GOP-Controlled States Move to Restrict Drag Performances
Former Rupaul’s Drag Race contestant 'Peppermint' performing during the 31th annual gay and lesbian Mardi Gras parade in central Sydney March 7, 2009.
On Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill that would ban drag performances in public. This makes Tennessee the first to take this step in the Republican-led effort to limit drag performances, with more than 20 bills being introduced in 15 states so far.
In Tennessee, “adult cabaret entertainment” is criminalized in public or where it can be seen by children. This type of entertainment includes “adult-oriented" performances by strippers, go-go dancers, or "male or female impersonators."
By classifying this type of performance as “adult cabaret entertainment,” bars and venues where drag queens perform will now have to obtain stripping licenses, which prohibit these venues from serving liquor in the same space. This prohibition of sorts could possibly lead to less revenue for both the venues and the performers, given that drag shows usually take place in bars serving liquor.
With this new bill, a first offense of performing drag in public is qualified as a misdemeanor crime, and a subsequent offense is classified as a felony, having a possible sentence of one to six years in prison.
These bills are aimed at the modern artform of drag performance, which once was considered an edgier, more underground style of performance meant to subvert gender norms. Now, however, this artform is seen as a more mainstream form of entertainment, thanks to the popularity of drag queens like Trixie Mattel and shows like Rupaul’s Drag Race.
Drag artists, LGBTQ+ advocates, and celebrities have spoken out against these Republican-led bans to limit LGBTQ+ rights. Supporters, on the other hand, say they are meant to protect children.
Representative Chris Todd (R-Madison County) said he filed this anti-LGBTQ+ bill after he took issue with a public drag show as part of a Pride celebration in Jackson, Tennessee. He referred to this show as “child abuse” yet also said he didn’t know the actual content of the show.
“Banning drag performances adds to the list of dumbest laws the Republican party has tried to push for. On the surface level, drag is an art form…On a deeper level, drag is a way for people to build a community, discover their true identities, and live their lives. Many people who don't go to drag shows or watch drag on television are exposed to this side of drag,” said Clay Williams, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researching LGBTQ+ representation in media.
“The LGBTQ+ community has already been through enough fighting for equal rights and equal treatment. These laws that some of these legislators are proposing feel like a punch in the gut,” said Williams.
With these laws mainly being introduced and passed in Republican-controlled states, there is no legislative path for Democrats to block the bills. The only option, therefore, is to implement federal protections for the drag community. The Equality Act, a piece of legislation meant to enshrine protection for LGBTQ+ Americans under federal law, could possibly help to protect these performers and their art form, but with the current gridlock in Congress, there is little chance that this would pass.
“Going forward, the LGBTQ+ community will continue to do what we have always done. We will continue to be activists to fight for our rights to be who we are,” said Williams. “We will not stop speaking out. We will not stop performing. We will not stop being who we want to be and loving who we want to love. And for the people who want to restrict our rights, they better learn to suck it up and keep it to themselves or prepare for the long haul. Drag queens and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole are not going anywhere.”