At UT, A Day of Drag and Defiance

On an average school day harried students at the University of Texas at Austin rush across Speedway to get to class stopping only to dodge a dangerously fast Lime scooter On Monday however several students made a pitstop to get their makeup done by one of over a dozen drag performers each in vibrant outfits and elaborate makeup of their own The students then continued to class a little more colorful and sparklier than before The performers revealed up certain even calling out of their day jobs for the student-run initiative called the Day of Drag which encouraged students to show up to class in drag to protest the University of Texas System s ban on drag performances As university systems across the state have enacted similar bans and the Texas Legislature continues to attack LGBTQ rights students are shouldering the weight of advocating for their rights On March the UT System Board of Regents declared its universities cannot sponsor or host drag shows in their facilities The decision also followed a similar ban from the Texas A M System Board of Regents on February banning drag show events on campus The Texas A M resolution cited President Donald Trump and Governor Greg Abbott s executive orders that prohibit using funding for promoting gender ideology The resolution also reported drag performances could create or contribute to a hostile surroundings for women On March the University of North Texas System followed suit and paused drag performances on its campuses Texas A M s ban came just ahead of the scheduled date for Draggieland an annual drag show hosted by student-led Queer Empowerment Council After first hearing about the new procedures members of the Council including Alex Gonce the event chair and treasurer began fielding questions from reporters and administrators about their event being banned We were utterly blindsided Gonce advised the Texas Observer It was very scary and all at once Within a week the Council teamed up with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression a civil libertarian legal group that advocates for free speech on college campuses to sue A M for infringing on their First Amendment rights A federal judge temporarily blocked the university s protocol on March In her ruling Judge Lee Rosenthal suggested the students would prevail in their free speech claim and wrote Anyone who finds the performance or performers offensive has a simple remedy don t go Three days later Draggieland went on as planned at the A M campus in College Station Gonce first joined the Council as a representative for a different aspirant organization Transcend They commented they enjoy being able to do more activism work as part of the Council because Transcend focuses more internally on materials for its members Having a central place to go to make our voices heard has been really good Gonce noted At UT-Austin Isabella Thomas a administration and Spanish junior didn t see any advocacy groups organizing after UT released its own ban so she took action by planning the Day of Drag She later learned other groups tried to challenge the ban but learned it would be more laborious to fight than A M s because the UT System did not publish a written resolution Board Chairman Kevin Eltife merely disclosed the framework in a written comment Thomas decided to have students go to class in drag because the decision while vague did explicitly forbade the university from hosting drag performances not drag altogether We re definitely pushing the line a little bit Thomas explained the Observer But we re not authentically bridging the line Thomas got the event approved by the Office of the Dean of Students which handles requests for campus events A steady stream of students came by to get glammed up by the artists each with their own strong personal style Selected students walked away with faces donning pastel glitter and rhinestones others with strong contours in deep blue or purple Graduate pupil Savvy Cornett revealed they were looking forward to wearing their full face of makeup complete with sparkly blue eyeshadow to the animal physiology class they TA for I ve inevitably needed to have my makeup done via a drag queen so this is a dream come true and I m so excited to go to class later Cornett noted Last session Abbott signed Senate Bill which would have criminalized sexually oriented drag performances performed in front of minors A federal judge ruled the bill unconstitutional in September Thomas has identified that sense of group and hope through drag performances In particular she noted she goes to drag queen Brigitte Bandit s weekly LegiSLAYtion Liberation show in downtown Austin which makes her feel less alone I feel hopeful for a future which is something that not a lot of people can say and possibly something that I wouldn t say all the time Thomas announced But during the two-hour show each Tuesday I feel hopeful I feel like we are going to get past this Brigitte Bandit came to the event in pink blue and white chaps the color of the trans flag danced to Chappell Roan s Pink Pony Club and read from drag icon Sasha Velour s memoir The Big Reveal as part of a drag queen story hour Whenever they try to ban drag we just put students in drag bitch Brigitte Bandit commented at the event Ain t nothing illegal happening here We re just having fun This session the Senate passed Senate Bill which would cut funding from citizens libraries that host events in which people dressed as the opposite gender read a story or book Republican legislators have also targeted LGBTQ rights in higher coaching building on last session s passage of Senate Bill which prohibited DEI offices and practices and shut down spaces for queer students like the Gender and Sexuality Center at UT-Austin Now Thomas reported there s more pressure on students to take the lead I m happy we haven t given up Thomas announced But students are having to take on this extra work to continue providing space for their public At A M Gonce commented the Queer Empowerment Council had to take on several initiatives formerly hosted by its Pride Center like Lavender Graduation after SB forced the Center to close The Lege has also continued its crusade against DEI in higher ed Senate Bill authored by Republican Senator Brandon Creighton would prohibit core curricula courses that require or attempt to require a scholar to adopt a belief that any race sex or ethnicity or social political or religious belief are inherently superior which would likely target gender and ethnic studies courses Zoey Gonzales advised her friend she didn t care if she was late to class she was getting her makeup dramatic red and pink winged eyeshadow done This is way more critical than my classes right now Gonzales noted If I myself as a trans person won t be here to stand for my rights then who will Arwyn Heilrayne who helped organize the event danced around in a Moo Deng Says Trans Rights shirt with blue eyeshadow and deep pink blush and glitter on her cheeks She stated she contributes to apprentice organizing with her potential It s so hard in this world to have fun sometimes Heilrayne declared Movements are only sustained through enjoyment So we have to have pleasure as much as workable Thomas the Day of Drag organizer says events like these are central to foster a sense of neighborhood Even though this is the greater part likely going to be a one-off event celebrating the artistic value of drag just celebrating queerness on campus we want students to continue to plug in with the queer group Thomas stated Having promotion and knowing that there are other people like you that love you unconditionally is just so incredible The post At UT A Day of Drag and Defiance appeared first on The Texas Observer