Cookeville (Tennessee): Last April, when drag could still be performed in Tennessee without noticeable complaint, the curtains parted at Tennessee Tech University’s Backdoor Playhouse to reveal Joshua Lancaster wearing a black cowl, white face paint, black lipstick and white contact lenses. He was excited for the debut of his new drag persona, Witchcrafted. But the four-minute video of Lancaster lip-syncing and sashaying across the stage, recorded by his boyfriend, would sit on his Facebook page largely unseen for months until it was found by Landon Starbuck, a conservative activist.
The video appalled Starbuck. On Sept 7, she posted an edited version of the video on Twitter, focusing on a few moments when children approach to tip Witchcrafted with dollar bills as he lipsyncs to Hozier’s 2013 hit Take Me to Church. Mid-performance, the audience cheers as Witchcrafted throws off his cowl to reveal a floor-length lacy skirt and a corset over a long-sleeved lacy top.
Starbuck, who lives outside Nashville, had been complaining about drag acts performing with children present, and now she had a vivid example from Tennessee. She said the performance was inappropriate for children and mocked her Christian faith, and urged people to complain to the university. Now, a Tennessee law restricting drag in front of minors is due to come into force on April 1.
Lancaster has become one of the faces of a sweeping effort by Republican lawmakers across the country to introduce hundreds of laws regulating the conduct of gay and transgender people. “It spiraled out of control and everybody started doing crazy stuff,” Lancaster said. “We are being forced back into the closet. ” Lancaster’s performance was disapprovingly discussed by state senators in Nashville after Tennessee became one of 16 states where Republicans have proposed laws restricting drag since last summer.
Tennessee passed the bill earlier this year banning “adult cabaret performances,” including at least some drag acts, in public or in front of minors, with prison sentences for violations. Its impacts are already being felt.
Several planned drag events were canceled over the winter after protests, and many venues felt forced to make previously familyfriendly drag shows into adults-only events. Drag performers and venue owners say they are worried about their livelihoods and their rights of free expression. Some transgender Tennesseans fear being arrested under the law’s vague language, which lumps together “male or female impersonators,” aterm not defined in the law, in the same X-rated category as strippers and exotic dancers.
Starbuck says there is no such thing as family-friendly drag; drag performers cite Bugs Bunny, Shakespeare’s cross-dressing comedies and the Robin Williams film “Mrs. Doubtfire” among counterexamples. “Drag is not inherently sexual,” said Story VanNess, a drag queen and the trans program director at Knox Pride. “It can be a lot of things, but the majority of drag, if anything, is comedic. ”
Most Tennessee drag performers largely work in clubs and bars that admit only those over 18. Even with an adult audience, performers are bound by state laws barring strip shows and other sexually explicit entertainment in venues with a liquor license, so Tennessee drag shows tend to be relatively chaste.
The video appalled Starbuck. On Sept 7, she posted an edited version of the video on Twitter, focusing on a few moments when children approach to tip Witchcrafted with dollar bills as he lipsyncs to Hozier’s 2013 hit Take Me to Church. Mid-performance, the audience cheers as Witchcrafted throws off his cowl to reveal a floor-length lacy skirt and a corset over a long-sleeved lacy top.
Starbuck, who lives outside Nashville, had been complaining about drag acts performing with children present, and now she had a vivid example from Tennessee. She said the performance was inappropriate for children and mocked her Christian faith, and urged people to complain to the university. Now, a Tennessee law restricting drag in front of minors is due to come into force on April 1.
Lancaster has become one of the faces of a sweeping effort by Republican lawmakers across the country to introduce hundreds of laws regulating the conduct of gay and transgender people. “It spiraled out of control and everybody started doing crazy stuff,” Lancaster said. “We are being forced back into the closet. ” Lancaster’s performance was disapprovingly discussed by state senators in Nashville after Tennessee became one of 16 states where Republicans have proposed laws restricting drag since last summer.
Tennessee passed the bill earlier this year banning “adult cabaret performances,” including at least some drag acts, in public or in front of minors, with prison sentences for violations. Its impacts are already being felt.
Several planned drag events were canceled over the winter after protests, and many venues felt forced to make previously familyfriendly drag shows into adults-only events. Drag performers and venue owners say they are worried about their livelihoods and their rights of free expression. Some transgender Tennesseans fear being arrested under the law’s vague language, which lumps together “male or female impersonators,” aterm not defined in the law, in the same X-rated category as strippers and exotic dancers.
Starbuck says there is no such thing as family-friendly drag; drag performers cite Bugs Bunny, Shakespeare’s cross-dressing comedies and the Robin Williams film “Mrs. Doubtfire” among counterexamples. “Drag is not inherently sexual,” said Story VanNess, a drag queen and the trans program director at Knox Pride. “It can be a lot of things, but the majority of drag, if anything, is comedic. ”
Most Tennessee drag performers largely work in clubs and bars that admit only those over 18. Even with an adult audience, performers are bound by state laws barring strip shows and other sexually explicit entertainment in venues with a liquor license, so Tennessee drag shows tend to be relatively chaste.