Tennessee law restricting drag is the 1st of many such proposed bills in the U.S.

Steve Raimo says the goal of Tennessee’s new anti-drag law is to silence and erase people like him — but it won’t work.

Raimo is a Nashville based drag queen who performs under the moniker Veronika Elektronika. He is one of several people speaking out against a new state law that restricts where people can perform drag.

“The main goal is to destroy LGBT people and culture,” Raimo said As it happens hosted by Nil Köksal. “And I apologize to you, but no piece of legislation is going to stop me from being me.”

Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill Thursday that would ban drag shows in front of children in public or private places, putting the state at the forefront of Republican-led efforts to restrict drag in at least 15 states in recent months.

Advocates are concerned that the bill will extend beyond drag shows and be used to target transgender and non-binary performers in general.

What does the law do?

Drag is a type of performance popular in the LGBTQ community where performers wear costumes and make-up to play gender roles, usually through an exaggerated expression of masculinity or femininity.

It often – though not exclusively – involves cross-dressing, with men performing as drag queens and women as drag kings.

Tennessee’s bill criminalizes so-called “adult cabaret entertainment” anywhere it can be seen by children, and defines such entertainment as “adult-oriented” performances by strippers, go-go dancers or “male or female impersonators.”

It’s an amendment to an existing state law that prevents “adult-oriented businesses” from operating within 1,000 feet of a school, public park or place of worship.

The first offense will be a felony, and subsequent offenses a felony, punishable by one to six years in prison.

Dragging is still possible in age-restricted areas.

Raimo says that those who try to paint drag as sexually explicit or adult content are wrong.

Drag is not risque in nature and players create context-dependent content, just like any other form of entertainment.

“This is definitely not sexual art. This is not what we do,” Raimo said. “We are not strippers. We are not adult entertainers, which is what a lot of these laws want to say. And that’s just not what happens. There is a place for that, there are people who do it, but usually not you. drag entertainers.”

Anti-drag bill in US

The Tennessee law is one of more than 20 bills in the US, which has become popular in recent years due to the success of TV series like RuPaul’s Drag Race.

That increased visibility has also come with a strong backlash.

Drag shows — especially family events like drag story hours at libraries — have become a target for Republican lawmakers and right-wing groups.

The show’s performers and audience members have repeatedly faced protests and threats of violence — including in Canada.

Supporters of the anti-drag bill say the goal is to protect children.

“This gives parents confidence that they can bring their children to public or private performances and not be put off by sexual displays,” Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, a Republican, said in a statement.

Representative Chris Todd, a Republican, has called drag shows a form of “child abuse” when performed in front of minors.

He said he sponsored the bill in the House after seeking a court order last year to stop a “family-friendly” drag show advertised during an LGBT pride event at a park in Jackson.

“You’re forced indoors and you’re 18 and up, and I’m being asked to create legislation that will make this more clear,” Todd said in the House Thursday.

Raimo takes issue with such rhetoric.

“Drag queens and trans people are not the dangerous animals that this legislation wants them to be,” he said.

“We all want to protect children, but I want to protect children from child poverty. I want to protect children who are homeless on the streets. I want to protect children who are in the foster care system. afraid to go to school because there’s a school shooting.”

Implications for trans players

Peppermint, a famous drag performer and transgender woman Drag Racetold Reuters that the anti-drag bill is just the latest in a long history of legislation that is premised on the false and dangerous premise that LGBTQ people are “grooming” children or seeking to sexually exploit them.

“It’s a straw man, a boogie monster, it’s not the real thing, so they make up stories,” he said. “The first thing they do is target us, dehumanize us, villainize us, and then they pass laws against us.”

Tennessee does not allow people to update their gender on birth control, Raimo said, so trans people can be categorized as “male or female impersonators.”

What’s more, the Tennessee House also introduced legislation on Thursday that would limit young people’s access to gender-affirming health care.

Both bills have been sent to Republican Gov. Bill Lee for final approval, but Raimo said the battle is far from over.

“Even if the governor can put pen to paper and sign this into law, we hope that at the local, state and federal levels, we have people who will fight for the rights of all Tennesseans … citizens and on board otherwise laws based on hate and fear have no place in our government,” he said.

“We have some incredibly smart and talented people on our side who will hopefully bring justice to this bad law.”