OPINION: Ohio lawmakers aim to silence drag performances with new house bill

House Bill 245 prohibits “Adult cabaret performances in locations other than adult cabarets and performers or entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performers or entertainer’s gender assigned at birth.” This bill severely limits the Drag community and profession by prohibiting performances held on public property or any location viewable by a minor. 

“If the performance involved occurs in the presence of a juvenile under eighteen years of age, except as otherwise provided in this division, a violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the performance involved is obscene, except as otherwise provided in this division, a violation of this section is a felony of the fifth degree. If the performance involved is obscene and a juvenile to whom it is presented is under thirteen years of age, a violation of this section is a felony of the fourth degree.” as introduced in House Bill 245.

Although it is targeted to limit the exposure of drag, the full implications include any actor exhibiting an identity that does not fall under their assigned gender through any public performance. 

Jack Wilburn, who goes by Evelyn Everything, is a drag queen who performs both locally and professionally in Cincinnati believes that “drag is sort of like the singular target and focuses for a much bigger problem and it severely impacts trans people.”

Section 2907.31 finds any drag performance that is not in a designated adult area away from the public to be “harmful to juveniles.” State Representative Josh Williams, one of the two representatives proposing the bill, said he believed the community is “pushing to make these performances more explicit in front of minors.” 

The bill aims to amend the existing section 2907.39 of the Ohio Revised Code that limits burlesque performances to the same restrictions, but the problem is that gender identity and expression of sexuality through drag are continually seen as explicitly sexual.

In bars and nightclubs, where minors are not allowed, performances are naturally going to revolve around more adult themes. Many of the complaints towards the drag community come from exposure and events that are not inherently sexual. 

Drag brunches have become widely popular and reviews from state representatives say that story times and plays do not apply, as they fall under the First Amendment. However, according to the Vancouver Sun, parents who were worried for their children’s safety sparked outrage following the events, because they viewed the community as a whole as “obscene.” It is safe to say that if this bill passes, the majority of drag is going to be deemed harmful. 

“With my style of drag, I like to show my natural body and I think that would be problematic in the eyes of these lawmakers, but that doesn't mean that it is inherently sexual,” Wilburn said. “I think it's just a very unnuanced understanding of what the scope of drag performances can look like, that they are trying to pin it down.” 

The goal is not to keep children safe but rather a way to push drag out of the public eye. The backlash to their lifestyles and careers has caused them to fear for their lives and adjust the way they are living for their own safety. The drag community faces constant threats from Conservative organizations and ostracization from the government. It is a showcase of power, from the state, against a community that has done nothing to provoke it. This is a direct attack on gender identity from Ohio and in a broader sense, on our self-identity, and free speech.  

Most highly sexual drag performances already take place in bars, and performers typically do not go out into public to put on overtly sexual shows. PBS Newshour said When Tennessee followed an exemplary ban on adult cabaret performances outside of adult cabarets, it was ruled “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overboard” because the restrictions are ones that are not typically broken. Drag Performances are seen as sexual and provocative no matter what they are doing. 

RuPaul's Drag Race launched drag into the limelight, however, the first openly transgender woman did not appear on Drag Race until 2017, according to Entertainment Weekly. For most of history, drag was largely populated by cisgender men. 

The thing that politicians and parents are afraid of drag queens indoctrinating their children into, does not even “indoctrinate” the people who do it.

The concern on gender identity is bringing restrictions on more than just drag performances.

Legislation aims to ban drag performances from working anywhere that is not designated as an adult facility, and “appears to ban any theatrical performance where a character wears clothing opposite gender at birth,” according to the Ohio Capital-Journal.

Theatre companies often use open-gender casting in shows and specific gender-bending in shows, such as Hairspray. No more gender-bending characters in the local production of Chicago, and Tom Holland’s infamous performance of Rhianna’s Umbrella on the show Lip Sync Battle would have convicted him of a felony in Ohio.

This is an attempt to limit exposure and diversity and in turn, silence the community. 

The LGBTQ community has been under severe attack and this ban is just another way of hiding queer identities and expression from the public. 

“Drag is singlehandedly the most diverse thing I have ever been a part of, and it looks different for every single drag entertainer,” Wilburn said. “Drag doesn't fit in a box, it's about every element of gender presentation and the influence of your own culture and background, it brings to the table.”

Drag amplifies that gender is fluid and allows acceptance of the trans and nonbinary community. 

The sudden concern with drag is being used to pull down smaller communities. 

“For trans people it's not drag, it's a form of identity, rather than a form of artistic expression,” Wilburn said. “And they are targeting these communities and trans people who can't take off drag because they don't do drag. It's exceedingly stressful and I think that legislators are using the "drag" label as a cover-up for what they're legitimately trying to target.”

Drag itself is not a part of the LGBTQ, but the same issues people have with these performers, mirror the trans community. The law denies the existence of the trans community. The “dressing as the opposite gender” completely voids the existence of the trans community. If the performer comes out as transgender or non-binary, are they suddenly exempt from the restriction as they would no longer be portraying the opposite gender? 

“Gender identity really doesn't adhere to the binary,” Wilburn said. “You can be a man and dress in women's clothing and not be a drag queen. If it's an outfit you like to wear, does that qualify as drag? Fabric doesn't have any gender, genitalia or identity.”

This pushes the belief that expressing yourself through the lens of another gender, in any sense of the meaning, is not okay and teaches kids that drag is something taboo, inappropriate and not suitable for them. 

Limiting the public’s view of the community is only one of the first steps in eliminating it entirely by

going after drag shows as a ploy to disguise this bill as a safety concern for children. Drag is not the LGBTQ community forcing its harmful agenda on children. Drag is an important form of art that has been around for over a century. For some, it is a sexual performance as a means for a career, and for others a sincere form of self-expression.