An upcoming Texas law banning sexually explicit performances from being held in front of children is set to go into effect on September 1, but a good deal of the discourse surrounding the subject has seemingly centered around the legitimacy of drag as an art form.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas recently sued the state over the law, claiming, “Drag and other forms of artistic expression are protected under the First Amendment — and we won’t let politicians get away with this cruel attempt to push LGBTQIA+ Texans out of public life.”
Venues hosting “all-ages” drag shows in North Texas sparked a number of protests by activist groups like Protect Texas Kids (PTK). However, in recent months, a number of drag shows previously billed as “all-ages” have either been canceled or adopted age restrictions, according to PTK Executive Director Kelly Neidert.
McKinney Pride, for instance, was going to host an “all-ages” show but allegedly opted to ban children from attending.
“Adding an age restriction is the right thing to do, and I’m glad that McKinney Pride decided to make this change,” Neidert told The Dallas Express.
Still, it is unclear whether compliance with the new law will put an end to the controversy over drag.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler canceled a planned drag show on campus because he said he believed it was insulting to women.
“Drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood,” said Wendler. “Drag shows are derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny, no matter the stated intent.”
Wendler also compared drag shows to blackface at the time, and he was not the first person to put forth such a comparison. The blackface simile has long been a criticism of drag performances.
In an issue of Chicago-Kent Law Review, author and lawyer Kelly Kleiman argued:
“[D]rag and blackface show the person(s) being impersonated in a restricted range of behaviors, characterized by exaggeration that is at least interpretable as insult. African Americans were shown singing, dancing, being foolish, or longing for the old plantation; women are shown primping, nagging, or longing for male protection.”
Kleiman further asserted that drag “makes fun of women” in various ways. Likewise, feminist writer Meghan Murphy has claimed that drag shows are similar to cultural appropriation and questioned why society does not frown upon it.
“Why is it cute or funny or entertaining for men to mock women via drag? Why is it not considered to be a form of cultural appropriation, but with regard to gender? … There’s something about this performance that says that femininity and, in turn, women, are a joke,” she wrote.
Murphy cited a paper titled “Imitating Others As Control: Is Drag Sexist/Racist?” in which author Kirsten Anderberg writes, “When men dress in drag and supposedly imitate women, it is most often very sexist in a remarkably similar way to the whites imitating racial minorities.”
“Tons of makeup, huge dyed bouffant hair-dos, binding lingerie, heels, nylons, shaving … and these men in drag who were supposedly acting like women, also acted giddy, stupid, shallow … it is odd to me that this could be seen as anything but blatant sexism,” Anderberg wrote.
However, supporters of drag argue that it is, in essence, a form of constitutionally-protected expression and art.
Local drag performer Emeka Bless previously told The Dallas Express that drag is little more than cosplaying and provides an avenue for people to express themselves in unconventional ways.
“It’s liberating. It’s freedom of expression,” Bless said between performances at The View Dallas. “We like to put on makeup, wigs, and we just like to entertain a crowd.”
The Dallas Express also previously spoke with an attendee at The Trove’s regular Sunday drag brunch. She argued that drag is ultimately just an art form.
“I moved here from Miami, and I felt like when I moved to Dallas, the food scene was wonderful, but a lot of the art scene was lacking,” said Carolina Walter. “Some portion of that is drag shows because it is theater, and it is performance.”
The Dallas Express went to BuzzBrews Lakewood on Saturday, where a drag show was scheduled to talk to attendees and performers about some of the misogyny criticisms. However, the show had been canceled. It was billed for ages 21 and up, and an employee informed The Dallas Express that the performers had canceled the show themselves.
The venue had hosted “all-ages” drag shows in the past, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Repeated attempts by The Dallas Express to contact the venue’s manager went unanswered.
