There is a law in the process of being voted on in Ohio that would effectively ban public drag shows where children might be present. Similar laws already exist in Montana and Tennessee. According to Snopes, Republican state Rep. Angie King, one of the primary sponsors of the bill, said in a statement that the legislation was “about protecting kids and restoring common-sense safeguards to protect their innocence” and said its purpose was to close loopholes in existing law and ensure that private spaces remain as such. The ACLU and advocates for events like Drag Queen Story Time have condemned it. Most of the law makes sense in that it prohibits children in places where there are strippers and topless dancers, for example, but the section that is frustrating some people is the ban on clothing that doesn’t “match” a person’s gender, and the use of makeup by men.
First – does this mean that women can’t wear pants anymore? Second – 72% of US men ages 18-34 use makeup in some form. Third – have these people ever been to a Drag Queen Story Time? My experience of those events is that they are gentle and fun. However – I have seen videos of children sitting in bars at Drag Shows that were very sexual, so I absolutely agree that this shouldn’t happen – that’s more about the bars and that overt sexuality than it is about men in women’s clothing. No child should be allowed to be at an event that includes any kind of sex act, simulated or otherwise. They also shouldn’t be allowed to attend professional wrestling events either – those are absurdly violent and sexual. If people really want to protect children, they should go after television and cable programming – and they should limit their access to the Bible. Talk about sex and violence!
When I lived in Cincinnati the city council passed a law that banned people of the same sex who were not related from living together. This attack on homosexuality – and Cincinnati was a deeply homophobic city in the 1990’s – inadvertently made it illegal for college students to rent apartments together. It also made single-sex dorms illegal. That law got rescinded. My point is that it is very difficult to legislate morality, and those attempts are often misplaced and damaging. If you attended my friend Miss Amie’s DQST, you would see a lot of smiling and singing and dancing. No tears. No mental breakdowns. No trauma. Just happiness. Before we make misplaced moral judgements, we need to think a little more. I find that oppressive morality is far more damaging than a happy song and dance routine. And that damage lasts a lifetime.
Prayer – Holy God, help us to use common sense and intelligence – both gifts from You – when we make decisions. Amen.
This woman in the picture is dressed illegally in Montana and Tennessee.