John Hollihan
Guest Writer
May 16, 2023
In the latter half of 2022, drag artists and performances became the subject of serious right-wing ridicule. Conservatives foolishly worried about the safety of children at drag shows and what the performances ‘taught’ children. This nonsensical moral panic inspired some Republican lawmakers to propose and even introduce legislation limiting and/or outright banning drag shows in their respective state [[i]]. Some of these bills were simply attacks on the entire LGBTQ+ community. Several states introduced anti-drag legislation, including Florida, South Dakota, Texas, and Tennessee. Tennessee’s anti-drag bill is significant because it was one of the first to pass with the language of “harm to minors” codified into law. Furthermore, it reveals the transformative nature of homophobia and transphobia in the United States—how systems of power continuously adapt to counter.
For context, drag is an art form where a performer exaggerates expressions of masculinity and/or femininity. These performances are usually done for entertainment and may include comedy, ballroom shows, lip-synching, fashion, or any combinations thereof.
On January 10, 2023, Representative Chris Todd introduced HB0009, “Obscenity and Pornography,” on the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives [[ii]]. This legislation makes it illegal to conduct “adult cabaret performances” in public spaces where it could possibly be viewed by a minor [[iii]].Tennessee law defines adult cabaret performances as entertainment (e.g., go-go dancers, strippers, exotic dancers, drag queens/kings) provided in any “adult-oriented establishment” [[iv]]. If these performances are conducted in a public space, they are considered harmful to minors. As defined by the bill, “harmful to minors” includes offenses to “prevailing standards” amongst adults as to what is suitable and appropriate for children and that which “lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific values” [[v]]. The first violation of this law would be a misdemeanor and a second or subsequent violation would be a Class-E felony. On February 9, 2023, the Tennessee Senate passed the bill with the House following on February 23. Both the speakers of the House and Senate signed the bill on March 2 with Governor Bill Lee signing the bill into law later that day.
The bill implicitly makes a connection between queer people and the long-held stereotype of predatory hypersexuality. This harmful stereotype has been applied to the LGBTQ+ community for decades and has inspired other forms of harmful legislation (e.g., gay/trans panic defense). Some stereotypes of queer people as child predators include the following myths: gay and trans people inherently sexually prey on children, convert children to become gay and/or trans, gay parents are harmful to their children, etc. [[vi]]. The bill’s title describes these performances as inherently pornographic. By inhibiting drag performances from public spaces, the law suggests that drag as a queer art form is too obscene to be seen in public. Not only are these stereotypes myths [[vii]], but they also translate into physical violence enacted upon queer people.
In recent months, many U.S. state legislatures have introduced anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that seek to limit access to civil rights, healthcare, and freedom of speech [[viii]]. The mass wave of these bills suggests that despite many achievements, the cultural consciousness of the United States has not moved beyond these stereotypes of LGBTQ+ people. Currently, only eleven states do not have anti-LGBTQ+ bills circulating within their legislatures [[ix]]. Now, the larger question becomes what threat does this pose to LGBTQ+ people if and when more of these state bills pass?
Tennessee set a precedent for other states that have introduced similar legislation such as Arizona [[x]] and Texas [[xi]]. Interestingly, Arizona’s SB 1030 uses similar language to Tennessee’s bill in its description of “adult-oriented performances.” Additionally, the Arizona bill reinforces the idea that queer performances are threatening to children, as the bill forbids adult-oriented businesses from being located within one-fourth mile of public spaces. The public spaces specified in the bill are primarily child-oriented (e.g., childcare facilities, public playgrounds) [[xii]]. Once again, the language implies a threat to children. Now that Tennessee’s bill has been signed into law, other states now have an example to use for justification. Furthermore, all of these state bills lack nuance. They categorize all drag performances as adult-oriented and harmful to children. In doing so, they reinforce the stigma that queer art performances and queer people themselves are a threat to children, that they are predators. Obviously, not all drag performances are kid-friendly, just like any art forms, but some are conducted with children in mind. For example, some drag artists conduct storytelling sessions (Drag Queen Story Hour) at local libraries for children.
