Black America's Infatuation With Butch Men Up in Heels

True story: I was in a theatre in a predominately black part of town and there was a poster for "Madea's Family Reunion" in the lobby. Several black women who looked to be in their 40s and 50s had gathered around the poster and were remarking about how they were going to see the film when it came out. Just then a black transgendered female walked through the lobby and one of the women remarked to her girlfriends, "Look girl, a he-she." They all started giggling like teenagers.

On more than one occasion black America has rushed to the box office to see black men dressed in drag. With the national release of Tyler Perry's "Madea's Family Reunion," which was the No. 1 film on the weekend of Feb. 25-26, black audiences have again embraced the idea of a man playing a female role on-screen.

When Tyler Perry debuted his character Madea Simmons, a 68-year-old witty, gun toting grandmother from the hood, his biggest audience was black Christian evangelicals. In fact, it was black Christians who brought him to where he is today, filling up theatre after theatre as he toured around the nation with his plays. With a spiritual message included in all of his productions, Perry allowed black Christians to feel good after seeing him prance around the stage dressed as a woman.

But before Madea, there was Andre Charles, better known as RuPaul. In the early 1990s, RuPaul gained fame and success with his hit song "Supermodel (You Better Work)," a tribute to the divas of fashion. The single placed in the top 30 on the Billboard Pop Charts and the music video was nominated for best dance video at the 1994 MTV video music awards. Through the years, RuPaul has appeared in various movies and music specials. He was honored as in 1999 with the Vito Russo Entertainer of the Year Award at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) media awards, for breaking boundaries in becoming an openly gay individual who has achieved excellence in the entertainment field. Still, RuPaul's fame and acceptance has come from mostly white audiences, even though he is a black entertainer.

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