Twisted Bar and Grill in The Colony held its Twisted & Turnt drag brunch on Saturday, which included performers joking about sex and drug use.
The restaurant hosts drag shows on the second Saturday of every month. This weekend’s drag show featured multiple performers who danced to pop music. They gyrated their artificial breasts and buttocks as patrons stuffed dollar bills into their clothing.
In between dances, the performers joked about illicit drug use, crime, and sexual promiscuity.
“You guys didn’t know that drag queens do a little light fraud on the side?” one performer quipped.
The continued presence of drag shows in the Dallas-Fort Worth area follows discourse last year over whether drag is disrespectful to women.
“Drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood,” said West Texas A&M University president Walter Wendler, explaining why he canceled a drag show scheduled to take place on campus. “Drag shows are derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny, no matter the stated intent.”
However, others have argued in favor of drag as a form of entertainment and performance art.
Miss Kitty Litter, an Austin-based drag performer, previously told The Dallas Express that drag queens are neither “trying to show respect or not show respect for women.”
“Drag is a show. It is to take your mind off whatever is bothering you that day or in your life. We don’t take ourselves too serious, so neither should you. We are not trying to convert anyone to be gay, we are trying to make you laugh,” the performer claimed.
Local drag performer Emeka Bless told The Dallas Express that the shows are “liberating” and meant to be a “freedom of expression.”
“It’s not all about what you see in the media. We’re not after your kids or anything like that,” said Bless. “We’re just here to support everybody.”
The Dallas Express reached out to Twisted Bar and Grill and inquired as to who currently owns the restaurant but did not receive a response by press time. Ownership of the location has seemingly not been made public online by the restaurant or local media. Additionally, Texas allows individuals to form certain types of companies while remaining anonymous.