Founder, Drag Performer, Singer, Activist and Politician Honey Mahogany discusses anti-drag legislation with Blavity.
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00:00Hi, I'm Honey Mahogany. I'm a founding queen of Drag Queen Story Hour and a RuPaul's Drag Race alum,
00:05and I'm here with Blavity to discuss anti-drag legislation.
00:09Currently, there are several different drag bans happening in several different states.
00:13I mean, Tennessee was a really big one. Florida is another.
00:17They're talking about drag bans in Texas as well, other states as well.
00:21I mean, it's a bit overwhelming.
00:23There have been almost 500 pieces of legislation that have been introduced
00:27in this last legislative cycle.
00:30That is really, really remarkable. It's more than has ever been introduced before,
00:34and it is absolutely an onslaught and an attack on our rights.
00:40And thankfully, in some places, we have judges who are finding that these laws are actually
00:48unconstitutional, and they are pushing back. And they're unconstitutional for a variety of reasons.
00:54One, they infringe upon our basic human rights. The other is that oftentimes they are overly broad.
01:01And also, when you are legislating things that can possibly infringe on people's rights,
01:07you have to provide a valid reason as to why you're doing that.
01:11And of course, none of these laws, as much as Republicans love to talk about how they
01:16are doing this to protect the children, none of them have any basis in reality,
01:20science, or evidence. And so they are unable to justify any of these laws that are being passed.
01:26Unfortunately, it is up to a judge's discretion.
01:30But the good news is the system is working, and that these laws are being challenged,
01:35and that we do have some good judges who are actually looking at this.
01:39And even though some of them have been appointed by, for example, President Trump,
01:43and are potentially conservative, they are realizing that these laws are really unconstitutional,
01:50and that it is their job to say so. So that has been really, really comforting to see.
01:55Though I will say that this hasn't always been the case for every law.
01:59And so I am really worried about what is happening in Florida right now.
02:04It is really, really scary to see the way in which Ron DeSantis is really basing his entire
02:11presidential campaign on his ability to discriminate against the LGBTQ community.
02:17I think for me, you know, I actually started doing Drag Queen Story Hour because
02:25I actually had friends that would say, you know,
02:27you're the kind of drag queen that I can bring home to mom.
02:31And to be clear, you know, I think drag is an art form. And like any other art form,
02:36drag can be all across the spectrum in terms of, you know, its appropriateness for children.
02:42You know, it can be definitely drag performances that are more geared towards an adult audience.
02:50It can also be a drag performance that is geared towards a young audience or
02:55an audience of children. We can make that distinction.
02:58We do it all the time, whether it be for books or films or shows or whatever.
03:03And, you know, for me, drag is a part of who I am and drag is also a performance.
03:09And like any other character, actor, performer, it can be larger than life.
03:18And oftentimes that is what appeals to children, right?
03:21We are trying to make drag queens out to be
03:25predators or, you know, using the word groomers. That is absolutely not the case.
03:31The way in which people can create a more affirming and positive society for transgender people,
03:37for all of our communities, is to get engaged in local politics.
03:43People love to show up for a presidential election,
03:45but it is your statewide elections, your city council votes, your county elections.
03:51Those are the ones that will have direct impact on your day-to-day lives.
03:55Everything from whether or not your streets are getting paved
03:58to whether people are being denied access to health care,
04:02whether people are allowed to open up a business.
04:04I mean, these elections are incredibly important and that is why
04:09certain people are investing so much in preventing people from being able to vote.
04:15So the most important thing we can do is, again, get to the voting booths,
04:19educate ourselves on the issues, and also encouraging young people to vote.
04:25Pride is definitely an opportunity for drag to happen.
04:30Many people will do drag for the first time during Pride.
04:33It's either Halloween or Pride, you know, but one of the two gay high holidays.
04:39I think that Pride is also definitely an opportunity for drag queens to make some money.
04:44So hopefully, you know, all the people who are throwing Pride parties,
04:50whether you be community organizations or corporate, you know, parties,
04:55that's how a lot of our community makes money right now.
04:58So make sure that you are supporting the drag community, that you are
05:02booking drag performers, that you're not cowing to, you know, anti-drag laws and,
05:08you know, to extremists on the right, that you are taking a stand
05:12and making sure that our drag community and our trans community is feeling supported.