) into it. In the us drag shows, at least I feel, are more adult oriented, and when you start showing kids something that they are clearly uncomfortable with and shouldn't even have been shown to begin with. That's where I draw the line. Keep it to adult only places, not schools and libraries where kids can be exposed to it.
A drag show is not inherently "adult oriented", whatever that means. It's good to teach children to be accepting. If we are going to ban something for the sake of the children, let's ban child beauty pageants.
Nobody is forcing drag on children. This "drag invasion of children's spaces" isn't a thing.
It's a Boogeyman the conservative media have latched onto to make people angry. It's propaganda to demonize a group of people for political gain.
I guess I'm still upset about that drag show that took place in a bar in Texas I believe where they brought a lot of young kids to a clearly adult place where they shouldn't be regardless of it being a pride event or not.
Why is it you have a problem with Drag, but not the parents that took their children to a bar, which should be ages 18/21and up, to watch it.
Sure, there might be isolated incidents of anything, but it's not a reason to make entire laws about and to demonize a whole group of people for it. Especially if nobody is getting hurt.
I'm sure those children are just fine. The only reason they would not be fine is if someone told them they weren't. Kids are very freely accepting of everything until they're told they shouldn't be.
Drag shows are basically comedy shows. The only real difference is that the presenter typically wears tons of makeup and a gigantic wig. There's nothing scary or family unfriendly about them.
Just like any show, any drag show has a target audience of course. One drag show might target an adult audience, another is suitable for people of all ages. Just like there are comedy shows and puppet theaters specifically for children.
Pantomimes with people in drag has existed well before any of this fake social outrage has occurred. When I was a kid I watched Pantomimes. I left thinking "wow that was funny" it wasn't anything sexual at all.
It's literally just comedy, that is all it is.
Same with Dame Edna on nightly game shows. I never saw it as anything sexual, a kid literally won't unless you're out here describing in graphic detail what a male and a female sex organ looks like, a kid isn't going to know or even care. Most kids just see someone who is different and goes about their own business playing and having fun, do they sometimes ask questions? Sure, do you need to answer and explain in graphic detail? No, that's on you if you do, not drag performers.
In the us drag shows, at least I feel, are more adult oriented,
Just because you went to some burlesque drag show does not mean drag is inherently adult. Like when drag queens come to read to children, how is someone in a dress and wig reading children's stories "Adult Oriented"? would you consider a cis woman dressed as Elsa from frozen reading to kids to be "Adult oriented"? I mean ive seen some pretty "Adult" cosplay performances so all cosplay must be adult oriented right? 🤡
You would benefit from reading the post by @gundog48 above. In the UK, drag is often something for families. It doesn't have to be and often is not sexual.
That they shouldn't be shown to young kids? Yes. I'm a huge horror movie buff and play a ton of violent video games(see people playground/tf2) and I'd neverlet my kid consume that content till he is old enough(17) then he can view that stuff, and if that includes drag, then so be it!
17? You know your kid has probably been looking at porn on the internet since they were 9 years old, right?
Also, I grew up in the 80s when our parents took us to see horror movies that also had, *gasp* breasts in them in the movie theater. When we were 9. Somehow we didn't all turn out depraved lunatics.
Times change, and this is how I want to parent. Also I have a strict web filter in place to block such sites (except for reddit and apps like that) but once he hits 17, it all comes down and we treat him more or less like an adult responsible for his own actions. we are still gonna be there to teach and help him through life but for the most part he's on his own.
<3 Seeeee??? This is what I'm hear for. Haha. Thanks for such a lively debate! Carry on...
You're the poor sod who sighs and says "This is a really great conversation," at like 9:45p, aren't you.
"Welllll, it's getting late, and I have to to get up early, soo, byee. Really great hanging out."
Well tough truths, no one cares that the greeks had like 5 translations of love and you meant it in the eros sense, and that means it wasn't weird to say when I was inside you. ... - ... I think I have some issues to resolve. Excuse me.
Also I’m excited that you’re my first interaction on Lemmy.. perhaps this is a sort of phileo between us.
I told my wife I loved her within the first six months. We'll be married 23 years in about a month.
Ouch! I was just pleasantly surprised to see so many comments! This is my second post to the Lemmy-verse and after a day at work, I come home to this being a popular post. 😊
But I am also the one leaving the party at 9:45pm to go to bed. 😂 You all aren't wrong there!
I don't typically have much time during the week to spend time online, but I'm so happy to see this community building so quickly!
Also, screw you Google for listening to the nutty people in your organization and removing the support for a simple drag event.
There is a feeling of massive change on the horizon. This community might easily become my new home in the online world. Thanks to all of you!