A bill was passed in Tennessee that prohibits drag performances in public and around children. The bill attempts to prevent “topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators” from being seen by children with a punishment of a misdemeanor and potentially a felony offense.
A growing fear in the Republican party of drag shows being sexually explicit and inappropriate for children has partially fueled the passing of this bill. Yet the accusations of explicit content are often exaggerated to garner fear and a negative stigma of the LGBTQ+ community. This bill also enters a gray area as trans and non-binary people may be targets of discrimination and prosecution as many conservative people believe that trans and non-binary people are “male or female impersonators” as stated in the bill.
This bill heavily infringes on the 1st amendment freedom of speech and expression and specifically targets the LGBTQ+ community while Republicans hide behind this clear violation of the Constitution with their value of “protecting the youth”
The LGBTQ+ community in America is obviously outraged at this unconstitutional piece of legislation and Emmy award-winning host of Rupaul’s Drag Race, Rupaul, released a statement on Instagram. “Drag queens are the Marines of the queer movement. Don’t get it twisted and don’t be distracted. Register to vote so we can get these stunt queens out of office and put some smart people with real solutions into government” said Rupaul. World of Wonder, the production company that produces Drag Race, has created a Drag Defense Fund, and this funds the ACLU’s progress toward LGBTQ+ rights.
This law, along with other similar bills in other states, is frightening to America’s 1st amendment rights, yet people should not be hopeless as the LGBTQ+ community’s response has been strong, and prominent drag queens have spoken up, stating that they continue to resist attempts at taking away their rights. Season 12 Contestant Jackie Cox states, “We’re going to keep fighting this fight. So stay strong, especially if you’re in one of those states where all these things are happening. I’m here to tell you that you can still do drag, you can still be your true self, whatever that is.”
8 comments:
Covering up this bill with the statement to "protect the youth" is outrageous due to the fact that it takes away the 1st amendment for many people in the LGBTQ+ community. Ironically, Republicans are quick to defend their 2nd amendment rights and have as much leeway as possible but when it comes to the opposition expressing their words and pushing their agenda, Republicans try anything in their power to take away simple rights. This bill really overshadows the homophobia still present in today's day and age and the excuses used to back up this bill only express Republicans pushign their own agenda as much as possible. If people are so worried about children watching drag performances, they should put more emphasis on children being in the presence of gun violence.
I agree with the comments Josh made about this being an attack on people’s 1st amendment rights which is clearly targeted at the LGBTQ+ community. To have a law which targets people’s free expression is something I would think will clearly be challenged in the courts. It was written in such a way as to be positioned as protecting children, but the intent was clearly something else. Freedom of speech and expression are cornerstones of our society and passing a law which criminalizes one aspect of it targeted at one group is ridiculous, and I would like to think this law will not hold up in court.
It is absolutely crazy to me that this is seriously the issue that the Republican party wishes to focus on when there are so many other issues that need attention. It is clearly an attack on the LBGTQ+ community, most likely based on the Christian religion. The reasoning that drag shows put children at risk or expose them to explicit content makes no sense, especially considering the hypocrisy of banning drag shows but continuing to defend the Christian church after the pedophilia and abuse it was revealed. If Republicans are truly concerned about children's safety, they could focus on gun violence, access to birth control, improving the foster care system, fighting climate change, and countless other issues that are far greater threats than drag queens.
I completely agree with Andrew's points. In addition to banning public drag races, Tennessee also banned gender-affirming health care. This ban restricts trans youth from receiving hormone therapy, surgeries, or puberty blockers. Just this past year, Utah, Mississippi, and South Dakota have passed similar bans. According to a poll by the Trevor Project, an organization that provides mental health support to LGBTQ+ youth, 71% of LGBTQ+ youth claim that these bans have negatively impacted their mental health.
https://www.axios.com/2023/03/18/gender-affirming-health-care-bans-transgender-lgbt
I completely agree with what John and everyone else has said about this legislation being a attack on the LGBTQ community, along with being a clear violation of the 1st Amendment right. Freedom of speech has been established as something that cannot be violated without a clear suspicion/reason. In this case, the fabricated reason of "protecting the youth" is clearly just an excuse. It does lead me to wonder what exactly can be considered dangerous enough to waive the 1st Amendment right. Obviously inciteful language, as seen with the White House insurrection, was a clear example of where freedom of speech could be limited. On the other hand, protecting children from potentially dangerous and harmful content is crucial. This situation is clearly not dangerous, but I can't help but wonder what would be considered dangerous enough to children, to the point that legislation targeting certain actions would actually be passed and valid.
I think the fact that the republican party choses to focus on the "issue" of drag shows over gun violence which is evidently causing most threat to children currently is outrageous. This is simply another example of them being outright biased towards their own believes of homophobia and going against the LGBTQ+ community and their right to the 1st amendment. I completely agree with Jayden on the fact that it's a clear violation and it's simply being allowed to happen. Nowadays the government seems to be creating bills and laws for their own benefit and beliefs while going against what constitutionally should be allowed and respected. They have their own agenda and chose to ignore the actual issues in our society and the real harm to children currently. Another school shooting has happened recently with the Nashville school shooting which killed 3 nine year olds yet congress has focused on the "threat" of drag shows to children which has no physical to them whatsoever. This is really disappointing to see but with this new generation it's clear that they will not stand down until change is done and the LGBTQ+ community is certainly not done fighting for the rights they are deserving of.
I believe this is part of a larger move from the republican party to restrict freedom of speech and to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community. Earlier this year we saw Florida pass a law to ban sexual/gender identity from being taught or even mentioned in a school environment(K-12). Nothing good ever comes out of over-censorship, and this push seems to be heavily attacking the LGBTQ+ community. Furthermore restricting a child's access to information can be harmful to their mental health especially if they are struggling with their gender identity. And limiting a child's exposure to diversity will only serve to stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community. As a nation we need to stand together, not bring each other down by passing legislation that hurts people for being who they are.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/31/politics/florida-schools-sexual-orientation-gender-identity/index.html
I fully agree with all that others have said about how this legislation violates the 1st Amendment right and discriminates against the LGBTQ population. It has been established that there must be a valid suspicion or justification before freedom of speech is compromised. In this instance, the made-up justification of "protecting the youth" is obvious an excuse. It is 2023 and while everyone is thinking that the U.S is on the progressive era, it is not. Many states are still major backlash to expressive representation of minority groups.
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