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#NotADragQueen Epically Shuts Down Claim Drag Queens Are The Threat

#NotADragQueen Epically Shuts Down Claim Drag Queens Are The Threat

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The statistics and anecdotes paint a different story than rightwing rhetoric.

rachelkiley

Conservatives and other bigots have been doing their best to convince society that drag queens are a danger to children, but the #NotADragQueen trend is fighting back.

The crux of the argument that drag queens pose a threat seems to revolve around the belief that anything LGBTQ+ is innately sexual, an accusation that was never thrown around when it was straight men dressing up as women for a laugh in movies and TV over the decades. But gay men in drag, that’s the problem.

Many of these narrow-minded people will try to bolster their arguments by screaming “groomer” at anyone dressing in drag, or defending the claim that the artistic expression in and of itself is not sexual. Therein lies the insinuation that drag queens—and anyone who believes family-friendly drag shows can exist—are perverts hoping to not only expose children to immorality and sexual depravity, but actually corrupt and/or assault them.

It’s the same playbook that was used against gays and lesbians in the past, just wrapped up in a slightly different package. And it’s just as wrong now as it was then.

The #NotADragQueen has been drawing attention to news stories about people who actually are actively harming children. We see seemingly endless accusations, frequently credible, against religious leaders, politicians, and others who use their platforms to speak out against LGBTQ+ rights and expression—yet the fearmongering continues to disproportionately focus on drag queens.

Earlier this year, TikToker and lawyer Kristen Prata Browde drew attention with a similar idea. She has been making weekly videos detailing relevant data about people who have been accused of sexual crimes against children in the United States, and providing a detailed database on her website. The ultimate goal is to show what percentage of perpetrators are actually either drag queens or transgender.

Currently, with 1486 cases documented, the number of drag queens accused stands at zero.

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Rachel Kiley

Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.

Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.