Show me your tits, black man; I'll make you a star

Group I

Wesley Snipes – Noxema Jackson – To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)
Will Smith – Paul - Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
Ving Rhames – Holiday Heart – Holiday Heart (2000) [Television]
Chiwetel Ejiofor (British film) – Lola – Kinky Boots (2005)

Group II

Martin Lawrence – Malcom Turner (Big Momma), Big Momma’s House I and II (2000, 2006)
Tyler Perry – Madea – All the “Madea” films and stage plays
Eddie Murphy – Rasputia - Norbit (2007)
Miguel A. Nunez, Jr. – Jamal Jefferies/Juwanna Mann – Juwanna Mann (2002)
Shawn Wayans – Kevin Copeland – White Chicks  (2004)
Marlon Wayans – Marcus Copeland – White Chicks
Flip Wilson – Geraldine - The Flip Wilson Show (1970s) [Television]
Jamie Foxx – Wanda – In Living Color (1990s) [Television]
Martin Lawrence – Sha Nay Nay – The Martin Lawrence Show (1990s) [Television]

The emasculation of black men persists… some might say.
    
I don’t necessarily have a strong opinion on this topic but wanted to present this matter for discussion.
    
As I was contemplating this article, I recognized that not all these portrayals are the same. I kinda loosely lumped a few films (where men dress as women or exhibit feminine behavior) into two categories – Group I (Necessary) and Group II (Unnecessary). I’ve highlighted a few pics. Undoubtedly, there are others. Acting as a woman is usually done for laughs by a comedian or comedic actor. Sometimes the impersonation is legitimate. 
    
It was “legitimate” in Six Degrees of Separation, when Will Smith’s character (Paul) kissed a man. (We never did see their lips actually touch; I figure Will Smith wasn’t havin’ that. After all, he was in the midst of Fresh Prince success.  LOL.)  Given the story, the kiss made sense. I have no problem with this scene. I have no problem with Wesley Snipes in To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar. Same thing with Ving Rhames in Holiday Heart and Chiwetel Ejiofor in Kinky Boots. I’m cool with these characterizations, since the characters were, after all, drag queens or homosexuals. Truthfully, there are black homosexuals, drag queens and cross-dressers and these men have a place on the silver screen and their lives should be shown – be it dramatically or for laughs.
    
The Group I characterizations are different from the purely comedic Group II characterizations.  I think comedians think it is funny to dress up as a woman. Evidently, it is thought that there is humor in watching a man behave as a woman. There is… sometimes.
    
Jamie Foxx must have thought Wanda’s character was funny. And Martin Lawrence must have thought Sha Nay Nay was funny. The characters were funny. Martin Lawrence apparently believes a black man dressing as a woman is so downright hysterical funny that he repeated it twice in the films Big Momma’s House I and Big Momma’s House II. Or maybe the motivation was greed money. Don’t quote me on this but I believe I read that a third entrant is at least under discussion for the Big Momma series.
    
Though not a comedian, Tyler Perry believes it’s extremely profitable beyond your wildest dreams funny to dress up as a woman and portray the character, Madea. The character is funny.  And well written. Millions of people think so. This is a clearly a profitable enterprise winning formula for Perry.
    
Eddie Murphy  probably thought it was funny to play the character Rasputia in Norbit. But Murphy didn’t have to make this film. He already has an impressive and large body of work and sits on millions. He did it for laughs, I suppose.
    
Miguel Nunez, in Juwanna Mann. Maybe he was seeking exposure.
    
The point is, there are times when the man-dressed-up-as-a-woman thing makes sense – and is necessary and integral to the story line. Other times, however, it is an actor’s choice to don women’s clothing and behave like a woman because it’s "funny."
    
It’s overdone. It was new and fresh I guess, in the 70s when Flip Wilson was Geraldine.
    
This is now. Clearly, there’s a belief that a man dressed as a woman is a “tried and true” formula for comedic success. Even if this is true, this form of entertainment is “old.”  And it’s been done for so many decades that now it’s just played out. Make us laugh some other way.
    
Aside:  I remember a long time ago there was an NBA player who dressed up as a grandmother in TV commercials.  This dude was a big dude (like Tyler Perry) – Larry something or other – I remember thinking those commercials were beyond stupid. I wondered what his motivation was for doing those spots. It couldn’t have been money. And he was already famous. I didn’t respect him at all after these commercials. The commercial was stupid. The character was stupid. The portrayal was stupid. I thought, "what kind of man is this?"  This was a millionaire – a multimillionaire athlete (not even an actor) and he saw fit to do this? I vaguely remember cringing in distaste and embarrassment when the commercials played. This grandmother caricature was on display in print ads, too.
    
During a recent interview (August 16, 2007) with eurweb.com to promote his film, Illegal Tender, John Singleton said the following: 
    
"Nobody … has ever complained about the successful movies that are coming out that feature men with dresses on."  I applaud Tyler Perry for his independence, but when it's Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence and nobody is telling them anything bad about it or telling young boys 'you know that this is just a joke' and they call those movies 'family movies’.  Most of the movies that are comedies are coon shows."
    
