Arizona brings drag shows to heel to protect family values
Republicans propose to make it a crime to put on a show in public where children may be present
ARIZONA could follow other states in America’s mid-west by banning drag shows, as conservatives say children are being exposed to “sexual perversion”.
One piece of legislation proposed by a Republican senator would make it a misdemeanour to put on a drag performance in a public place, where children might be present.
The change would classify drag as an “adult cabaret performance” similar to shows put on by topless dancers or strippers.
Another bill, introduced in Arizona last week, would ban the use of state money for drag shows for anyone under 18, essentially prohibiting appearances at schools and public libraries.
The move comes just weeks after Ron Desantis, the Republican governor of Florida, ordered an investigation into a “sexually explicit” Christmas drag show, which critics said was “marketed to children”.
Drag acts have become a new focus in some Right-leaning circles, with a joint statement from Arizona Republicans saying last year: “One of the reasons why we were elected as lawmakers by our constituents was to protect family values.
“If men want to dress as women, and if adults want to participate in watching these hyper-sexualised performances, they have the freedom to do so. It crosses the line when kids are subjected to these drag shows.
“This ignorance by public and private sectors promoting this behaviour sends a message of complete and utter perversion that can have detrimental impacts on the social and emotional development of our children.
“We will be damned if we won’t fight like hell to protect the most innocent from these horrifying and disturbing trends that are spreading across the nation now that extremist Democrats are currently in control of our federal government.”
Arizona is not the only place where action is being taken. At least six other states – Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas – have also proposed anti-drag show laws in recent months.
“I was proud to file legislation that would ban any type of drag show that is sexual in nature from being performed in any place where kids will be around to see it,” Jack Johnson, a Tennessee state senator, said on Twitter after proposing a drag-show ban in the state.
Another Tennessee bill seeks to classify drag performers as adult entertainers and require them to obtain licences.
In November, a Texas politician introduced a bill that would classify venues that host drag shows as “sexually oriented” businesses, making it a misdemeanour to admit anyone under the age of 18.
Elected politicians in Michigan have announced legislation that would allow parents to sue schools for up to $10,000
‘We’ll be damned if we won’t fight like hell to protect the most innocent from these disturbing trends’
(£8,200) if they host drag shows. The rallying calls against drag acts have led to protests and even acts of violence against performers.
Events in California and Texas have been stormed by protesters and shut down, while a man firebombed a doughnut shop in Oklahoma after it hosted a drag event.
Chris Sanders, the executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, an LGBTQ rights group, worries that the legislation will lead to more incidents.
“If the bills pass and drag is criminalised or relegated to 18 and up spaces only, that is dangerous for the performers,” he said.
“It’s also leading to this long-term lie that somehow drag queens and trans people are dangerous to kids. Kids love costumes and they love imagination and creativity.”
Jeremy Helfgot from Phoenix Pride told Fox: “Not only is it terribly offensive, terribly marginalising to the drag community, which is a perfectly open, welcoming, positive community of entertainers, but this is traditional performance that has gone back in society for centuries, even to the days of Shakespeare and Elizabethan theatre.”