Tennessee Bans Drag Shows – Another Human Rights Attack
America’s quest to return human rights to the 1800s took another step forward lately when the state of Tennessee banned drag performances. Less than a year after the Supreme Court decimated women’s rights by overturning Roe vs Wade, Tennessee decided to up the ante.
What Does The Bill Say?
Let’s be clear, while the bill does not use the word drag its meaning is very clear. Instead, it amends the definition of adult cabaret, which previously only included performers like exotic dancers, strippers and go-go dancers. Male or female impersonators now come under this umbrella which (pardon my french) is fucking stupid! The exact wording is “adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors”.
Drag Is Not Harmful!
I’m not saying some drag shows aren’t risqué, of course they are! But the thing is, drag performers are adults! They are responsible and they pitch their show to their audience. If their show is too adult they wouldn’t perform at venues where children are allowed. They don’t want to damage their reputation and harm their career by putting on inappropriate shows. There are loads of drag performers which are safe for children.
A great example is Alyssa Edwards, given name Justin Johnson. Just was trained as a dancer and now has an extremely successful dance studio in Mesquite, Texas. When Justin is in drag he becomes Alyssa Edwards, a super glamorous lip-syncer and dancer who holds her audience in the palm of her hand. I still remember my sister talking about how blown away she was after seeing her show.
More than that, though, drag is vitally important to young boys and even girls who don’t fully know who they are. So many of the contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race talk about drag saving their lives. They shed tears as they explain how they were bullied, ostracised and made to feel like freaks their whole lives. Some were rejected by their families. They speak of how their drag personas became their lifeline. They learned to transfer the attitude and power of their drag persona into the rest of their lives. The formed drag families who gave them the love and acceptance they had never experienced before.
It’s not just gay men either, many girls see drag performers and learn to embrace the fact that they’re different. Society hammers into girls almost from birth that their only job is to be thin and pretty. If that’s not possible, which it isn’t for some people, where does that leave you? We need role models who are different, who teach us that being different is not only ok, it’s wonderful!
Drag Has Existed For Centuries
Although the exact derivation of the term drag is unclear, one suggestion is that it comes from Shakespeare’s time. In those days it was considered inappropriate, or even unseemly, for women to appear on stage. So rather than write plays that only had male characters men played women’s parts. These roles apparently had the note DRAG next to them, or dressed resembling a girl. This was considered perfectly normal for centuries, why is it wrong now?
In more modern times, I grew up watch Lily Savage and Dame Edna Everage on primetime tv. They were hilarious and I don’t remember ever hearing anyone pleading for us to “think of the children”. All I ever heard was laughter.
I would also like to ask governor Bill Lee if his new legislation means it is illegal to screen Mrs Doubtfire in public venues? Is he trying to say this masterpiece by the late, great Robin Williams is some sort of deviant movie? Not as popular in the USA, but what about the Carry On films? They had men in drag too. Robbie Coltrane in Nuns On The Run? Where is the line exactly?
Doesn’t The Governor Have Bigger Issues?
Let’s take a look at the current issues in Tennessee:
- 10,500 people were reported as homeless in 2022. It’s a relatively low number but a jump of 45% from the year before. Tennessee also recently passed a law which basically makes homelessness illegal. Way to go Tennessee!
- Around 118,000 people are unemployed
- Governor Lee passed a bill banning all gender-affirming treatments to anyone under the age of eighteen. So those who know their gender is different to their birth one will be forced to go through puberty and live years in a body that feel alien to them
- More than 200,000 households spend more than 50% of their income on housing costs
- The poverty rate is almost 14%, with extreme poverty at 8% and food insecurity at 13.3%. Tennessee has a population of 7.05 million, so that means on any given day 937,650 people are worrying about whether they can afford food!
- 32.6% of working families are under 200% of the poverty line
- 10% of individuals are uninsured meaning an accident or serious illness could drive them to bankruptcy
Please Do Better
The data above shows eloquently that there is a sizeable portion of Tennessee’s population that is i crisis. They’re afraid where their next meal is coming from, their live in terror of needing medical care, or they don’t have a roof over their head. Please Mr Lee, stop persecuting talented entertainers who want nothing more than to bring joy and laughter to other peoples’ lives. Spend your time focussing n the things that matter, helping the people you were elected to serve! Right now you’re letting them down so please do better!