Of course, with proper parenting, a young boy will not confuse that with reality or believe that straight men dressing as women is common or socially acceptable. 
    
I don’t really feel that strongly about black male actors dressing as women, as some others might. I think there’s a place for it… sometimes. I’m okay with it, especially when there’s a valid cinematic reason for the characterizations. Nevertheless, perhaps it’s time to move away from the purely comedic, meaningless depictions. I can think of no good reason for the prevalence of these kinds of films in modern black cinema. 
    
But does it mean anything if black men are shown in dresses… fairly regularly?  No doubt, it probably does.  I probably haven’t given it enough thought to examine what it really means.
    
What does it mean?
    
These roles -- when they occur one by one -- may go unnoticed. Yet, these portrayals demonstrate the continuance of the emasculation of black men in motion pictures in the United States (and elsewhere). And that is not a good thing. It just makes you wonder if, in order to achieve real stardom, a black man must show his tits.

Comments

[Shion]

From what I've seen this is done from a comedic point of view in showing a more sensitive side of a very masculine character. I recently saw a Saturday Night Live episode where Derek Jeter portray a woman and Charles Barkley was as well.Usually,male actors/athletes do this to demonstrate they are acessible to general public and to dispel any pretension about themselves.
I don't think Black men portraying women sends a message of emasculation no more than their white male counterparts,Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie),Jim Carrey(Vera the bodybuilder)or Robin Williams (Mrs.Doubtfire) or women who portray men, Barbara Striesand (Yental)and Joyce Heyser (Just One of the Guys--- good movie).
I have noticed a more career ending role: Black men who portray homosexuals do not appear to find a lot of work afterwards.Will Smith being the exception ( no kissing) but Matthew St. Patrick (Six Feet Under) and Michael K. Williams (The Wire) seem to get typecasted as being gay and few roles come their way afterwards:-(

[theblackactor.com]

Shion, I think it's a little different with white males, as they have a myriad of roles to choose from. So, the Tootsie's are a small percentage of the parts they play. That's not the case with us, I don't think. Is that still the case these days --that is, if you play a gay character, you are doomed? Mmm. Maybe that is the case.

[Kimi]

Wow those were some pretty strong comments from John Singleton ... jmho but I don't put Tyler Perry in the same category as Martin Lawrence & Eddie Murphy on this note.

I do think Madea is there for laughs & to laugh with her, but not to laugh at necessarily. Perry's movies always have some bigger message ... & Madea is usually involved in delivering it somehow & espousing wisdom in a humorous way.

I think the characters Lawrence & Murphy portray aren't there to deliver a message, but solely to garner laughter at the character's expense, plain & simple.

I do think Michael K. Williams is being typecast cuz his Omar character is gay, which is very interesting cuz Omar's a straight thug and more vicious than any heterosexual character on The Wire imho.

I loved Mathew St. Patrick on Six Feet under as well - watched that show during its entire run.

But it is very interesting how his onscreen partner, David, went on to have his very own TV show on Showtime (Dexter) & seems to have suffered zero consequences for not only portraying a gay man, but the one who was portrayed as the weaker man in the pairing.

Things that make ya go hmmm .....

[theblackactor.com]

@ Kimi

I see your point about Madea and how she is different from the others. I saw a few episodes of "Six Feet Under" and liked Matthew St. Patrick and thought it was cool he played a gay character. Other actors would have been afraid to. I hope that didn't kill his career. He's got a couple of films in the pipeline. I hope to see more of him. Thank you for your valuable and interesting insight on this post.

[MOONLIGHTONWATER]

Thank you for this post. I've often wondered why so many AA males (dating from my childhood watching Flip Wilson) would regularly agree to perform in drag. Though other comments allude to white counterparts doing the same; it appears as though the percentage of drag performances in our community is quite high... particularly in recent memory. I do think that this is a subtle emasculation/feminization of the black male and a further continuance of the 'sassy black female' image that is so pervasive in film and TV. Unfortunately, each of the Group II performances have been portrayed in this manner..realizing that this 'sassiness' is indeed part of the humor.

[jimmiedavis]

look our favorite site -

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tattoos/549179/

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tattoos/549179/
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tattoos/549179/

[dreamgirl21]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Wi6AEJDZY

dave chapell said it all.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Dreamgirl21

Wow! Thanks for sharing this! I so respect what Dave Chappelle did. Good. Good. Good. Good! :)

[Hot_viagra]

I think you are not quite right and you should still studying the matter.

[Antivirus_man]

I liked your site, you are very interesting to write. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[theblackactor.com]

@ Hot_Viagra. Perhaps. @ Antivirus_ Man. Thank you Mr. Antivirus. I hope you enjoyed nice holidays as well. :)