A bill that passed in the Tennessee state legislature which restricts "adult cabaret performances" in public or in the presence of children, and bans them from occurring within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, or places of worship will take effect on July 1, 2023. In response to this intolerance and bigotry the hashtag #DragIsNotACrime is being shared all over social media on all the different sites as well as being quoted in news stories and blog posts.
As someone who "did drag" or also known as "performed in drag", I find this outrageous, cowardly, bigoted, and downright mean. This backlash against Drag Performances is due to the close-minded conservative people who are brainwashed into thinking that Drag Queens reading to children at the public library or in a classroom is somehow harmful.
I designed the digital art to offer people a tangible way to show their support of drag performers everywhere. Whether a person chooses to perform as a Drag Queen (female presenting), a Drag King (male presenting) or a non-gender specific Drag Performer they should not be in fear of being arrested, fined and/or jailed for expressing their artistic vision.
The pinback buttons, tote bags and coffee mugs are now available in my Etsy shop:
The really amazing part of all of this is these are the same people who have enjoyed movies and TV shows that depict drag throughout the last 50 years (albeit not always in a positive or even politically correct way). They may not watch RuPaul's Drag Race, but I would hazard a guess they've seen Klinger on M*A*S*H or Flip Wilson as Geraldine or Dustin Hoffman as Tootsie, not to mention Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire or Julie Andrews as Victor/Victoria. One of the most popular movies of 1959, "Some Like It Hot" starred Marilyn Monroe with Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon in drag!! Why yes, that Tony Curtis...you know, Jamie Lee Curtis' father!! One of the biggest hits on Broadway in the past ten years was the 2013 Best Musical Tony Award winning "Kinky Boots" which also awarded Best Actor in a Musical to Billy Porter for their portrayal of "Lola".
So obviously I have an opinion of how this should be represented, exalted and even applauded, not vilified and criminalized. If you feel the same, how about we share how we feel when we're walking down the street carrying our purchases, sitting at our desks, or drinking coffee or tea in the break room at work!! Proclaim your views on intolerance and show how open-minded and free-thinking you are with products that display "DRAG IS NOT A CRIME"!
Slainte Mhuth (Much Health)
