This weekend, Politico
did an article around Tennessee's attempt to ban drag shows in front of minors under the guise that they're 'sexually explicit'. But rather than talk about the law itself, the article focuses on an actual Sunday family-friendly drag brunch that takes place at the at the Atomic Rose in Memphis, and includes a lot of awesome pictures and even a short video.
When I look through them, I see a bunch of people smiling and having fun. I see people nervously putting themselves out there for the first time, and people who thrive on the acceptance and love from their gushing audience. I read the comment from a parent who brought her young daughter out because everyone there is so nice and friendly, and that's what she wants her child exposed to. I read another comment about how everyone's just having fun and there's no judgement there.
You know, a lot of people talk about wanting a place like that. It's a place Wintreath aspires (and sometimes devastatingly fails) to be. It's a place that a world so flooded with fear, hate, and negatively desperately needs. And well,
there it is, live and in person. And from I've heard, this isn't an unique experience...drag events in general are often oases of warmth and acceptance, and where people go to let loose for awhile and just have fun in a space where they feel like they can.
Had this just been an article about the law, I would have at most posted it in Discord CW. This is hardly the only attempt at oppression happening in America right now, and sadly it's not even the most cruel. But it's important to look beyond the news and actually see the people that are being impacted...see the actual environment that's being targeted, and see what misguided and bigoted politicians are really trying to take away. It becomes real when we put faces and names to the people who will have to suffer under this and similar laws, and that's why I hope that you will at least check out the pictures and read their thoughts and feelings about what's going on.
That's what struck me, at least, and I hope something about it will have an impact on you, too.
Posting the link again here:
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/14/tennessee-drag-show-laws-00091459