A Drag Queen Show In Texas Was Targeted By Far Right Extremists

In recent years, Drag Queens shows have become a punching bag, to say the least, for extremists. For far-right sympathizers, these shows are part of a larger cultural battle that seeks to impose “LGBTQ values” on children and teenagers. Texas has been a particularly hot battleground around this issue. From neonazi militias threatening LGBTQ activists to public libraries banning books, the Lone Star state has seen a lot. Last December 9, an event at a bar at the University of Texas in Austin was targeted by far-right extremists, according to the Texas Tribune.

It is important to remember that back in November, a gunman opened fire and killed five persons in a queer club in Colorado. In that context, Texas drag performances, particularly those where children are present, have increasingly become the targets of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric this year. Far-right groups have labeled drag performers as “groomers,” a homophobic and transphobic slur that insinuates LGBTQ people are pedophiles. 
This weekend, far-right social media personality Tayler Hansen released a video from a drag show in San Antonio, alleging the performers were inappropriately interacting with a child in the audience. The venue canceled all of its drag shows for the rest of the year out of safety concerns after being “bullied and threatened” and “made to feel unsafe in its own space.”