The Harmful Deception Trope: Why Mrs. Doubtfire and Bugs Bunny Aren’t Drag

You’ve probably seen this meme floating around—classic Hollywood characters like Mrs. Doubtfire, Tootsie, the Bosom Buddies guys, and even Bugs Bunny, all dressed as women, with the caption:

“You’ve been entertained by drag your whole life. Don’t pretend it’s a problem now.”

Sounds like a great clapback to anti-drag rhetoric, right? The problem is… none of these characters are actually doing drag. And more importantly, the trope they reinforce has done real harm to the queer community.

Drag Is a Performance, Not a Deception

Drag queens and kings perform with the full understanding of their audience. There’s no deception—everyone knows it’s a show. Drag is about exaggeration, satire, and celebration. It uplifts femininity, queerness, and art in a way that’s loud, proud, and empowering.

But the characters in the meme? They’re not performing drag—they’re men disguising themselves as women to trick people. That’s a key difference.

• Mrs. Doubtfire tricks his ex-wife into believing he’s a woman so he can see his kids.

• Tootsie tricks Hollywood to get an acting job.

• Bugs Bunny tricks his enemies by seducing them in a dress.

• Bosom Buddies trick their landlords to get cheap rent.

• Klinger from MAS*H dresses as a woman to try and get discharged from the army.

See the pattern? The “man dressing as a woman” trope is built around deception. And this is where it gets dangerous.

The Real-World Harm of the Deception Trope

For decades, this trope has reinforced the idea that men in dresses are inherently dishonest—that their femininity is a lie meant to manipulate, deceive, or infiltrate spaces they “shouldn’t” be in.

Sound familiar? That’s because it’s the same rhetoric used to attack trans women today. The idea that trans women are just “men in disguise” trying to trick their way into bathrooms, sports teams, or women’s spaces? That comes from the same place as these old Hollywood tropes.

Many straight, cisgender people struggle to differentiate between gender, sex, and sexuality. They lump gay men, trans women, and drag queens into one big, blurry category of “men who dress like women.” That misunderstanding fuels real violence and discrimination.

Misogyny, Patriarchy, and the Mockery of Women

There’s another layer to this, too—misogyny. These deception-based characters often play into negative stereotypes about women:

Klinger’s whole bit in MASH*? That being a woman makes him “too insane” for the army.

Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire? Constant jokes about how exhausting it is to be a woman.

Bugs Bunny? His hypersexualized disguise plays into the idea of women as manipulative sirens.

Drag, on the other hand, isn’t about mocking women—it’s about celebrating femininity. Drag performers take traditional gender norms and exaggerate them into something bold, powerful, and artistic.

So, No—These Characters Weren’t “Drag”

While these movies and shows might have made us laugh, they aren’t part of the history of drag or queer culture. Instead, they’ve contributed to harmful narratives that still affect trans and nonbinary people today.

It’s okay to enjoy them while also recognizing their impact. But let’s not use them to justify drag bans or erase the real, vibrant, and intentional art of drag performance.