www.broadwayworld.com: For the National Queer Theater, the fight against censorship is not an abstract political debate. It is a fight for artists’ livelihoods, young people’s futures, and the right of queer and transgender people to tell their stories without first seeking the government’s approval.
1 comment:
Attempted political regulation of art and theatre really bugs me, and not just because of the obvious censorship that the current administration is trying to implement. The executive order featured in this article directs federal agencies to prevent the “promot[ion] of gender ideology,” which has no real definition. “Gender ideology” is a big political buzzword, and it’s flexible enough that when it’s used in legislation, there's a lot of room for interpretation. While in this context, “gender ideology” means queer and specifically trans people, it could later be expanded. The Jan 20, 2025 executive order was implemented to target performances with trans characters, actors, and designers, but in the future, similar executive orders could target women or BIPOC artists. This executive order was overturned by District Judge William E. Smith for violating the First Amendment, but the federal government has already appealed the decision, and I’m sure that similar executive orders will be put into effect. Art and artists have always been political, and now the mere existence of many artists has been politicized. In the current political landscape, First Amendment rights seem to only be valued when the speech matches the government's ideas, and with theatre's tendency to push boundaries, things aren’t looking very good
Post a Comment