The past few years have seen far too many efforts to involve pre-adolescent children in all things queer and LGBTQ. Irresponsible parents throughout the country have taken their children to drag shows and pride parades, all in the name of demonstrating how “open-minded” they are.
We don’t teach 15-year-old girls that heterosexual, 40-year-old men are their “brothers”. Nor would any parent embrace the idea of their 15-year-old daughter joining a group of 40-year-old, heterosexual men in a celebration of sexuality.
Why then, do these same parents take their 11-year-olds to watch gay men twerk while dressed in drag? It makes no sense at all.
As is always the case in the culture wars, one extreme begets another. We now have laws on the books regulating drag queens and drag shows, of all things.
At the forefront of the effort to separate children from drag queens in the public space is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The governor has made some valid points regarding the unsuitability of drag shows for kids.
Yes, DeSantis is also a politician who is trying to capture the GOP nomination in 2024. Like all politicians and culture warriors, Ron DeSantis is capable of going a bridge too far, even when he’s basically going in the right direction.
DeSantis recently passed a law forbidding drag queen shows and other sexually explicit live performances in the presence of children. The fact that such an issue is even up for earnest debate shows us how far America has taken leave of its senses.
In response to the new law, various pride groups throughout Florida have cancelled upcoming parades and celebrations. Because if children can’t be involved in such festivities, then where is the fun? Such is the message they are sending.
I would have a lot more respect for these organizations if they went ahead as planned with their events, and huffily assured us that placing children before drag queens and sexually explicit performances was the last thing on their minds. These cancellations in Florida speak volumes.
