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hide captionConchita Wurst of Austria wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 on Saturday in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ragnar Singsaas/Getty Images
Conchita Wurst of Austria wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 on Saturday in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ragnar Singsaas/Getty Images
Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with a grandiose James Bond-theme-like ballad “Rise Like a Phoenix”, before an international TV audience of around 180 million people in 45 countries.
Wurst, sporting high heels, butterfly eyelashes and a full beard, won the competition, defeating the Netherlands’ modern country duo The Common Linnets.
It was Austria’s first victory since 1966. The contest has been held every year since 1956.
Pushing the boundaries of gender identity is nothing new at Europe’s annual song contest — an extravaganza known for its eclectic, sometimes-unlistenable lineup of techno beats, love songs and pop tunes. But the backlash this year against Wurst highlights a rift between Europe’s progressive liberal side and the traditional values and nationalist rhetoric of Russia and other nations taking part.
Amid growing tensions over the Ukraine crisis, some in eastern Europe have blasted Wurst as an example of the West’s decadence. Activists in Belarus have even urged the country’s state television network to edit the Austrian entry out of its Eurovision broadcast.
Russian legislator Vitaly Milonov accused the Austrian performer of “blatant propaganda of homosexuality and spiritual decay.”
“I can only say ‘Thank you for your attention!’ If this is only about me and my person, I can live with it,'” Wurst said about her critics in emails Wednesday with The Associated Press.
“You know, I have a very thick skin. It’s just strange that a little facial hair causes that much excitement. I also have to add that 80 percent of the autograph requests that I get are from Russia and eastern Europe — and that’s what is important to me,” she said.
Lisanne Wilken, an anthropologist at Aarhus University in Denmark, said the criticism against Wurst would have been trivial if it weren’t for the Russian law last year prohibiting so-called gay “propaganda.”
She noted there’s been a lot of “transsexuals, transvestites and drags” in the Eurovision Song Contest, including Israel’s 1998 winner Dana International, who had male-to-female gender reassignment surgery several years before competing.
Neuwirth, who was born in Gmunden, central Austria, entered show business eight years ago, taking part in an Austrian TV talent show. After joining a boy band that quickly broke up, Neuwirth first appeared as Wurst in another Austrian talent show in 2011. She also took part in two reality shows, including one where candidates had to survive in the Namibian desert together with native tribes.
As she prepared for her performance in Copenhagen, Wurst said she wasn’t paying much attention to the controversy about her.
“Hey, I’m just a singer in a fabulous dress, with great hair and a beard,” Wurst told AP.
Article source: http://www.npr.org/2014/05/10/311400618/austrias-conchita-wurst-takes-top-prize-at-eurovision?ft=1&f=1001