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Republicans introduce a bill to make it a felony to perform drag shows in Tennessee [1]
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Date: 2022-11-09
Per the bill’s summary online, the legislation seeks to make it an “offense” for “a person who engages in an adult cabaret performance on public property or in a location where the adult cabaret performance could be viewed by a person who is not an adult.”
Advocates and writers Alejandra Carabello and Erin Reed shared insights into the bills on Twitter as well, where folks were understandably horrified and worried.
x Fresh off of a disastrous night after focusing on attacking LGBTQ people, Republicans in Tennessee have pre-filed a bill to criminalize drag shows as an obscenity punishable as a class A misdemeanor and up to a felony. pic.twitter.com/oGe83HiZeM — Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) November 9, 2022
x Terrifying.
Tennessee just released SB3 - this bill, if passed, would make "male or female impersonators providing entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest"/drag in public a crime.
This is so vague that it could be targeted at trans actors, comedians, story hours. pic.twitter.com/2nymwpM0nC — Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) November 9, 2022
As we’ve continued to cover here at Daily Kos, far-right extremists have made it a habit to show up and harass drag performers—and guests coming to see the show—across the country. Sometimes this means harassing adults, but queerphobes have also shown their willingness to terrorize literal children who are trying to, say, enter a public library for a storytime event or enter a restaurant for a family-friendly drag show with their parents.
Conservatives will say drag shows are inappropriate or obscene, just the same way they’re saying books by and about LGBTQ+ people are inappropriate, or that trans folks using the correct bathroom for their gender identity is somehow dangerous, or the way that even discussing LGBTQ+ people in the classroom needs a statewide ban …
But we all know, rationally, these are attacks meant to get their voter base upset enough to hit the polls. Drag shows are just fine. Picture books with same-sex parents are fine. Knowing a teacher or coach has a same-sex spouse is fine. It’s all fine! But conservatives know they continue to fail constituents on real issues, like COVID-19 response, gun violence, and especially when it comes to reproductive health and access. They fail again and again, so they turn, again and again, to outdated rhetoric and policy ideas that should have been left in the past.
To dig further into this point, even the bill language referencing “male or female impersonators” could be worrisome in terms of trans rights and anti-discrimination protections in the state. Now, people in drag are not necessarily trans. Doing drag does not mean you are trans. Trans people are not doing drag. Trans people are not performing an identity any more than anyone else. But if conservatives are able to loop people into their hate logic, and present trans people as trying to “trick” people or “hide” their identities, all of a sudden, it’s a lot easier for hateful people to say, “Well, this person says they’re trans, but they’re really just an impersonator trying to get into the bathroom for some evil purpose.”
It doesn’t make sense, not really. But Republicans just want people heated enough that they don't care about logic.
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