Hairspray (musical) encourages individuality, acceptance and freedom. It is a musical that can be applied to any social context and time, as it highlights ongoing issues such as fat-shaming, racism and discrimination. It also explores femininity in terms of the female characters. Notably, Tracy’s mother, Edna Turnblad, is performed in drag during the shows. Allowing a drag role for Edna adds a queerness to the musical as it does not include any gay characters. Edna is considered to be the non-racialised other that is part of the story in Hairspray. The musical also challenges the societal norms of a female. The body
History of cross-dressing whom the troupe has said is the most hilarious in drag, appears so extremely unfeminine, with his square chin and six-foot, five-inch frame that it is funny. Cleese also wore female clothes while appearing as "himself" in a magazine advertisement for American Express. "Monty Python's Flying Circus" also did a sketch called "The Lumberjack Song," about a lumberjack who likes to "put on women's clothing and hang around in bars." In "Clue: The Musical", Mrs. White is usually played by a man. In all versions of "Hairspray"—the original film, the stage musical, and the film adapted from the musical—Edna Turnblad