Posted on 03/10/2023 11:28:06 AM PST by Red Badger
RuPaul, the face of the “Drag Race” franchise, has responded to the recent wave of anti-drag and anti-trans legislation introduced by Republican lawmakers in the U.S.
In an Instagram video on Wednesday, the Emmy winner called the bills “a classic distraction technique” and urged Americans to register to vote.
“Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique, distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school,” RuPaul said. “But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real issues. They look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being effective. They think our love, our light, our laughter and our joy are signs of weakness. But they’re wrong because that is our strength.”
RuPaul continued, “Drag queens are the Marines of the queer movement. Don’t get it twisted and don’t be distracted. Register to vote so we can get these stunt queens out of office and put some smart people with real solutions into government. And by the way, a social media post has never been as powerful as a registered vote.”
The response comes as many conservative legislators around the country attempt to ban children from drag performances, bar drag shows from occurring in public places and brand them as adult-oriented businesses. Tennessee, Kentucky and Montana are three of the states moving forward with bills banning public drag performances.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law a bill that goes into effect on July 1 that bans gender-affirming health care for minors. He also signed a bill limiting drag show performances in Tennessee. While it doesn’t implicitly say the word “drag,” the bill forbids drag performances by male or female impersonators who, as the law defines it, provide entertainment that is “harmful to minors.”
The attacks don’t stop there. At least 11 state legislatures are threatening to restrict or prohibit drag show performances as the GOP continues to ramp up efforts to spread the narrative that drag queens are predators.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 14 contestant Kerri Colby is just one of the many queens speaking out about the hate coming from the GOP. In an essay for Variety, Colby wrote, “It has been extremely distressing to see the political attacks recently, not just on the LGBTQ community, but also specifically on the art of drag.” She said, “Bills like these create more stigma, discrimination and ultimately violence against LGBTQ folks — particularly transgender and nonbinary people.”
In a video for GLAAD, Jackie Cox and Sasha Colby were joined by other queens from the series speaking out as part of efforts to spread positivity. Cox, a Season 12 contestant said, “We’re going to keep fighting this fight. So stay strong, especially if you’re in one of those states where all these things are happening. I’m here to tell you that you can still do drag, you can still be your true self, whatever that is. Showcase your art, showcase your gender. Even as you’re seeing the negative things even as all the hate happens, you have to shine that light shining bright for yourself.”
Additionally, World of Wonder has created the first-ever Drag Defense Fund with a donation from MTV and “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The Drag Defense Fund supports the ACLU’s LGBTQ rights work.
Chase Strangio, deputy director for Transgender Justice at the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project said, “Families, communities and transgender people ourselves are working tirelessly against a relentless assault on transgender people’s basic freedom and rights. Across the history of the queer community, our art and our joy has been censored, restricted, and criminalized and those pillars of our community are once again coming under attack. We’re thankful for the support of the Drag Defense Fund and are committed to protecting drag performers from these baseless and unconstitutional attacks on their art.”
Wow really? The red states have banned drag outright?
Or is Ru Paul pissed because he can’t diddle children anymore?
Art? Srsly?????
Blackface was once considered art too.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4136082/posts
This above is now what makes you a “bigot” and a “hater” if you oppose it.
This is how twisted and sick society is becoming.
One of the businesses I owned had a customer who employed a guy whose side hustle was being a drag queen “entertainer.” As near as I could figure out there was nothing entertaining about him or his routine. All dressed up he reminded me of an old, overweight Jewish woman from Miami. He was a bitter, angry, hostile man. Apparently, he’d provoke the audience by insulting people to the point where he’d been attacked and hurt by a guy in the audience. He often hauled in people he associated with to do some of the grunt work for our customer, so I sometimes had to deal with him or his buddies. None of these people could have maintained what I’d call a normal job. As a group they were angry, bitter ultra liberals. Throw in a generous helping of drugs and alcohol and you’d have a picture of people who were, on average, one step away from being street people.
Add into this description my experience dealing with the lesbians where I worked, who at the time were very “out” because the company wanted a LGBT friendly image. The one described below had a bumper sticker reading, “I’m a lesbian. Deal with it.” I’d describe them the same way. Angry, bitter, but generally using fewer drugs and more capable of holding a 9-5 job. I was chatting with bumper sticker lady because she was in the next cube. She casually told me that she’d euthanized her new kitten because she’d bought leather furniture. That left me breathless. I’d have taken the kitten if I’d known. This particular lesbian ended up being involuntarily committed as a danger to herself and others. (Found that out from a talkative HR lady when they came to pack up her stuff.)
I only dealt with the L and T varieties that I know of. If they were gay or bi I simply didn’t know about it. Based on that I’d say the G and B were the most normal of the LGBT cadre.
To paraphrase Fezzik: “Anybody got a Cheez-it?”
This is such a disingenuous debate. No one is saying that “drag queens” can’t do shows for adults. Do whatever the Hell they want to do with adults in private. They can’t perform sex shows for children. That should not be controversial. Is this RuPaul really saying he wants to shake his crotch in the face of a toddler?
They heard the phrase “Never leave your buddy’s behind” and they were smitten
Drag Queens are to women as Black Face is to Negroes. Or as Saul Alinsky said (rule #5): “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” Because that’s what this is all about.
Yes!..................
Where is Jeffrey Dahmer when you really need him???
Why does this moron have to use that they are “the Marines” of the queer bowel movement. Why not use that they are the diarrhea of the queer bowel movement. Why does it always have to be something macho?
but are they women?
Well, sure. As long as you’re pretending to be women, you might as well imagine yourselves as Marines. I mean, Rachael Levine is allowed to pretend that he’s both a woman AND a 4-star Admiral.
I also have a phobia about getting anything on my skin, like an ink mark or paint on me. Tattoos are in that category too.
Grooming, in the FIRST DEGREE!!!!! https://www.reddit.com/r/TimPool/comments/10o4uo3/cheers_to_those_who_lick_us_where_we_pee_family/
I’ll scratch your eyes out!
I’ll blow him to pieces!
We’ve had female impersonators since the days of Shakespeare. They were guys parodying as girls for a laugh. The drag queens seem to be portraying mutant Tammy Faye Bakers.
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