Eden Havel | Head editor
March 17, 2023
Gov. Bill Lee has recently signed a bill restricting drag shows across Tennessee. House Bill 9 restricts “male or female impersonators” from performing on public property, or anywhere that children are present. It also restricts “go-go dancers, exotic dancers, and strippers.” Violation of this law results in a misdemeanor charge, while a second offense is charged as a felony with 1 to 6 years in prison. He also intends to sign another bill along with another that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to minors.
Despite recent events, a particular image from 1977 has resurfaced recently displaying Gov. Lee in drag, as seen below. This was taken for Franklin High School’s 1977 yearbook, with Lee dressed in women’s clothing. He denies these facts bitterly, stating that it is a “ridiculous, ridiculous question,” and “sexualized entertainment in front of children…is a very serious subject.” Nevertheless, his photo is in fact him dressed as another gender in a space where children could have been present. When he finally admitted to dressing in drag, he argued that it was just a “lighthearted school tradition” that shouldn’t be taken seriously.
However, Gov. Lee is currently attempting to criminalize drag, stating that it is “obscene, sexualized entertainment.”
The Human Rights Campaign attempted to urge Gov. Lee to veto this bill, stating, “Drag is a longstanding, celebratory form of entertainment and a meaningful source of employment for many across the state. Rather than focus on the actual policy issues facing Tennesseans, politicians would rather spend their time and effort misconstruing age-appropriate performances at a library to pass as many anti-LGBTQ+ bills as they can.”
They also raise the point that this sort of rhetoric has potentially grave and dangerous consequences for performers themselves, as they “normalize violence” towards the LGBTQ+ community, specifically transgender and non-binary people.
“It’s actually unpatriotic,” says freshman Maya Hannover, “to strip someone of multiple of their rights as American citizens just because you don’t like it. It’s especially embarrassing to strip away those rights when you, yourself, have done the same thing in the past.”
“My heart goes out to the people in the LGBTQ+ community whose voices are being silenced, and whose identities are considered criminal,” sophomore Miles Hoover said. “I hope that this bill is temporary, and that Tennessee’s influence doesn’t expand across the country, which basically is moving us back in time.”
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