[My piece about the GOP bills against drag shows. I have a LOT MORE TO SAY]
Before I left my former college job, I recall a discussion I had with a former student that caused them to confront their own transphobia when they told me about their kids' school's Dragtime Storytelling.*They found it disturbing, 'Bearded Man In A Dress' Trope and then said, "It's ok if they entertain me-" and I cut them off and said, "Wait! So drag queens and trans people should only exist to entertain you?"
The student said that's not what they meant. I asked them to explain. When they tried, they turned it to that BS about 'indoctrinating the children'. I stopped them again, saying, "You DO know some folks realize they are trans when they're kids, right? And drag is a specialized and professional lifestyle and some folks' entire careers! Just like we go to school to figure out what our future may be, what if there is a kid in that audience that wants to do drag for a living?"
The student kept telling me, "I'm not a transphobe! I'm not transphobic!"
[*I know, I know being in drag is different from being transgender, but that's a story for another day]
