Lately, the RWNJs have been ablaze with “Kids and Drag Show” hysteria.
Having lived in New Orleans in the French Quarter, the shock value is now lost on me. Back in the early 70’s when I first hit New Orleans, there were a number of shows on Bourbon Street that did a good tourist business. The place where I played with our band “Rant and Rave” had a drag club right across the street, “Club Me Oh My”, a mob joint, where the old barker croaked:
“Pretty boys who want to be Girls! Don’t ask me — I don’t know why!”
The clientele seemed to consist almost entirely of elderly white ladies from the Midwest, which appeared to be their key demographic.
Questions about drag have arisen in conversations around transgender identities, as the two are often conflated, despite having two different meanings. In its most basic sense, “drag” typically refers to an art form of men (either heterosexual or queer) dressing as women for theater, a tradition that dates back to Shakespeare.
At one point in time, the female roles in European plays and operas were played by men and boys. Women were forbidden. In later operas, sometimes boys were portrayed by women. These are called "pants roles". We won't get into the castrati singers, as it hurts just thinking about it, but the church has much to answer for there.
I have noticed that often, drag queens use their drag for more serious activism and even light-hearted comedy. It’s important to note that the art form of drag is not inherently sexual or tied to any one sexual orientation or identity.
I am not a parent, so it's not a personal issue for me. Is it damaging for kids to listen to someone in drag tell a children's story at a public library? Is it harmful for them to see a man portraying Judy Garland lip sync "Over the Rainbow"? Should kids watch Monty Python, which sometimes has men playing women?
"How Do You Solve a Problem Like Madea?" (apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein)
I think everyone would agree, kids should not be exposed to things that are sexually explicit, but if it's not, it probably should be something for parents to decide.
We now have a federal holiday that may be illegal for teachers to discuss at school in some states. Children who have Gay parents have to pretend they don’t exist.
Actor: "Hitler wants to kill all the Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals!" Mel Brooks: "What?! Without Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals - THERE'S NO MORE SHOW BUSINESS!"
Props to Flip Wilson and "Geraldine" too.