When the bill discusses the prevailing standards of society amongst adults, it reinforces cisnormativity and heteronormativity. These two concepts posit that being cisgender and heterosexual are normal modes of gender identity and sexual orientation. These norms create cultural and legal barriers that stigmatize and criminalize queer people simply for their existence [[xiii]]. As a queer art form, drag deliberately blurs the distinctions of gender and sexuality. According to the state of Tennessee, drag violates these prevailing standards insofar as they must be confined to a private establishment.
As mentioned before, this mythical connection between gay and trans people and child predators results in physical violence enacted upon queer people. For example, this past February, members of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, protested and shouted homophobic and transphobic slurs outside of a Drag Queen Story Hour in Silver Spring, Maryland [[xiv]]. Although there were no deaths at this incident, it speaks to the possibility of and the ease of committing future attacks against the LGBTQ+ community, especially if more anti-drag and anti-trans laws are passed in other states.
The United States is seeing a surge in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation within local and state governments, particularly targeted at trans and gender non-conforming people. The spaces and art forms—the culture—that queer people have created for themselves are criminalized, allowing far-right extremists to abuse, to torment, and to murder. 2022 alone saw the murders of thirty-eight trans and gender non-conforming people killed by violent means; this statistic does not include the murders that often go unreported [[xv]].
Evidently, this country has never escaped the grasp of homophobia and transphobia, rather they transform to counter emerging cultural attitudes (i.e., contemporary acceptance of gay and trans people). The future for queer people looks grim, as the culture, lifestyle, and people are increasingly threatened by bigoted, ignorant politicians and their followers. It is important to remember that the control of hegemonic gender norms cannot be voted away. Queer people face systemic issues in healthcare, policing, and cultural attitudes, preventing the system from reforming itself. It is the hope for queer people and the responsibility of allies to fight for liberation.
[[i]] Del Barco, Mandalit. “Some lawmakers hope to crack down on drag shows watched by children.” National Public Radio, 16 June 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022-/06/16/1105544325/drag-shows-children. Accessed 4 March 2023.
[[ii]] State of Tennessee, General Assembly. Senate Bill 3. Tennessee General Assembly, 2 March 2023, https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?Bill-Number=SB0003&ga=113. Accessed 2 March 2023.
[[vi]] Schlatter, Evelyn and Robert Steinback. “10 Anti-Gay Myths Debunked.” Southern Poverty Law Center, 27 February 2011, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2011/10-anti-gay-myths-debunked. Accessed 9 March 2023.
[[viii]] “Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures.” American Civil Liberties Union, 3 March 2023. https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights. Accessed 9 March 2023.
[[x]] State of Arizona, Senate. Senate Bill 1030. Arizona State Senate, 6 January 2023, https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/56leg/1R/bills/SB1030P.pdf. Accessed 9 March 2023.
[[xi]] State of Texas, House of Representatives. House Bill 643. 23 February 2023, https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=HB643. Accessed 9 March 2023.
[[xii]] State of Arizona, Senate. Senate Bill 1030.
[[xiii]] O’Brien, Jodi, editor. “Heterosexual Privilege.” Encyclopedia of Gender and Society. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2009. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412964517. Accessed 12 April 2023.
[[xiv]] Silverman, Ellie. “Montgomery police to patrol drag story hours after Proud Boys protest.” The Washington Post, 21 February 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/21/maryland-drag-queen-story-hour-proud-boys/. Accessed 13 March 2023.
[[xv]] HRC Foundation. “Fatal Violence Against the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Community in 2022.” Human Rights Campaign. https://www.hrc.org/resources/fatal-violence-against-the-transgender-and-gender-non-conforming-community-in-2022. Accessed 12 April 2023.
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