Banned.....What a Drag
What is the truth?
Recently, I listened to a friend of mine give a talk about truth. She told the story of the blind men who were asked to identify what they were touching. One touched the tail. One felt the leg. One was wrapped in the trunk, while another caressed the tusk. None of these men guessed it was an elephant because they could not comprehend the entire truth, just what they perceived.
When I began to read articles about drag queen story hours in public libraries being hit with protests and legislation, I wondered where the truth resided.
All over the country, men dressed in “exaggerated stereotypical feminine clothes and makeup” who sit in libraries to read books to groups of kids is considered grooming by enough folks that it has caused a kerfuffle. Locals in Tennessee state that this type of event was “bullying the innocence of children.” Tucker Carlson, of Fox News fame, described this practice as sexualizing children.
Police were called to one library because of rowdy protestors didn’t like the idea of drag queens reading to children.
Angry citizens demand the removal of drag queens from their libraries and want them out now.
Men dressed like Cher, reading library books out loud in the library to children, is bullying children? Sexualizing them?
Where does the truth lie in this vitriol?
Out of all the things to fight for and change, why is banning drag at the top?
Fear?
I experienced genuine fear before. The kind that weighs down on your chest, making it near impossible to breathe. Some of my more irrational fears are of overly crowded places and my spouse’s parents. I think most of the reading public can understand both fears and give me a pass.
The human body processes fear in many ways. In school, they teach us that our bodies respond to fear using fight, flight, or freeze. Biologically, a visceral reaction to fear is normal…..that is…..if we want to live forever in our primitive or reptilian brain.
For me, I long to overcome fight, flight, or freeze. Not a simple task, mind you, but I CAN think rationally from time to time……despite what my brothers say.
As a fear amateur, I recognize fear and smell it in these drag protests and wonder if drag queens reading books to children is a fearful thing. Is that the truth?
A TRUTH ABOUT DRAG
When faced with any problem, I like to start out by defining it.
According to the Business Insider, “Drag is the act of highlighting and emphasizing various feminine and masculine features, and it provides an avenue through which people can both subvert and celebrate gender expressions.”
The article explains that the difference between drag and cross-dressing is the performance aspect. Drag is a PERFORMANCE…..this is important to remember. That means the people in drag reading to kids in the library are performers visiting with children in costume……just like Ronald McDonald, Pee Wee Herman and Robin, all of which have been near children on television no less.
My mother, the huge Shakespeare buff, exposed us kids to Shakespeare as tiny children. Before I learned my multiplication tables, I knew that hundreds of years ago, only men performed in Shakespeare plays and dressed as women. When the original Romeo kissed the original Juliet, he was kissing a man……in a dress. The six-year-old me thought that was hilarious.
Men wearing women’s clothing during performances were then and now considered entertainment and acceptable to all audiences, even the queen.
Drag performances have been around for centuries……that is a truth.
If drag isn’t new to the world, then why all the hubbub, bud?
Pardon my ignorance, but is reading to children in a costume damaging? Even if these people were cross-dressing instead of in drag, does that signify listening to Goodnight Moon read by a man sporting large breasts and a wig as subversive?
DEFINE GROOMING
As a blind participant in this controversy, I’m struggling to figure which part of the elephant I am near. I do not understand why drag queens reading to children contributes to the “sexualization” or “grooming” of children. What part of the elephant are they touching to see drag queens reading to children that way? The tail? The leg?
Is there a bigger picture we both are missing?
As a former child myself who has seen a drag show or two, I truly don’t feel indoctrinated or pressured or anything……except I am a girl and I do wear pants almost every day…..well, actually leggings. I don’t think that counts as drag or cross-dressing.
Growing up with shows like The Birdcage, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, I am familiar with what drag means to my generation. Whether one enjoys those movies is a matter of taste. In total disclosure, drag is not to my taste.
ERGO, one is not required to enjoy drag performances to let them do their thing.
For example, movies with sad endings…..I hate them with a burning passion. You don’t see me lobbying the governor to ban Sommersby or any of those awful flicks that ripped my heart out with no happy ending. Some people actually like that type of entertainment!?
My deepest apologies for the Sommersby spoiler.
IS IT PERVERSION?
