Drag shows in the Dallas area have been adding age restrictions or canceling shows ahead of a new Texas law that will punish establishments that host “sexually oriented performances” in the presence of children.
SB 12, passed earlier this year by the Texas Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, will fine businesses and event organizers that allow individuals under 18 to attend such performances. The law goes into effect on September 1.
However, a lawsuit filed to stop the law claims it “unconstitutionally singles out drag performances as a disfavored form of expression.”
“In its zeal to target drag, the Legislature … passed a bill so yawning in scope that it criminalizes and restricts an enormous swath of constitutionally protected activity, including theater, ballet, comedy, and even cheerleading,” the filing reads.
Supporters of the law have claimed that it does not mention or refer to drag shows and only fines establishments that permit minors to attend sexually explicit performances.
SB 12 defines “sexually oriented performances” as including “the exhibition or representation, actual or simulated of sexual acts, including vaginal sex, anal sex, and masturbation.”
While it is unclear whether the lawsuit will be allowed to advance, a number of drag shows have been canceled in recent weeks.
Scheduled for 1 p.m. on August 26, the BuZz n’ BabeZz Drag Brunch at BuzzBrews Lakewood, which did not have an apparent age restriction, had nearly 80 tickets still available for purchase by showtime.
When The Dallas Express arrived at the event, sound equipment was being torn down, and no one except staff was present. Another drag show at the location had been canceled the week before. The site had also been the subject of protests in the past due to the “all-ages” performances held there.
Earlier in August, Dallas Pride was forced to cancel a large street party titled “A Night of a Thousand Drag Queens” due to a lack of funding and interest, The Dallas Express reported.
“With the new anti-drag legislation going into effect on September 1, it seems even more important for us to celebrate and demonstrate our Pride year around,” a promotion for the event said. However, a fundraiser for the event failed.
“We were hoping and were billing it as a last hurrah to come fill the street with drag queens,” said Christine Bengston, interim executive director of Dallas Pride. “We thought that people would come together. Well, it didn’t work.”
In other instances, organizers have opted to add an age requirement to avoid running afoul of the new law. McKinney Pride chose that route when it updated an event to require all attendees to be over 21.
The drag show was originally billed as a place where people could “destroy ‘American values’ with the time honored tradition of gender bending.” Organizers initially recommended that only people 21 and older attend, but it was not a requirement.
After media attention and public outcry, McKinney Pride changed the event description to read that attendees must be at least 21 to come to the show, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Child attendance has not been the only issue at play when it comes to drag in Texas.
Walter Wendler, the president of West Texas A&M, canceled a show that was set to be hosted on campus. He said he did so because of the offense it could cause among women.
“Drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood,” Wendler claimed.
Dallas-area drag personality Emeka Bless disagrees. Bless previously told The Dallas Express that drag is “liberating.”
“It’s freedom of expression. … We like to put on makeup, wigs, and we just like to entertain a crowd,” Bless said.
