Drag shows are fun as hell, but drag shows are not for children.
See how easy that is?
Unfortunately for America, culture wars won’t allow for such a simplification. Simplifying debates into commonsense statements robs culture warriors of their most effective weapon: outrage.
In culture warfare whichever side can be angrier for longer is victorious. What they win is still a mystery. But when it comes to the latest battleground – drag performances and whether they are suitable for children – neither side is showing signs of surrender.
In full disclosure, I’ve been to quite a few drag shows. Some more tame than others. One time in Bangkok we stumbled into a drag show that featured performers pretending to (forgive me) go down on each other. Another time, in New York City, the drag queens simply told stories and sang songs (albeit while wearing very little clothing).
Whether PG-13 or X-rated, I’ve never been to a drag show I didn’t enjoy.
I’ve also never been to a drag show where I thought, “Hey, some kids should be here to see this.”
For months on end, the social media account Libs of TikTok has been posting videos showing children exposed to genitals at drag shows. In other videos, children are the performers – dancing for tips from adults.
In one video out of California, a drag performer went full spread eagle on a table while wearing a thong and thigh-high leather boots. Two toddlers were watching on.
In another clip, a drag queen in Miami holds a young girl’s hand while walking around in a dollar bill-stuffed thong and nipple pasties.
Any rationally thinking person should be able to look at those videos and see a problem. But since the conservative Right is pointing it out, the progressive Left refuses to back down and instead defends indefensible behavior for the sake of disagreement. As both sides dig in, the debate becomes less and less grounded in reality. This is how the culture wars work.
Take Jon Levine, a politics and culture writer for the New York Post, who tweeted over the weekend, “Can someone actually articulate the ‘harm’ a child experiences when exposed to a drag queen?”
Really? Does he really need someone to explain why children seeing people in thongs dance for cash is harmful? Of course he doesn't. Would we be having the same conversation if kids were photographed at a strip club? Of course not. The police would be called immediately. But because this debate involves a protected class of people (drag performers are often LGBTQ+) we somehow end up debating whether adults exposing themselves around children is actually just fine.
What the progressive Left shouldn’t hesitate to acknowledge is that drag shows are not acceptable entertainment for children.
What the conservative Right shouldn’t hesitate to acknowledge is that drag shows are acceptable entertainment for adults who choose to attend.
That would be that and we could all get back to worrying about the price of gas.
I wish.
The drag show debate is what happens when people with common sense eject themselves from political conversations. It's not that I blame them, social media is a cesspool of stupidity. But just imagine how much more productive our conversations would be if the silent majority decided to take control of the dialogue?
When commonsense takes the stage, outrage is forced to exit. When outrage makes an exit, division isn't far behind.
Until that happens, I guess the culture wars will drag on.
