NPR: Tennessee's new law criminalizing public drag performances goes into effect April 1. The law, which refers to "male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest," makes it an offense for a person to engage in an adult cabaret performance on public property — or in a location where the performance could be viewed by children.
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The Tennessee ban on drag always confused me because how many instances of drag in places they didn’t deem appropriate was there to prompt a literal law about it in the first place? I agree with DuBalle that drag is an art form and it is a wrong assumption to think that drag shows are all supposed to be sexual performances that are wrong or inappropriate. The vague language of the law just reads as transphobic and targeting non cis heterosexual individuals. I felt bad for the example given of someone trying to call the cops on a person who is “crossdressing” or nonbinary and wearing/presenting oneself in clothes and accessories that a simpleton would fear was “drag in public.” I’d be interested to know what happens to Duballe while she continues to host all age drag brunches once the law goes into place. Sure I mean explicitly sexual or adult content incorporated in drag shows should have an age restriction, but drag as an artform and performance should not be censored or targeted by Tennessee's rich policies.
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