QUEER CULTURE
Have you ever felt like shoving an entire bar of soap into your mouth?
Absurdism in Drag: Finding Freedom Beyond Conventional Meanings
“Você ja teve vontade de enfiar um sabonete inteiro na boca?”
This is what Brazilian drag queen Miranda Lebrão said, in Portuguese, as her entrance line in the premiere episode of Drag Race Brasil.
When asking the question, Miranda was seemlingly saying something that people would expect to have meaning, a memorable line that was maybe funny, audacious, or something that would define the drag artist’s style or niche. She even acted as if it was a normal craving people would relate to.
This competition is a huge platform for drag artists to show off their unique talents and charisma. Of course, everyone wants to make a good impression and connect with the audience whenever possible.
But then there’s Miranda Lebrão, who many of us met for the first time, and had the guts to ask a question that nobody could relate to. I mean, who in their right mind thinks a bar of Dove soap would make a yummy snack? Risking falling into the ridicule and being forgotten, her entrance became the hot topic in the Brazilian queer community on social media for a good week.
My husband and I were watching it together, and we looked at each other, confused, as we tried to understand what she meant. I was already almost laughing, but it took my husband (whom I suspect is half-Vulcan 🖖🏼 for all the logic he demands of the word) a couple of days — and seeing some of the multiple memes about it — to give up on understanding and just laugh about it too.
But why did this seemingly ridiculous question resonate with so many people? I propose we use some Philosophy to think about that.
Absurdism is a philosophy that challenges our conventional notions of purpose and meaning. It’s like drag, in that it’s not really mainstream and nobody’s making it into a whole lifestyle (as with the stoicism trend, for instance). It’s one of a group of philosophies that approaches how we place meaning to things, and to the possibility that the world doesn’t really make much sense.
It asks us to reflect on our experiences in this chaotic world we live in. You know, that whole conflict where we want our lives to have meaning but our experiences in the world show that it doesn’t seem to care? That’s what it’s all about — showing how unnecessary it may be to keep trying to make sense of things in a world that can be pretty senseless sometimes.
We sometimes forget that not everything has to have meaning. We do try to find meaning in everything, a reason for our feelings, an explanation for things we go through in life.
"Why would someone do that to me?", "Why people treat me like that, just by the way I present?", "Why have I been born this way?"…
I believe Miranda’s question could be seen as a “rupture” of sorts, prompting us to wonder about things that may not have any meaning, purpose, or reason. This could lead us to think about other things that fall into the same category.
We are aware of these things, but sometimes we just accept, suppress, or forget about them — or worse, try to fit into other people’s meanings — and move on.
Think about how seriously we tend to take life. It’s understandable with all the pressures and responsibilities we have. However, sometimes it can seem like the world is just too unfair, unpredictable and random for all our efforts to matter. It can feel like life is a bit arbitrary, right?
The journey into Absurdism is like sipping on a rebellious cocktail. We start by transforming the contrast between what is common and absurd into opportunities for reflection. Our limited vision of life’s purpose and others’ demands on it expands. Absurdism encourages us to embrace the incredible chaos of life without conforming to societal expectations.
I really believe how queer culture is amazing because it challenges the status quo and encourages us to question societal norms that really don’t make any sense. Sometimes, society tries to put everything and everyone in neat little boxes, but drag reminds us that there’s so much more to life than just following the rules. Similarly, Absurdism invites us to embrace the chaotic and unpredictable nature of life without feeling like we have to fit into what others have decided to have meaning.
“Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.”
Albert Camus, one of the core philosophers of Absurdism
The moral values defended by absurdists often overlap with the ethical outlook of existentialism: sincerity, authenticity (uniqueness), and courage (nerve). Yes, you can think about them as talents (sorry, charisma). These talents we carry would help us face the absurdity of our given situation, and our response should exemplify them.
Basically, it’s all about showing the world that you’re not going to take its nonsense lying down , in a passive way — you’re going to rebel and live your life following your passion, and being authentic to yourself.
However, just like any other philosophy or worldview, it’s important to be aware of its limitations too. One common criticism of absurdism is that life does have meaning. But we have to remember that whether something is meaningful or not is subjective and depends on a person’s attitude towards it. We can also find meaning in objective things like morality, knowledge, or beauty.
The absurd is a pretty paradoxical concept that’s hard to understand rationally, let alone explain within a single article. It’s kind of like when someone asks if you want to eat soap — you can’t really give a serious answer, but it’s definitely good for a laugh and for making you think. We can all relate to the power of laughter, especially when it comes to finding some meaning in the absurdities of everyday life.
This might be a good start of us to delve deeper into modern philosophy concepts, something I can continue bringing into future articles — but always trying to link with other things, like my ADHD brain is prone to do. Just let me know in the comments what you thought about all this, and suggest other absurd and meaningless observations or approaches to everyday life that we can learn to just laugh at and let go.
💡 You can find the Portuguese version of this article below:
Thank you for reading my insights. Stay tuned for whatever else I’ll end up deciding to pen down next!
And also, don’t forget to follow the amazing Miranda Lebrão and discover the various ways in which the art form of Drag can challenge the conventional meanings of things we often overlook.
