If CNN’s new owners are serious about getting back to “real journalism,” they should invite at least one conservative to their morning conference call to spell out in big letters what conservatives stand for and oppose. Yes, there are laws being passed regulating drag shows. Why? To ensure that they remain “adults only” — no conservative cared about drag shows going on in clubs; drag only got on our radar when they started having Drag Queen Story Hour and “family-friendly” drag brunches during the day so kids could come along.
CNN, with all its sources, must have some inside knowledge of a widespread effort to push drag underground. Underground? No. Back to the clubs and away from little children? Yes.
Here's why the United States' rich drag history may protect it from efforts to push it underground https://t.co/qCtiJU6DmK
— CNN (@CNN) April 29, 2023
CNN’s a little late to the party with this; as we reported back in October, government-funded media PBS was passing along a piece by an Associated Press writer enlightening us all about the art form of drag and its rich history:
The recent headlines about disruptions of drag events and their portrayal as sexual and harmful to children can obscure the art form and its rich history.https://t.co/0Pb992w7gF
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) October 31, 2022
“Lately, drag has been dragged through the mud,” wrote the AP’s Jeff McMillan. “The art form has been cast in a false light in recent months by right-wing activists and politicians who complain about the ‘sexualization’ or ‘grooming’ of children.” A false light? There are organizations that pair young boys with “drag moms” who teach them how to dress, wear makeup, and perform for adults.
So now CNN is following up with its own take on the rich history of drag in the United States. Fine, just keep kids out of it, OK? Is that really so much to ask?
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Scottie Andrew writes for CNN:
LGBTQ historians and performers say drag will endure in spite of any fearmongering and hate. Survival, they say, is baked into the art form’s long, defiant legacy.
…
Drag is likely as old as gender norms — it’s a “part of the human condition,” said Larry La Fountain-Stokes, a professor of Spanish, American culture and women’s and gender studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor who also performs in drag under the name Lola von Miramar.
“As long as people have been using clothes or marking gender in different ways, you’ve had people transgressing and challenging those conventions,” he said in a phone interview.
…
While recent legislative attacks like Tennessee’s restrictions on public drag performances took some LGBTQ researchers and performers by surprise, [drag historian and adjunct instructor at New York University Joe E.] Jeffreys said they shouldn’t be shocked.
“As soon as anything gets that level of visibility, there’s going to be pushback,” he noted.
Drag performers and scholars said they believe drag is being scapegoated as a distraction from serious issues in the US, including gun violence, poverty and institutional racism, all of which disproportionately impact LGBTQ people, particularly Black trans women.
OK, so we’ve consulted the experts: a drag historian and adjunct professor, and a professor of women’s and gender studies who’s also a drag queen. “Drag performers and scholars” say drag is a scapegoat for gun violence and racism.
Shut up.
No one wants to push it "underground"
People don't want their children exposed to it in public places.
Why is this so fucking difficult for you leftist activists to understand?
— GayPatriot Imprisoned (@GayPatriot) April 29, 2023
Thank you, Bruce.
They do, but not with a child audience.
— JD Sharp (@imjdsharp) April 29, 2023
Bingo.
— Larry LaBate (@xmethuselahx) April 29, 2023
There are no efforts to push it underground.
— Larry LaBate (@xmethuselahx) April 29, 2023
This story is yet another reminder why CNN has collapsed.
— Tanya Berlaga (@TBerlaga) April 29, 2023
"Rich drag history" is CNN trolling for relevance.
— LowRound (@LowRound) April 29, 2023
The US has a history of blackface minstrel shows too.
— Phil (@P_dknight) April 29, 2023
This position, that drag should be preserved because of its long history, is irrational. The US, and the world, has a long history of abusing children, murder, betrayal, drugs, theft, etc. (no comparison, just a logical point). Does that mean we should promote those practices?
— James A Freeman (@JamesAFreeman) April 29, 2023
Anything can be called an "art form", and therefore the predictable conclusion is of course we have to protect the "arts". The correct question is if the behavior is actually good, if it is helping our society, if it is creating a culture that promotes the welfare of our people.
— James A Freeman (@JamesAFreeman) April 29, 2023
Just keep drag away from impressionable kids. There should be zero controversy in this request. Drag and kids don't mix, just as strippers and kids don't mix.
— Milenka~ (@MilenaAmit) April 29, 2023
Once again, no one has anything against drag queens. No one wants to push them underground. What we do want to do is keep it adult entertainment & leave the kids out of it. The real war here against parents who simply want their children to be children.
— Faith (@myizonorion) April 29, 2023
Drag was always underground in the sense that children couldn't get in.
— Chris Tigani (@ChrisTigani) April 29, 2023
How many more times do we have to say this? And where in his lengthy piece on the rich history of drag does Andrew explain why that rich history suddenly pivoted to involving children? Are all-ages drag shows good for kids? Is that the argument? Then make it.
***
Related:
Please help Noah Smith understand what made conservatives ‘suddenly’ take issue with drag shows https://t.co/U1Pu052JAn
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) April 11, 2023
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