Current:Home > InvestTennessee becomes the first state to pass a ban on public drag shows -FutureWise Finance
Tennessee becomes the first state to pass a ban on public drag shows
View
Date:2025-04-17 16:12:01
Nashville, TENN. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed a bill banning drag shows in public spaces, a measure that will likely force drag shows underground in Tennessee. Other states across the country are proposing similar legislation.
Lee gave his signature just hours after the measure passed in the Senate Thursday afternoon. In the same sitting, Lee signed a ban on gender-affirming health care for youth in the state.
The announcement comes as a yearbook photo of the Republican governor in drag recently surfaced on Reddit.
Lee says there's a big difference between wearing a dress at a high school football game and drag queens wearing a dress on stage.
Hella Skeleton, a drag performer in rural Middle Tennessee, says the line is not clear.
"For Bill Lee to say, 'You know, that was lighthearted when I did it,' that is absolutely absurd when a lot of drag is extremely lighthearted," Skeleton says. "Apparently when straight men dress up badly in drag, that's OK. But when gay and queer and trans people do it, that's not OK."
Republican State Rep. Jack Johnson co-sponsored the bill. He says, "We're protecting kids and families and parents who want to be able to take their kids to public places. We're not attacking anyone or targeting anyone."
Broad language worries advocates
The language of the bill has also drawn concern from the larger LGBTQ community. Drag performers are defined as "male or female impersonators." The ACLU of Tennessee's Henry Seaton says that could impact queer Tennesseans across the board, not just drag performers.
"It's ... this subtle and sinister way to further criminalize just being trans," Seaton says.
The ban could also have a chilling effect on Pride festivals. Outdoor drag is a staple in the Tennessee summer heat. While new laws typically go into effect on July 1, the bill was quietly amended in January to take effect April 1 — ahead of Pride month in June.
Tennessee Tech student Cadence Miller says his generation of queer people owe a lot to drag queens, and that it's no accident they're under threat now.
"Historically, drag has been such an integral part of queer culture," Miller says. "Trans drag performers who were like pioneers and us getting ... any type of queer rights, like at all."
Legal challenges ahead
The law calls drag shows "harmful to minors," but the state's American Civil Liberties Union says that the legal definition for "harmful to minors" is very narrow in Tennessee and only covers extreme sexual or violent content.
"The law bans obscene performances, and drag performances are not inherently obscene," says ACLU of Tennessee Legal Director Stella Yarbrough. The way the law is written, she says, should not make drag shows illegal in the state.
"However, we are concerned that government officials could easily abuse this law to censor people based on their own subjective viewpoints of what they deem appropriate."
Yarbrough says the ACLU will challenge the law if it is used to punish a drag performer or shut down a family-friendly LGBTQ event.
Impacts on local business and beyond
The measure refers to drag shows as "adult cabaret" that "appeal to a prurient nature." Nashville business owner David Taylor testified before the state legislature that the drag shows at his club are not sexually explicit:
"We know this because we have a Tennessee liquor license and are bound by Tennessee liquor laws. Our more than 20 years in business, we've not received a citation for one of our drag performers."
Taylor says the ban on drag will negatively impact Nashville's economy. Drag brunches in the city's bars are filled with bachelorette parties, and Music City's infamous fleet of party vehicles includes a drag queen-specific bus.
"My businesses alone have contributed more than $13 million to the state in the form of sales and liquor taxes since we opened," Taylor says.
This legislative session is the third year in a row that the statehouse has peeled back the rights of transgender Tennesseans. It has many trans people and families of trans kids wondering whether staying in the state is worth the fight.
"There's a lot of people who grew up here, and this is where their roots are. And it's really brutal to be faced with that sort of choice of, you know, you can either stay here and suffer or you can leave this home that you've created and all that you've invested in here," says drag performer Hella Skeleton. "So, yeah, it's a really tough choice."
veryGood! (69)
Related
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Ditch Sugary Sodas for This 20% Discount on Poppi: An Amazon Top-Seller With 15,000+ 5-Star Reviews
- CNN's Kasie Hunt Gives Birth in Her Bathroom After 13-Minute Sudden Labor
- Succession's New Trailer Promises a Knife Fight for Its 4th and Final Season
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- U.S. government agencies may have been double billed for projects in Wuhan, China, records indicate; probe launched
- Japan tops defending champ U.S. 3-2, wins World Baseball Classic: Best moment in my life
- Why Women Everywhere Love Rihanna's Fenty Beauty & Savage X Fenty
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- U.S. issues travel alert for spring break in Mexico
Ranking
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- TikTok's Favorite Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Lip Gloss Is Finally Back in Stock
- Sleek and shiny torch for Paris Olympics unveiled with carbon footprint in mind and a year to go
- How Survivor 44's Bloody Season Premiere Made Show History
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Today's Craig Melvin Teases Return of Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie Amid Absences
- Transcript: Sen. Mark Warner on Face the Nation, March 26, 2023
- Where You’ve Seen the Cast of Daisy Jones & the Six Before
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Israeli prime minister fires defense minister, sparking mass protests
Rachael Ray Show Is Ending After 17 Seasons
Shop the 8 Best Beach Tote Bags for Spring Break Starting at $10
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
The Masked Singer: Find Out the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Sent Packing on New York Night
Kourtney Kardashian Goes Blond for Her Biggest Hair Transformation Yet
Top woman mafia boss known as the little one sentenced to almost 13 years in Italian prison