U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, wrote an opinion declaring that Tennessee’s effort to place strict legal limits on drag shows was unconstitutional.
The law is both “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad” and encouraged “discriminatory enforcement,” according to the ruling. Indeed, since drag shows fall under First Amendment protections, legislatures in states that are considering passage of anti-drag legislation need to tread carefully and draw specific lines that can be enforced without bias or discrimination.
“There is no question that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. But there is a difference between material that is ‘obscene’ in the vernacular, and material that is ‘obscene’ under the law,” Parker said.
The bill says, “This amendment defines ‘adult cabaret entertainment’ as adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors, as such term is defined under present law; feature go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators, or similar entertainers; and include a single performance or multiple performances by an entertainer. An ‘entertainer’ means a person who provides.”
“It is a space where people explore their identities,” said Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, a professor of culture and gender studies at the University of Michigan, who has done drag himself. “But it is also a place where people simply make a living. Drag is a job. Drag is a legitimate artistic expression that brings people together, that entertains, that allows certain individuals to explore who they are and allows all of us to have a very nice time. So it makes literally no sense for legislators, for people in government, to try to ban drag.”
It makes sense if children are the audience or the target of the performance. “Explicitly sexual and profane language is common in drag performances, but such content is avoided when children are the target audience,” reports AP. That simply isn’t universally true.
None of this should be interpreted as appropriate for children — even if it’s “Drag Queen Story Hour.” There has been enough anecdotal evidence that some drag queen story hours feature overt sexualization and inappropriate jokes, not to mention twerking and other sexually suggestive dancing in front of children.
“A lot of parents are wondering why is an adult male putting on women’s clothing and dancing and talking about sexual themes with other people’s children, not only in libraries but also in schools and other public institutions,” said Manhattan Institute’s Chris Rufo.
The drag queen might appear as a comic figure, but he carries an utterly serious message: the deconstruction of sex, the reconstruction of child sexuality, and the subversion of middle-class family life. The ideology that drives this movement was born in the sex dungeons of San Francisco and incubated in the academy. It is now being transmitted, with official state support, in a number of public libraries and schools across the United States. By excavating the foundations of this ideology and sifting through the literature of its activists, parents and citizens can finally understand the new sexual politics and formulate a strategy for resisting it.
The drag/queer movement likes to point out that 1950s comedy icon and early TV pioneer Milton Berle appeared in drag often. But everyone on planet Earth at the time knew that Berle wasn’t “making a statement” or pushing any kind of political agenda. Berle was doing straight-up comedy and wanted audiences to laugh at him, not buy into any gender-queer ideology. To use Berle as a queer drag-queen icon would have tickled the notorious womanizer, whose sexual appetite was legendary. Berle was loathe to use his comic genius for anything political.
Not-so-modern drag queens who believe they’re on a mission to change children’s consciousness and show them the “new normal” regarding gender fluidity, on the other hand, are truly political.
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What drag queens want to do in front of consenting adults is none of my business. But for God’s sake, leave the children alone and allow them to grow up a little before you begin to sexualize them.
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