Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) sent out a tweet in which he highlighted a news headline that stated: “Texas Governor Signs Law Banning Drag Performances in Public.” And then he proudly added below, “That’s right.” There are a few problems with this. Like, er...for starters, the bill doesn’t mention drag performances. And that’s only the start of the problems. What the law signed by Gov. Abbott (R-Purgatory) does is make it a criminal offense “to engage in sexually oriented performances on public property, on the premises of a commercial enterprise, or in the presence of a child.” We now enter “Be Careful What You Wish For” Land. For starters, as I noted, what Gov. Abbott signed into law does not mention drag performances, but even more ironic, it could be argued that the law actually continues to permit drag performers reading stories to school children, since “reading a story” so does not inherently seem to be a “sexually oriented performance.” The dress is just a costume, after all, nothing more: an actor portraying a female character – just like a woman might wear the exact same costume portraying a female character. Maybe even the same female character. (“Say, kids, you liked when Zelda read to you, didn’t you?! Well, good news, Zelda is back – and today she’s played by…”) The performance itself is just reading a sweet story, perhaps Winne-the-Pooh, for instance, or Green Eggs and Ham. Hardly sexually-oriented. So, it should be fine, by this law. Worse though for the authors of the bill – and for Texans – is what the new law does seem to cover instead. For instance, it would seem to pertain to NFL cheerleaders (perhaps most notably, the famously scantily-clad Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders) wriggling through their “sexually-oriented” routines. And high school cheerleaders. And suggestively-dressed waitresses coming on to customers at restaurants like Hooters and Twin Peaks. And strip clubs. And stage musicals like Cabaret, West Side Story, Grease, Chicago, Spring Awakening, Kiss Me Kate, Sweet Charity, Company and on and on and on -- even, heavens to Betsy, Damn Yankees (where Lola tries to seduce Joe Hardy in “Whatever Lola Wants”). Now, imagine a high school putting one of these shows on – or just about any musical about romance, which is inherently “sexually-oriented.” And all R-rated movies, even if there is no child in the audience accompanied by an adult. After all, consider: the law makes it a criminal offense “to engage in sexually oriented performances…on the premises of a commercial enterprise” – like a movie theater. Indeed, it not only doesn’t say “if a child is present,” but specifically separates the necessity of children being in attention, saying, “…or” – as in, “or in the presence of a child.” And to make things worse for Texans (as if not having cheerleaders at their football games is bad enough), that phrase “…or in the presence of a child” means it can include the privacy of your home. A public property or being in a commercial enterprise isn’t required. After all, after the law states that it is a criminal offense “to engage in sexually oriented performances” and lists several situations where this would be illegal in public, it then adds, “…or in the presence of a child.” But...but it's even worse. That's because the reason the law doesn't include mention of banning drag performances is because it was written in a way, specifically, to hopefully avoid a Constitutional challenge. And then Abbott -- in his giddiness to show his abuse on civil and human rights -- went and strutted by retweeting the newspaper headline and spilled the beans! So…good going Texas. Good going Gov. Abbott. In trying to go all fascist and homophobic and intrusive into people lives, you seem to have screwed yourselves horribly -- without even addressing the problem you wanted to abusively control in the first place. That’s the slippery slope you risk getting on when trying to build a path to the netherworld. Sometimes, the road to hell is paved with bad intentions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
Archives
May 2024
Categories
All
|
© Copyright Robert J. Elisberg 2024
|