I was riding in the car with a group of gay men the first time I heard a Shirley Q. Liquor skit. Over roars of laugher by the other riders, I enquired as to the comedian on the CD. The driver handed me the case and to my surprise there was a Caucasian man in drag and blackface impersonating an impoverished African-American woman with 19 kids from the southern region of the U.S. Shirley spoke in broken English, talked of her visits to "K-Mark," misused words and often talked of her poverty and lazy nature. My patience ran thin as the only African-American in the car. I eventually killed the party with my request that the CD be changed. I later learned that Knipp even sells paraphernalia with pictures of black babies with bibs stating "Inmate" and other offensive material to compliment his monolgues. You see, I'm all for comedic expression and cultural satire. We should be able to laugh at ourselves in order to identify and improve on our deficiencies, but the keyword is 'ourselves'. Shirley Q. Liquor, played by the Quaker minister Charles Knipp is a Caucasian drag queen in blackface makeup, reminiscent of the minstrel shows made popular in the 1830's by Thomas D. Rice and his minstrel character "Jim Crow." Rice started a movement of performers portraying black Americans as lazy, uneducated and musical.
Charles Knipp has reinstated the minstrel show in his modern drag version under the guise of social awareness, but critics see little cultural value in his skits. Can a white drag queen portray an impoverished black woman without crossing the comedic line? Get behind the controversy surrounding Shirley Q. Liquor.
Other Suggested Readings:
Racism in the Gay Community
Racism vs. Homophobia
Why Are Drag Shows Popular?
Image: © Charles Knipp as Shirley Q. Liquor.
Your kidding. You asked that the CD be removed? Do you know how many black comedians, gay or straight, make their living poking fun at ‘white folks.’ Lighten up or get a different job. This time your opinion is ridiculous.
It’s funny how Whites are so cavalier when Blacks are offended by racist humor. There is not humor in a White comedian making comedy out of Black Poverty unless of course he had a companion piece titled “Wal-Mart White Trash.
I guess you’ve never heard of Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, and the others from the Blue Collar comedy show. Their entire routine is based on making fun of white trash.
I think you are way off base with your comments…you really are creating “race barriers” when you believe that one race can’t enjoy the comedy of another…Like blacks don’t ridicule caucasians and other races? That’s one problem with “blacks”…they don’t take responsiblity for the lack of education or actions and seem to put the blame on others..now it is the Drag Queens fault blacks speak with “broken” English…their language is more than “broken”…it’s a train wreck.
Thanks guy!!!…I found the site for Shirley Q Liquor. I had heard this comedian before but didn’t know the names of the charactors…Great!!! I ‘ll be able to order in time for Christmas!!! Happy Holidays !!!
I wrote about this, as well. Here’s the thing people seem to be afraid to admit because it reveals a double standard… If you’re making jokes about race, the race of the comedian and the race of the audience matters.
It may not seem “fair” but it’s reality. Besides, the jokes I hear about whites seem more like observations about behavior that’s different than blacks; while jokes about blacks – these “jokes” – often have deep, negative connotations about intelligence, physical features or propensity for crime. The playing field isn’t quite level.
The bottom line is this knucklehead has every right to perform his “comedy” and people have every right to boycott it if they feel it’s racist. But pretending Shirley Q’s act doesn’t offend a lot of people is ignorant.
Its just comedy…see it for what it is and have a laugh yourself. I (being white) have laughed at many a black comic poking fun at white people. This is a two way street.
And it is quite plausible Shirley’s skit is offending black people…but what about all the comedic skits that offend whites? Boycott if you feel it’s right, I think it’s pretty damn funny myself.
OMG
This comedian DOES have other characters and DOES have white characters that poke fun at white trash stereotypes. He is an equal opportunity “offender”, if you are so offended. In Shirley Q, he is portraying ONE woman, he is NOT suggesting all black people are this way. Comedy is about taking something and blowing it waay out of proportion. Thats what comedy is. It is Pretend…
Is Charles Knipp’s Betty Butterflield equally as offensive? I laugh my ass off at that stuff too, and it is ripping on un educated, lazy, drug addled, and stupid white people. Where is the outrage?