We can expect to see a bill banning public drag shows under Idaho law at the start of the 2023 legislative session.
While the draft bill is not public yet, it aims to ban any drag performance taking place in a public venue. This ban would ostensibly include public parks, libraries, schools, universities, event centers and more.
The Idaho Family Policy Center, a non-profit working to inject Christianity into public policy, is behind the bill.
This organization’s mission involves advancing “the lordship of Christ in the public square,” and the LGBTQ+ community is only their latest target in political advocacy. The IFPC has previously supported abortion restrictions and education funding reductions.
Drag queens have been under fire in Idaho as of late. Boise Pride received a lot of publicity for a “Drag Kids” event which was canceled following public backlash. A northern Idaho drag performer is currently suing a blogger for defamation after claiming he exposed himself during a public performance.
The attack on drag performances is incredibly disheartening for several reasons.
Drag performance has been around for centuries, with Shakespearean plays often cited as the roots of drag.
Modern day drag is a celebration of self-expression. It’s an art form and a vibrant community open to anyone regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Drag is more than sexual. Conflating drag performances with sex acts displays a lack of understanding of queerness, LGBTQ+ history and gender expression.
Many of the public performances which would be banned include events like pride performances and drag performer story hours. These events are not age, nor payment, restricted and their material is altered accordingly.
Those against drag often cite protecting children as the basis of their views. Children undoubtedly should not be exposed to sexual material. However, drag performances do not constitute that sexual material.
Protecting children is an interesting argument because queer children are clearly not included.
Last legislative session, Rep. Bruce Skaug and the IFPC introduced House Bill 675, which would add gender-affirming care for minors to Idaho genital mutilation law. The bill passed the House but was not taken up in the Senate.
If it had passed, the bill would have severely restricted trans children’s access to care deemed necessary to their health by several medical associations.
Idaho does not protect gender identity and sexual orientation in state nondiscrimination laws despite an Add the Words bill being introduced to the legislature over a dozen times.
The Idaho Constitution deems same-sex marriage as invalid and not able to be recognized by state institutions, but minors are still able to marry adults with parental consent.
The message sent by a proposed drag show ban and all of these laws remains consistent; queer and trans people are not welcome in the state of Idaho.
These policies don’t just change the circumstances of individual performers’ ability to reach audiences. They open the LGBTQ+ community up to violence.
The Idaho House of Representatives passed House Bill 666 in the 2022 legislative session, a bill aimed at punishing librarians for disseminating “harmful material” to minors.
In the wake of that media storm, Boise librarian June Meissner speculates that a recent attack made on her at work was inspired by transphobia.
The drag performances bill would likely have a similar effect.
As the language of the bill is not yet available, it’s unclear what the definition of drag will be. The passage of the bill could act as a ban on being trans in public. The letter of the law will determine if someone is legally able to present with their gender identity in public rather than a sense of personal freedoms.
The implications are so harmful that it’s hard to see any humor in a purportedly “small government” state being so invasive.
There are so many people who don’t feel represented by their state-level elected officials.
That’s more than just LGBTQ+ identifying individuals. If the drafted policy is passed, it’ll be hard for centrists and rational thinkers to feel heard as well.
Idaho’s Constitution Article III Section 24 describes the ultimate duty of government as protecting the virtue, sobriety and morality of its people. This begs the question: where should legislating morality stop?
Morality is not a synonym for religious extremism. The moral thing for our state officials to do is take a stand for a community that’s been persecuted for centuries.
The real-life impacts of culture wars and extremist politics are dangerous.
But the joy of drag performances and queer community won’t be stopped by yet another attack. We’ve rallied together and achieved change in the past.
Idaho can count on us coming together and keeping each other safe even if the government won’t offer the same protections.
Katie Hettinga can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @katie_hettinga