For those folks who say drag is perversion, I say this. I love males……..all shapes, sizes and colors. Not once did my perverted-self sense sex-vibes coming off of Nathan Lane in the movie Birdcage……..I have a radar for that kind of stuff.
Maybe the low-cut flashy costumes and big hair sported by many a drag queen is perverted. If that were the case, folks dressed like characters from Dallas and Dynasty, cartoons like He-Man and X-Men, and Dolly Parton would be kicked out of libraries.
MY. HEART. WOULD. BREAK. (I’m a She-Ra fan….Dolly too!)
Is it the intense makeup that grooms or sexualizes a person? Then Cate Blanchett in Manifesto, Margo Robbie in Suicide Squad, Nicholas Hoult in Max Max: Fury Road, and Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire should be considered “grooming” as well. Children should avoid those movies…..all but one is rated R (no kids allowed) but dang, that Mrs. Doubtfire is one scary dude.
Is it the clothing that is sexual?
Does this mean all women wear dresses, and all men wear pants?
Whose job is it to break the news to Scotland that wearing kilts in the library is deviant behavior?
The protests are against the standard issue drag queens, you know……dressed up like Tina Turner, belting out “Goldeneye” on a stage, who take time out of their day to read to children in a library.
Is there another truth I’m missing?
There are bad people with bad intentions that hurt children everywhere. No one demographic has a corner on victimizing children…..sadly. There is too much of it. That is another truth.
I don’t believe drag performers are out to indoctrinate children in the the wild world of wigs, falsies, and fashion.
Additionally, I highly doubt that high school productions of La Cage Aux Folles, Chicago, and Hairspray…..are grooming shows because of the drag characters.
Speaking of Hairspray…..does this mean John Travolta in Hairspray is more sexual than John Travolta in Grease or Saturday Night Fever?
REALITY
I recently wrote an article about the Chinese banning effeminate characters. Their president called for a “national rejuvenation”. The words they used were to “resolutely put an end to sissy men and other abnormal esthetics”. If they no longer looked like manly men, they weren’t welcome in the public space.
What is the difference between the Chinese ban and the drag ban?
Is the ban acceptable because they look different, sound different, think different?
For some, this might be a leap, but for me, it isn’t. I see little difference between these two government driven bans. Both have defined what “normal” should look like and banned those who do not conform to normal, worse, calling them out in public discourse as something subpar.
What’s next? After banning drag, do they ban based on skin color, ethnicity, and religion? Recently, I read an article where school districts in Florida wanted to scrub segregation from their social studies textbooks. Hiding truth is never a good thing.
The 1st Amendment protects freedom of speech, which includes the clothing a person wears in a public place. If a man wearing a Stars and Bars t-shirt can read to children in a library, then can a man wearing the latest Lady Gaga outfit do the same? That is freedom of speech.
It looks like in the library……..one man’s freedom of speech is another man’s grooming……neither looking at the same part of the elephant.
Can I find truth here?
As that clever sage, Yoda, once said, “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” For the folks screaming and protesting because of fears about the dreaded evil drag, please know that words germinated in fear can and do lead to suffering. That is also a truth.
What is the truth of this library controversy? I have no answer to that because I’m still focused on the tusk. In order to find the whole truth, everyone of us will need to seek it out ourselves.
I’ll bet local librarians never thought they’d be on the front lines of a free speech war in this century. Please visit your local library and support their programs. A vibrant and inclusive library is a sign of a vibrant and inclusive community.
To anyone who doesn’t want their kids read to by a drag queen, please keep them away from the library that day…….just like I avoid craft day…..truly a nasty business perpetrated at Fabfu’s local library.
Remember that we all see different parts of the elephant. Until we all see the creature of truth in full, we should be respectful of others viewpoints.
To end on a positive note, here is a picture of my favorite drag performance in all the Asian dramas I’ve seen to date. One of the best entertaining girl-power math promoting shows ever……Splash Splash Love. If you haven’t watched it, please do……and with a teenage girl that hates math.
Finally, a shout out to all local librarians. Fabfu fangirls her local librarians. Battle on.
TERRIFIC writing here. Thank you for challenging us all with asking good questions. Truth.