Ain't Life a Drag?

[Stavros]

Not content with invading people's bedrooms and bookshelves, the Republicans are extending their mania for social control to the entertainment of Children, on the basis they must decide what that is.

I think I must have seen my first drag at an annual event for Boy Scouts in the UK called 'The Gang Show' -a revue put on for members. It contained at least one if not more sketch with Scouts dressed up as Girls, probably because there is a fairly long tradition of military men in faraway places entertaining themselves in drag, be it on a base or in a prison camp. It spilled over into prime time entertainment on TV in this country, with most of the most famous male comedians at some point dressing up, the most famous being The Two Ronnies, Stanley Baxter and Dick Emory.

On this basis, My guess is His Holiness Grigory Abbot, and Sanctimonious DeSantis will make it illegal for their citizens to visit the UK or watch UK TV (pun intended).

Pathetic, but oh so Republican. Drag shows? Ban, Ban, Ban. Gun Shows?

"In a bizarre move, Republicans have started to rally forces around bringing forward legislation criminalising drag shows. A Texas lawmaker announced he would propose a ban on minors attending drag shows (https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/06/07/bryan-slaton-texas-drag-children-ban-backlash-michelle-visage/) after a video went viral of kids attending a family-friendly Pride event in Dallas.

Florida legislators are now hot on the heels of their Texan counterparts. State representative Anthony Sabatini announced on Twitter (https://twitter.com/AnthonySabatini/status/1533980818791604224) that he plans to propose legislation that would make it a “felony” for parents to take their kids to drag events."
Of course Florida bigot Ron DeSantis is joining the drag queen witch hunt (pinknews.co.uk) (https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/06/10/ron-desantis-florida-governor-investigate-kids-drag/)

Ron DeSantis Has Misleading Evidence of Drag Show Claims (dailydot.com) (https://www.dailydot.com/debug/desantis-spokesperson-tweets-drag-queen-cisgender-burlesque-dancer/)

[Stavros]

Do Americans know what Panto is? I wonder if the Proud Boys would raid a performance of Cinderella, or Dick Whittington because they object to children being in the company of men in frocks?

Maybe best to ban children's entertainment and replace them with Bible Study...er, maybe not, cf Leviticus.

Possible hate crime investigated after group stormed Drag Queen Story Hour at Bay Area library (sfchronicle.com) (https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Alameda-County-Sheriff-investigates-possible-hate-17236071.php)

[Stavros]

I guess the Supreme Court will kill the law, and the Proud Boys and their chums kill the people.

"The disruption at Mojo’s comes in the wake of an incident earlier in the month when five members of the Proud Boys stormed a drag queen-hosted story hour in a Bay Area library, shouting homophobic and transphobic slurs until they were confronted by police."
Anti-LGBTQ protesters storm bar’s drag event in Woodland | The Sacramento Bee (sacbee.com) (https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article263095433.html)

[Stavros]

Now it seems, a 1947 law is the key to dealing with Florida's sordid little world and its Pious Governor. I am not sure if the show in question is suitable for children, maybe they just think its funny, just as they do with the Ugly Sisters in soon-to-be-banned-in-Florida Cinderella. Or maybe one of the dancers is their Aunt and Uncle or a relative of some sort.

"The complaint [by the Florida Dept of Business and Professional Regulation] alleges that R House violated state public nuisance law by becoming “manifestly injurious to the morals or manners of the people.”The department cited the 1947 Florida Supreme Court decision that found that “men impersonating women” in a “suggestive” performance constitutes a public nuisance."
Gov. DeSantis Uses 1947 Court Ruling To Go After Miami Drag Show | HuffPost UK Politics (huffingtonpost.co.uk) (https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/desantis-1947-drag-show-ruling-miami_n_62e48037e4b0d0ea9b7721af)

Back to 1947 -when Sodomy was illegal. When interracial marriage was illegal. When Contraception was illegal. As for that most wicked of Sins, Adultery -it is still illegal in Florida. Come to think of it, it is also illegal in the State of New York -that's yet another law you can be sure Trump has broken.
The past is a different country -or, let's go there, with His Holiness Pope Abbott and Pious DeSantis leading America to the pulpit to cleanse America. What could go wrong?

[Stavros]

In my ignorance I had no idea we have it here in the UK-

"Drag Queen Story Hour has recently been hauled into a culture war. This summer, groups including the far-right and conspiracy theorists calling themselves “sovereign citizens” have been holding up signs saying “Welcome groomers” and “Nonce upon a time” outside libraries in places from Bexleyheath to Reading when Drag Queen Story Hour events were due to take place. Parents entering the libraries had questions shouted at them about why they were taking their children to see a paedophile. Videos of the protests in Reading were posted online and looked terrifying. It was a scene you might expect to see in the US, where homophobic Christian groups have long maligned large parts of the LGBTQ+ movement and their allies as “groomers”. But in Reading?"
‘I’m just trying to make the world a little brighter’: how the culture wars hijacked Drag Queen Story Hour | Drag | The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/aug/11/im-just-trying-to-make-the-world-a-little-brighter-how-the-culture-wars-hijacked-drag-queen-story-hour)

[filghy2]

"Drag Queen Story Hour has recently been hauled into a culture war. This summer, groups including the far-right and conspiracy theorists calling themselves “sovereign citizens” have been holding up signs saying “Welcome groomers” and “Nonce upon a time” outside libraries in places from Bexleyheath to Reading when Drag Queen Story Hour events were due to take place.

