A Texas LGBTQ group plans to host a drag show open to all ages next month — after a new law prohibiting children from seeing sexually oriented performances has taken effect.
“McKinney Pride invites you to an evening of Drag: The Show where art, humor, and queerness collide,” the event description read. “Come be complicit while we destroy ‘American values’ with the time honored tradition of gender bending.”
At least some of the money raised by the event will go to McKinney Pride, an “LGBTQ+ non-profit that strives to create a welcoming, safe space for the queer community in McKinney through activism, cultural events, and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.”
The show will be hosted by a Dallas-based drag queen who goes by Bleach. The host’s public Instagram page features sexually suggestive images, such as a watermelon being used to simulate female genitalia, as well as scantily clad and even nude buttocks.
Although its description notes it is “Recommended for Ages 21+,” there is no official age minimum to attend the event, and McKinney Pride’s website shows pictures of children at previous events.
As a result, advocacy groups are calling for age restrictions to be placed on the show to prevent minors from being admitted.
Kelly Niedert, the executive director of Protect Texas Kids, told The Dallas Express that when she learned of the event, “It was pretty disturbing, especially when I looked up the drag person who was hosting it.”
“What was really concerning about this show is that it is happening after SB12 goes into effect,” she added.
Senate Bill 12, passed during the recent 88th legislative session, institutes punishments for allowing “a sexually oriented performance to be presented on the premises in the presence of an individual younger than 18 years of age.”
Sexual conduct is defined as the “exhibition or representation, actual or simulated,” of sexual acts, male or female genitals, “sexual gesticulations using accessors or prosthetics,” or “contact occurring between one person and the buttocks, breast, or any part of the genitals of another person.”
Drag performances often contain these elements, leading some critics to denounce drag as degrading to women. The pseudonymous essayist “Dr Em,” for instance, argued in The Critic in 2022, “Drag at its core is misogynistic; it is men portraying women as sexually objectified caricatures. Drag performers frequently reduce women to hyper sexualised, big breasted, big haired bimbos.”
But Texas’ law against sexual performers in the presence of minors has elicited a lawsuit from the ACLU, which claimed that “Texas’ drag ban is an unconstitutional attack on the free expression of ALL Texans,” as reported by The Dallas Express.
The law does not explicitly ban drag shows, however. Rather, it penalizes children’s exposure to sexually oriented performances.
Others have defended drag for children, arguing that there is no sexual component and that performing as the opposite gender is a form of artistic expression.
For example, Rori Porter blamed opponents for sexualizing drag, claiming in a 2022 blog post, “Drag is as varied as any other art form, and the vast majority of it isn’t sexualized — particularly when the target audience isn’t adults. … The drag we share with children is exclusively wholesome.”
Still, Niedert suggested, “A show like this, very clearly an adult show, it is going to be a sexually oriented performance, which is against the law, yet they are going to allow minors. I think it’s pretty telling that they didn’t put an age restriction.”
When asked if Protect Texas Kids would be there to protest the show, Niedert explained, “I’m hoping that we can get them to add an age restriction, but if they don’t, then we are going to protest.”
The Dallas Express reached out to McKinney Pride for comment but did not receive a reply prior to publication.
Update: Since attention was drawn to the lack of an age requirement, McKinney Pride has updated its event description to only allow people 21 and older to attend as of August 18.
