In today’s ‘The Internet is a Bad Place’ news, Tom Daley is catching strays on social media for doing — checks notes — “womanface”?
By Carson Mlnarik
“If a gay white man like Tom Daley wore blackface, he’d lose his sponsorship,” Malcolm Clark, a.k.a. @TwisterFilm, wrote in a post.
“So why is Daley’s drag womanface being celebrated by the media? Drag insults women no less than blackface does Blacks.”
The photo was accompanied by both a screenshot of Daley in drag and an absolutely ridiculous (and offensive) AI-generated image of the diver in blackface.
On one hand, we almost want to applaud Clark, whose X bio describes him as a “documentary maker who researches the origins of ideas that people claim are progressive but aren’t,” for using a term as original and distasteful as “womanface” to describe the art of drag.
On the other hand, it’s impossible not to see his viral post, which has received over 1 million views and counting, for what it is: rage bait.
Upon further research, it seems that Clark got his info (and the word “womanface”) from the Women’s Declaration International, a transphobic UK-based women’s group that’s made dismantling the term “gender identity” its mission.
Honestly, at a time when both the trans and drag communities are especially under attack, we’re not surprised that a hateful bigot took it upon themselves to turn Daley’s fun drag transformation into a right-wing talking point.
But to stoop to the point of AI-generated hateful imagery is a new low.
Thankfully, an army of keyboard warriors were there to quickly call out Clark’s post for what it was.
“A man putting on a wig and wearing makeup isn’t inherently degrading towards women,” one user wrote, adding that “a lot of drag is celebratory of female icons.”
Plus, comparing Daley in drag to “womanface” seems to imply that all ladies are “born with a full face of makeup and meticulously styled wigs.”
Which we know is not the case, considering the hours we’ve seen Plastique Tiara put in the makeup chair!
Another commenter pointed out how offensive it was to draw a connection between drag and blackface, considering the latter was historically used “as a means to mock Black people or to present Black people without employing them.”
And as a different user remarked, “Using AI to put someone in blackface is crazy actually!”
Which actually brings up some advice we’d like to share to Clark: Next time you want to use artificial intelligence to generate a celebrated and well-liked LGBTQ+ man in blackface, maybe try searching for “Why don’t I have any friends?” instead.
Just a thought!
Source: https://www.queerty.com/the-womanface-backlash-to-tom-daleys-drag-makeover-is-insane-20261007/
Yes, you read that correctly.
It all started when the gay diver got an absolutely gagworthy drag makeover, courtesy of RuPauls Drag Race All Stars alum Plastique Tiara, on a recent episode of her YouTube show.
While Gay Twitter X was busy showering the LGBTQ+ duo with compliments, the five-time Olympic medalist’s clip crossed over to, erm, other corners of social media.
