People gathered at Mesa Mezcal in Los Colinas on Sunday afternoon to watch a drag show hosted monthly at the restaurant.
The show starred The Fly Queens, a troupe of drag performers that all work as flight attendants at major airlines, according to the group’s Facebook page.
Many patrons arrived before the show kicked off. They enjoyed a brunch buffet and ordered drinks named after the afternoon’s drag theme.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill “restricting certain sexually oriented performances on public property” or “in the presence of a child.” The new law will come into effect on September 1.
The bill’s definition of sexually oriented performance includes “a male performer exhibiting as a female, or a female performer exhibiting as a male, who uses clothing, makeup, or other similar physical markers and who sings, lip syncs, dances, or otherwise performs before an audience.”
Mesa Mezcal’s drag show was 18 and up. However, it was unclear if the restaurant previously hosted any of the “all-ages” shows that have stoked controversy around the metroplex.
Such events prompted a number of protests across the Dallas-Fort Worth area by activist organizations like Protect Texas Kids (PTK). In a previous statement to The Dallas Express, PTK Executive Director Kelly Neidert claimed that anyone who approves of children attending drag shows is “okay with children being sexualized … and exposing children to extremely sexual content.”
The Dallas Express reached out to the establishment’s management to inquire but did not hear back by press time.
The show started around 1 p.m. Different members of the Fly Queens engaged in what many would likely consider sexually-charged dancing. Patrons offered the performers cash tips, and some would receive more personal attention from individual Fly Queens.
About halfway through the show, there was a sex toy giveaway. Patrons were encouraged to scream the loudest to win one. The screaming contest was followed by a twerking competition.
The Dallas Express asked a number of patrons at the event about the upcoming law, but no one was willing to go on the record. Overall, the atmosphere was celebratory, and patrons appeared supportive of the performers.
Still, even 18-and-up drag shows have managed to irk some around Texas.
“Drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood,” wrote Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler in an email explaining why he shut down a planned drag show at his university, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. “Drag shows are derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny, no matter the stated intent.”
