I am writing as a former student journalist and Spectator editor 1967/1968. From my understanding the tradition of drag shows and its attendant milieu probably date to a history some two millenia old. They in fact may well predate Christianity. So we are dealing with an artistic event which is steeped in virtually all cultures. It is meant to be provocative, boundary shifting and commentary on gender norms. So the photo which accompanied the story did exactly those things. And “those things” were sanctioned and directly or indirectly an extension of the university. As Aquinas might say the being of the photo contained the essence of the event. It seems to me a university set and built in the environs of a downtown sophistication should not yell censorious surprise or editorial castigation.
One final question. Is the work of the LGBTA club and community to be stigmatized because it shows a bit of skin and a zinger at stereotypical norms?
Patrick Curran
