(Pensacola, Florida; Mar. 9, 2023,) – I’m gay. Yep, gay; I’m a dude who’s into dudes. I love drag queens. In fact, drag queens are some of the most creative, innovative, and talented performers I’ve ever seen.
Drag shows have NO place around children.
Drag queens (and the less common drag kings) are performers with the unique talent of creating literally whole new personas and characters that truly have a life of their own. Bianca Del Rio, the creation of Roy R. Haylock, is one of the most colorful, hysterical, and memorable characters I’ve ever seen. Haylock’s ability to bring Bianca to life can’t be overstated. Bianca is acerbic, impatient, caustic, exceptionally kind-hearted (though she’ll never admit to it!), and fabulously stylish. Few Hollywood actors can breathe such life into a role, but drag queens do it every day.
However, drag shows, drag queen story hours, etc., have no place around children. This is not discrimination against drag queens because 90% of them are gay men. I mean, come on—I’m a gay man who loves drag shows myself! The expected charge of ‘internalized homophobia’ against me is not an argument; it’s the rhetorical equivalent of a bully on the playground yelling, “I know you are, but what am I?!” in a snide voice when called out on their bullying by the other kids. Name-calling and scurrilous, ad hominem charges like that are ways bullies deflect from the actual debate because they’re afraid a challenge will prevent them (the bully) from gaining power over the rest of us.
Drag is an inherently sexualized art form, thus it does not belong in a public sphere where children can see it. Drag shows are, by nature, a man bending gender to create the illusion he’s a woman who can be sexy and daring, risqué and provocative. This is fine for us adults, but letting children under 17 (using the ‘R’ rating standards of the MPAA rating system as a model) see such material is no different than putting pornographic books in elementary schools, or hiding children’s medical issues (including ideas about gender transitions) from parents.
I want to refute another common argument, namely that people of my generation grew up watching Bugs Bunny do drag all the time in cartoons, and we’re fine. Well, here’s the difference: Bugs Bunny was a character using drag as a disguise to befuddle and ultimately defeat Elmer Fudd’s machinations. No one ever thought Bugs Bunny was a boy bunny thinking he should identify as a girl bunny, nor did we think he was in love with Elmer Fudd (or that Elmer Fudd loved Bugs Bunny, either). We all knew Elmer Fudd was enamored by the character Bugs Bunny disguised himself as in order to gain a tactical advantage over the besotted hunter.
Dustin Hoffman used drag as a disguise to gain an advantage in finding employment in Tootsie.
Robin Williams used drag to create a character as a disguise so he could still be near his children in Mrs. Doubtfire.
Robert Downey, Jr.’s used drag in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows as a disguise in order to avoid detection by the agents the evil Professor Moriarty sent to kill Doctor and Mrs. Watson.
None of those examples used drag as an expression of their characters’ sexuality or sexual identity. They simply used it as a disguise to gain a tactical and/or strategic advantage during a conflict. This is no different than wearing a mask, using a false name, etc. This use of drag is not based on sexuality or sexual identity. That’s the key point.
Drag queens are men creating a persona based on their sexuality and sexual identity. This is an excellent bit of showmanship, and I love the ribald, earthy entertainment drag queens provide. However, the mere fact that drag queens are creating their personas as an expression of sexuality and sexual identity is where the line is crossed where minor children are concerned.
There is no logical or philosophical reason to exclude drag queens from the clientele of a store if one walks in to, say, do their routine shopping. As long as they’re dressed appropriately for the venue, well, I don’t give a damn if they’re in drag. Considering the skill most drag queens have in bringing life to their characters, I’d wager most kids would think it is a woman across the room, so, no harm, no foul. Live and let live; it’s as simple as that.
However, a queen in drag going about a normal day is not the same thing as deliberately interacting with minor children in order to make those minor children comfortable with a specific display of sexuality and sexual identity.
The loudmouthed bullies on the progressive left here are screaming that Tennessee’s proposed ban on public drag shows and drag queen/child interactions is a Nazi-esque threat to their freedom, indeed their existence. This is simply untrue. Period. If a state or local government tries to ban drag per se, then we have a real problem and I’ll be on the side of the queens fighting the attempt at tyranny. However, Tennessee’s proposal (and other states are debating the same issue) is simply designed to prohibit such exhibitions in public, just as strip shows and other entertainment rooted in sexuality and sexual identity are enjoined from public displays.
We have made great strides in LGBT freedom. Even my most conservative Christian friends accept I have a place—and full rights—to live openly since we’re a secular society. However, if we in the LGBT community don’t speak up to protect children (LGBT and straight kids), then we risk a backlash unlike anything these activists can imagine.
Another way to look at it: if you’re gay and a parent, do you want straight people telling you what’s good or bad for your kid? Do you want straight people telling you to lighten up and let your kid dabble in sexualized art you disagree with?
We want freedom for ourselves, but freedom is a two-edged sword; if we want it, we must defend it for others, even others we might not agree with.
I love drag shows and drag queens, but I have no patience for threatening the mental health of children. The very fact there’s no debate allowed by the proponents of this movement provesthis isn’t about the kids, but rather an attempt at coercion. People vehemently squelch debate for one reason and one reason only: they want control over everyone else, and they fear debate will prevent them from taking power.
Speak up, my brothers and sisters in the LGBT community! Trust me, I know just how hard it is to buck one’s culture. However, if we as a community don’t stand with our heterosexual brothers and sisters to protect all children, we’ll be left on the ash heap of history by parents enraged with our silence while their children were brainwashed, indoctrinated, and, ultimately, psychologically damaged for life.
…Just my thoughts.
Check out my video on this disturbing topic at: https://youtu.be/MgPWXFpnBh4
# # #
Nathanael Miller’s Photojournalism Archives:
Instagram: @sparks1524
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sparks_photography/
#nathanaelmiller, #sparks1524, #guerrillaphotojournalism, #guerrillaphotojournalist, #journalist, #journalism, #photography, #photographer, #photojournalist, #writer, #writing, #novel, #novelist, #character, #creativewriting, #accidetnaldetecive, #murdermystery, #mystery, #writerscraft, #publishing, #independentpublishing, #justmythoughts, #freespeech, #censorship, #firstamendment, #dragshows, #Florida, #Tennessee,
Sparks1524 