Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has signed into law a bill banning shows from drag queen in public spaces.
The bill does not explicitly mention drag queen but of “cabaret shows for adults winking at an itchy nature, including impersonators of men or women, dancers in topless and exotic”, which take place in public spaces “or wherever a minor can see them”.
The law will go into effect by the end of the year and other states, all Republican-led, are already preparing to prepare similar laws.
The announcement of the new law came as a photo of the Republican governor’s school yearbook circulating on Reddit in which he appears disguised as a woman.
Lee said there’s a big difference between wearing a dress to a high school football game and the drag queen wearing clothes of the opposite gender on stage.
Reached by the microphones of progressive radio network NPR, Hella Skeleton, a drag performer who is from rural Middle Tennessee, said the governor’s statement isn’t entirely clear.
“According to Bill Lee when he cross-dressed as a woman it was carefree and light-hearted, as if a lot of drag they didn’t do it in an extremely lighthearted way – Skeleton said – Apparently for the governor when straight men dress poorly as women that’s okay, but when gay, queer and trans people do it, then it’s not okay ”.
La drag performer Hella Skeleton
“Apparently for the governor when straight men dress poorly as women that’s okay, but when gay, queer and trans people do it, then it’s not okay”
The line of the GOP is the predictable one of defending values and the family, and MP Jack Johnson who co-sponsored the bill said: “We are protecting children, families and parents who want to be able to bring their children in public places. We are not attacking anyone or targeting anyone.”
But Johnson’s claim is belied by the language itself used in the bill and which has sparked concern from the wider LGBTQ+ community. The artists drag they are defined as “personifiers of male or female”. This already, for the ACLU (the civil rights league, ndr) of Tennessee, could impact the queer across the board, not just on the drag performer.
“This is a subtle and sinister way to further criminalize just being trans,” said ACLU Tennessee Counsel Stella Yarbrough, noting how the line between a performer and a transgender person who dresses and presents in a manner inconsistent with their biological gender becomes truly nuanced when presented in this way.
The ban could also have an effect on the Pride parade which takes place outdoors and is one of the most attended collective events in Tennessee.
Tennessee ACLU legal director Stella Yarbrough
“This is a subtle and sinister way to further criminalize just being trans”
While new laws typically go into effect on July 1, this specific bill will go into effect on April 1, so before Pride, which takes place in June.
If on the shows of drag queen Tennessee is a trailblazer, on other repressive issues Tennessee has matched with other states, becoming the latest to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.
Beginning in July, Tennessee doctors will be banned from prescribing puberty-blocking hormones and performing gender-affirming surgeries to anyone under the age of 18.
Children who are already receiving gender dysphoria medication will have until the end of March 2024 to discontinue it. Anyone who violates the law will be at risk of a $25,000 fine.
Also on this issue, the ACLU has promised to sue in the courts.