GOP proposes anti-drag bill that classifies gender non-conforming performers as “adult oriented”

A’Whora, Océane Aqua-Black, Honey Davenport, Pangina Heels and Beth at RuPauls DragCon 2022
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Arkansas state Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R) has filed a bill that would classify drag queens as employees of an “adult-oriented business,” similar to nude models, porn actors, and sex workers.

The bill would put restrictions on transgender and non-binary people singing and dancing in public. It would also require bars, restaurants, shops, and theaters to relocate if they allow such behavior from people of those identities or anything resembling drag.

The bill, S.B. 43, defines a drag performance as one in which a performer “exhibits a gender identity that is different from the performer’s gender assigned at birth using clothing, makeup, or other accessories that are traditionally worn by members of… the performer’s opposite sex,” and performs a song or dance “intended to appeal to the prurient interest” in front of an audience of two or more people.

By this broad definition, a transgender…

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