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Karaoke While Transgender in Arkansas Could Classify You as an "Adult Performer" [1]

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Date: 2023-01-14

Arkansas Republican state Senators have introduced Senate Bill 43 that would classify a Drag performance as an adult-oriented business, under the same classification as "adult entertainment" establishments, which would restrict the location of such establishments and where performances are allowed to take place, and restrict minors from attending drag performances altogether.

While Republicans attack on Drag are nothing new, as dozens of bills around the country are introduced, the classification of what is considered Drag continues to broaden to the point where any transgender person singing a song or dancing could also be reclassified as inappropriate for the public sphere.

The most critical part is the classification of "Drag performance" to mean any performer who "Exhibits a gender identity that is different from the performer's gender assigned at birth using clothing, makeup, or other accessories that are traditionally worn by members of and are meant to exaggerate the gender identify of the performer's opposite sex..." and classifies "performance" as "Sings, lip-synchs, dances, or otherwise performs before an audience... whether performed for payment or not... that is intended to appeal to the prurient interest..."

Drag performers and being transgender are of course very different, and while some may point to the distinction of "exaggerated" clothing and makeup in the bill, there's no objective definition of what "exaggerated" means. Same with "prurient interest"... does singing the racy lyrics of a Nicki Minaj song qualify? To Republicans it might. To the local sheriff or city council it might. We know, from experience, once these laws are enacted, Republicans will interpret and corrupt them as they see fit. We also know, from experience, that even if these type of laws aren't universally enforced, they have a chilling affect on businesses that simply don't want to risk running into legal troubles that could shut them down and rack up fines and legal fees.

This is all an aside to Republicans making Drag performances inherently about sex, which they are not. Whether someone is performing in Drag on stage to a paid audience, or is just a transgender person singing karaoke at the local bar, there is absolutely nothing about Drag or the way transgender people choose to dress that is inherently inappropriate for minors or public viewing - any more so than a Disney character performing at a theme park or a cisgender woman dressing to the hilt for a night out of karaoke.

Senator Gary Stubblefield (R), one of SB 43's sponsors, was quoted “It’s destroying some of these kids’ innocence... They’re no longer kids. They’re seeing things they shouldn’t be seeing.” What exactly about a guy in a dress singing and dancing and reading to children is destroying their innocence? Nothing of course. Hypocrites to the end, it is Republicans that are a threat to children. When it comes to gun violence, poverty, and the environment, issues that are literally killing children, Republicans couldn't care less.

The ACLU of Arkansas issued a statement that sums it up all too well...

“Laws like SB43 are a red herring and more broadly attempt to erase LGBTQ people from public life by forcing gender norms onto private businesses and individuals. These laws are fueled by the same paranoia banning books from our libraries and censoring teachers... But this bill is even more extreme, defining drag performers simply as people who ‘exhibit a gender identity’ different from their gender assigned at birth... Fear-mongering interest groups continue their absurdly false and extremely harmful rhetoric conflating transgender people and other LGBTQ people with pedophiles. And these laws have a long history of hurtfully and needlessly criminalizing LGBTQ people, giving police permission to raid bars like Stonewall and arrest trans women simply for existing in public."

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/14/2147276/-Karaoke-While-Transgender-in-Arkansas-Could-Classify-You-as-an-Adult-Performer

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