Right-wing wackoes always seem to take their cues from the US. We had lots of "sovereign citizens" among the people protesting against vaccination and other Covid measures.

Fortunately, this particular disease often doesn't find foreign conditions as favourable as in the US. The previous conservative government and its Murdoch media allies tried to give culture wars a run in this year's Australian election and it failed badly.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/katherine-deves-defeat-in-warringah-a-stunning-rebuke-of-politics-of-division-advocates-say/6cd2ipzag

But I'm sure the Tories will try to give it a run as a distraction from economic and leadership problems.

[diddyboponTOP]

Right-wing wackoes always seem to take their cues from the US. We had lots of "sovereign citizens" among the people protesting against vaccination and other Covid measures.

Fortunately, this particular disease often doesn't find foreign conditions as favourable as in the US. The previous conservative government and its Murdoch media allies tried to give culture wars a run in this year's Australian election and it failed badly.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/katherine-deves-defeat-in-warringah-a-stunning-rebuke-of-politics-of-division-advocates-say/6cd2ipzag

But I'm sure the Tories will try to give it a run as a distraction from economic and leadership problems.

So your not only gay but a libertards lol and British to boot.

[filghy2]

Reading comprehension isn't your strong suit, is it?

[broncofan]

So your not only gay but a libertards lol and British to boot.
Is this the best comeback you could come up with? What an embarrassment.

[Luke Warm]

Republicans in Idaho will try to ban drag shows:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/republicans-idaho-trying-ban-drag-133143244.html

This is because Republicans don't have any actual solutions to offer (remember when they campaigned on 'Repeal and Replace Obamacare' for like 10 years, but then they literally didn't do jack shit about health care once they controlled the federal government). All this Republican culture war stuff is just about gaining power so they can give themselves tax cuts and deregulate industry for their donors, they are great at campaigning and fucking terrible at legislating. Even the most recent Republican triumph - rolling back the right to an abortion - was accomplished by judges, not politicians. Republicans can't actually govern for shit. Ask 10 different Republicans what to do about the southern border and you're likely to get 10 different answers (many business owners on the right depend on the cheap labor that migrants offer). How many drag shows did Idaho have state-wide this year, more than two or three? I'm sure drag shows are a major problem in the state of Idaho... but they have nothing else to talk about.

Remember the Republican panic over "Gay Teletubbies"? Tinkie Winkie is purple and carries a purse! This is the same kind of bullshit.

[Stavros]

It appears that attempts in Texas and Tennessee to bang drag shows has run into problems of law and language. In one case, specific references to Drag were withdrawn, but replaced by a broader term. Thus in Texas the language was changed so that

"The bill would ban real or simulated groping, real or simulated arousal and display of a sex toy, if done in a “prurient” manner in front of a minor or on public property. And it includes a definition of sexual conduct that bars wearing accessories or prosthetics that enhance the female or male form in front of a minor or on public property."

but

"Supporters of the bill say it’s needed to protect children from seeing sexually explicit content, although some critics worry the vague nature of the potential violations could ensnare suggestive performances at rock concerts, by professional sports cheerleading squads or even behavior in private homes."
Drag Show Artists Fear Crackdown As Texas Passes Sexual Conduct Bill | HuffPost Latest News (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/drag-shows-texas-new-bill_n_6474a366e4b02325c5dc44a2)

In Tennessee the bill there was criticized by a Judge citing Elvis impersonators-

"Parker used the example of a female performer wearing an Elvis Presley costume and mimicking the iconic musician who could be at risk of punishment under the drag law because they would be considered a “male impersonator.” "
Trump-Appointed Judge Rejects Tennessee's Anti-Drag Law As 'Unconstitutionally Vague' | HuffPost Latest News (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-appointed-judge-rejects-tennessees-anti-drag-law-unconstitutionally-vague_n_647b5fdee4b0b4444c7f1bfb)

It seems to me this trend doesn't know where it is going, though clearly the Radicals want to ban Drag shows, and probably go further and ban same-sex relations. I mean, in cultural terms, what happens to a performance of Cinderella -in this country, the Two Ugly Sisters are usually played by middle aged men with fake bosoms, but would that be legal now in Texas or Tennessee? What of operas in which make roles are sung by women in men's clothing, operas by Handel, for example, or Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, who also has a young girl dressed as a boy in Arabella, not to mention the Dance of the Seven Veils in Salome, or the teenage tease parading the head of John the Baptist on a silver tray- appropriate 'entertainment' for children?

So ban Cheerleaders, ban Michael Jackson videos, ban Cinderella, and ban Opera. Oliver Cromwell might be dead, but his austere, Puritan policies are alive and well in the American South.