RuPaul, the queen of drag, is urging Americans to vote “these stunt queens out of office” in response to the recent wave of legislation banning drag shows.
in a video posted on instagram On Wednesday, the creator and host of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” called the fixation of Republican lawmakers on anti-drag and anti-trans legislation a distraction and likened it to bullying behavior.
“Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique, distracting us from the real issues they were elected to serve on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our kids safe at their own school,” RuPaul said.
“But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real problems. They look for easy targets to give the impression of being effective. They think that our love, our light, our laughter and our joy are signs of weakness. But they are wrong because that is our strength”.
The Emmy-winning host then issued a call to action.
“Drag queens are the marines of the queer movement. Don’t twist it and don’t get distracted,” RuPaul continued. “Please register to vote so we can get these queens out of stunt doubles and put some smart people with real solutions in government. And by the way, a social media post has never been as powerful as a registered vote.”
Thursday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed the law into law a bill restricting “adult cabaret performances” in public spaces, including “male or female impersonators providing entertainment that appeals to prurient interest.”
A bill banning gender-affirming health care for transgender youth in Tennessee was signed into law the same day. And on Monday, Tennessee passed another anti-drag bill, this one requiring “adult cabaret performers” to obtain a permit in order to perform.
Lawmakers in 14 states, including Arizona, North Dakota, Kentucky and Texas, have also proposed anti-transgender and anti-transgender laws with similar language.
When the stars of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” gathered in West Hollywood for a recent viewing party Celebrating the show’s 200th episode, current contestants and alumni expressed the way dragging bans affect the community.
Season 15 contestant Sasha Colby said, “It’s amazing to see what’s going on with all these anti-trans bills masquerading as anti-drag bills.”
“You know what we’re not going to do?” Colby asked. “We are not going to let them take us down. We will continue to do what we have to do. Because you know what? Drag is for us, and drag is art.”
Jackie Cox, who competed on season 12, encouraged anyone who felt attacked, saying that if she hadn’t found drag, she wouldn’t be a whole person.
“Seeing what’s happening on the news, you might feel like they’re coming for us and doing it, but you know what? We are stronger, we are going to keep fighting, we are going to make sure that none of these anti-trans and anti-drag laws stay. They’re going to say goodbye,” Cox said. “We’re going to keep fighting this fight.”
