‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Stars Speak Out Against Anti-Trans And Anti-Drag Legislation
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ stars are speaking out against anti-trans and anti-drag legislation.
As of February 2023, state legislators have already introduced 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year, many of them specifically targeting drag performances and gender-affirming care. This week, two Tennessee bills, one banning drag performances in any location where minors could attend, and another outright banning transition-related care for minors, cleared the legislature and are currently headed to the governor’s desk. Meanwhile, Montana advanced a similar bill banning minors from drag shows.
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This widespread anti-queer legislation is bleak yet unsurprising given that the GOP has spent much of the past year claiming that drag performers are predators, leading to widespread attempts to ban drag from public spaces. The Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs and continuing acts of anti-LGBTQ+ violence have even prompted a number of high-profile drag queens to hire extra security at their shows.
To bolster morale in the LGBTQ+ community, several ‘Drag Race’ queens took time from celebrating the show’s 200th episode to share some fighting words in a new video from GLAAD, as ‘Them’ write.
“It’s wild to see what’s going on as all these anti-trans bills [are] being disguised as anti-drag bills,” Sasha Colby, the drag legend who is currently competing on the show’s 15th season, said. “You know what we’re not gonna do? We’re not gonna let them take us down. We’re going to keep doing what we need to do. Because you know what? Drag is for us and drag is art.”
Sasha Colby’s drag daughter, Season 14 queen Kerri Colby, added that drag saved her life and has done so for countless other people.
“That’s why this tradition has gone back for hundreds of years and it’s brought so much positivity,” Sasha added. “I’m on here to just continue to spread that positivity because we need more of that.”
Season 6 queen Laganja Estranja pointed out that had it not been for drag, “I would have never found my truth as a trans woman.”
As Season 2 queen and ‘All Stars 6’ winner Kylie Sonique Love bluntly put it: “This isn’t the first time they’ve tried to do this shit and it won’t be the last. So we’re going to keep doing what we do and inspire and encourage everybody and do it with a smile on your face.”
Meanwhile, Season 12 queen Heidi N Closet shared her experiences protesting anti-queer, anti-drag bills on the front lines.
“It has truly brought out a side in the world that I have not seen in many years,” she said. “Being a gay, Black man from the south, I’ve seen such bigoted behavior and such disrespect and racism and every time those things come to light it tears us apart.”
Heidi N Closet closed the video with a call to action: “We’ve really got to stop this attack.”
Read related myGwork articles here:
Tennessee Suppresses Drag Shows, Bans Gender-Affirming Care For Kids
Tennessee GOP Files Bill To Ban Public Drag Performances
Tennessee Governor Signs Trans Athlete Ban For Collegiate Sports
Parents Sue Tennessee For Discriminating Against Trans Students
Judge Blocks Tennessee's Transgender Bathroom Sign Law
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