Drag Your Kids To Pride-Dallas, TX
Kids attending drag shows has become a right-wing talking point recently and I wanted to discuss one particular event that seemed to have sparked outrage and concern. The “Drag Your Kids To Pride” event was held in Dallas, Texas at a bar called Mr. Misster. The event was caught on camera by a few people, but a lot of the footage was caught by one particular “professional troll”, as some would call him, named Alex Stein. Alex Stein has made multiple claims about this event that are completely false, and I wanted to go through those and discuss why they were wrong and why others seem to still be fixated on this idea that drag somehow equates to sex. I will also point out the issues I had with this particular event and how I think it could have been handled better. But first, let’s address these claims.
Claim 1: Money was being thrown at the drag queens, simulating a strip show
If anyone has seen any of the video footage of this event, this would be easily debunkable. None of the kids in any of the footage that was provided are shown to be throwing money at any of the drag queens, or as some have even suggested, being placed in the drag queens outfits/thong/etc. Instead, they are handing the money to the drag queens, as shown in the screens below.
Maybe you’re thinking “what’s the difference?”, well the main difference is the framing. It was said that children were throwing money at them to make it sound more sexual and scary, when in reality these photos are innocent. The comparison should be closer to that of handing money to a street performer than anything. They’re tipping for a performance, none of which was sexual, which leads us to Claim 2.
Claim 2: The drag queens were dancing sexually, such as twerking
Alex Stein has made this claim multiple times, recently on this debate panel. Again, Alex Stein took some of this video footage, so it is really funny that his claims just don’t match with what the videos show. He even mentions at one point that the drag queens were grinding and twerking in the kid’s faces, which never happens. Instead, most of the focus on this so-called sexual dancing has been because of a split that one of the drag queens performs.
I have said this many times, but I think it needs to be reiterated, a split is not inherently sexual. Perhaps Alex Stein is confused as to what twerking means, but this definitely isn’t it. If anyone thinks that doing the splits is a sexual dance move, it really makes me question what other innocent type of behavior they find to be sexual.
Claim 3: The drag queens were on a stage, also simulating a strip show
This one is pretty easy to disprove, just look at the photos above. There was no stage at this event.
Claim 4: The drag queens were dressed provocatively and in thongs
None of the drag queens at this event were dressed in thongs, and all of them had more coverage than what a child would see at the beach or even in some cartoons. When I first saw the images of the drag queens my mind instantly went to The Powerpuff Girls. Maybe I am showing my age some with that. For reference, take a look at some of the villains of the show, “Seduca” and “HIM”.
Point being, there are a ton of cartoons that kid’s watch that show characters in outfits very similar to what these drag queens were wearing. I don’t think there is anything harmful about this. I think if we really look back on what was and even still is shown in cartoons, we’d realize this stuff isn’t as bad as people are claiming that it is.
These were just a few of the claims that Alex Stein was making about the event that are provably false or shown in a disingenuous light. The only issue I had with this particular event was the neon sign that read “It’s Not Gonna Lick Itself”, I personally think the bar should have covered the sign prior to the show. Granted, I don’t think the kids would understand the innuendo, and similarly to the outfits, cartoons have also always been adding innuendos that only parents would understand.
I also think that despite the sign being there, people such as Alex Stein would still be protesting this event and being dishonest about it. It bothers me that more people seemed to have been talking about the event itself in a negative way rather than the aftermath of the event, such as Alex Stein and others intimidating the drag queens and even the parents as they were leaving. One of the children that was in attendance even had to cover his ears because protestors were yelling at his mother. This type of behavior is far more unacceptable and terrifying than what was happening at the event, which was a round of musical chairs and posing.
I also wanted to point out that me defending this particular event is in no way defending or advocating that children should be going to adult drag shows, as there is a difference and people don’t seem to understand that. There are drag shows that are specifically for adults which is the majority of them, then there are these family-friendly events that are held on occasion. These family-friendly events are just that and I have absolutely no problem with kids going to a drag show as long as the show is altered for them.
This type of framing that Alex Stein and many conservatives are doing however, is pushing the narrative that children are being groomed. This is now leading to states such as Texas and Florida wanting to issue bans from kids attending these family-friendly events, and even going as far as to making it a felony for the parents. There have also been an uptick in drag events being harassed, most recently in California at a Drag Queen Story Hour. This is not okay, but instead of people taking the time to rationalize these events, they are instead creating more fear. People like Alex Stein should be ashamed of themselves for continuing to spread this false idea of drag as being inherently sexual, especially when his own footage proves otherwise.