Republican activists and lawmakers are increasingly suggesting that drag shows are sexually explicit and unsuitable for children.
that drag is sexually explicit and unsuitable for children. In Idaho, some conservatives now want the state to defund it.
Some Idaho drag performers and their supporters, worried their shows and broader LGBTQ rights are at risk, are securing their wigs to defend their art form, through voting, fundraising and performances. Cyraphina entertains, but her shows can be emotionally impactful as well, such as when she put on a performance that allowed survivors to share their stories of sexual assault. Years later, one audience member told Hafer “that saved her life, watching that performance and feeling less alone as she navigated healing and processing of sexual violence she experienced,” he said.
The Idaho Family Policy Center nonetheless referenced the incident in its petition to “Protect Children from Drag Shows,” calling drag performers “creeps” who are “using our children as pawns for their perverse sexual desires.” “I think it’s a lot of ignorance and fear,” Walker said. “Education helps cure that ignorance, and the hatefulness of it.”