“These attacks on drag shows and performers strike at the heart of our rights to gather, read and perform together”, Pen said in a statement. Most of the proposed bills include defining a drag performer as someone performing while using dress, makeup and mannerisms associated with a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth. “But what these bills say and what they do is very different from the public conversation surrounding them.”
“We’ve seen a growing number of protests, and now we’re seeing a policy push to prevent this kind of expression,” Ruane added.
Best drag shows near me free#
“This part of a broader rise in political rhetoric about drag performances,” said Kate Ruane, director of US free expression programs at Pen America. Others outside the library reportedly chanted “NSC-131” – the name of neo-Nazi group – and shouted anti-pedophile slogans until the event ended, according to police reports and a witness.Īccording to Pen, anti-drag legislation shares the common attribute of classifying drag shows as adult or sexualized in nature. Last weekend, a drag queen story hour event at a public library in Taunton, Massachusetts, was disrupted by masked men. It has also been accompanied by protests and violence. It also coincides with a conservative backlash against trans rights and broader gay rights, such as in Florida, which has passed so-called “don’t say gay” legislation that curtails the discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in schools. The introduction of anti-drag legislation, says Pen America, coincides with an increase in political rhetoric about drag performances and drag queen story hours in public libraries, as well as a growing number of recent protests or interruptions of drag events. Other bills are also being drafted in other states, including in Montana and Idaho.
0 kommentar(er)
