Below is my column in today's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.
While the team working on the festival knew there would be some pushback, many of us have been shocked at the tone of the pushback. Christians have shown up at City Council meetings and not only spread patently false stereotypes about LGBTQ people (most perpetrators of child abuse are straight, not gay), they have also told lies about what our festival is planning (nowhere has a parade been a part of our plan or publicity).
As a Christian myself, I grieve for how these choices adversely affect the witness for Jesus in our community. On social media, we have been subjected to constant hate speech, some of it violent. One image which has been sent to us several times is a white stick figure kicking a rainbow stick figure in the gut, usually with some profanity attached. It is sickening to see.
A good portion of the vitriol has been because of the presence of drag performers at the festival. It is here I hope I can clear up not only some misconceptions about drag, but also be very clear about why the presence of drag performers is so often a key part of any pride festival or parade.
To start, it is important to know the history behind Pride month. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village of New York City. In this very different world over a half a century ago, this was the only bar for gay men in New York where dancing was allowed. It had no running water behind the bar and was run by the Mafia, who regularly blackmailed the wealthier customers. There was a smaller room near the back for “queens” – more effeminate men who wore makeup and teased their hair – but very few people in full drag were allowed.
Four undercover cops entered the bar that June night, while the “Public Morals Squad” waited outside for their signal. When the raid began, things went off the rails. One of the standard practices was for female police officers to take customers dressed as women to the bathroom to verify their gender. If they were men dressed in drag, they would be arrested. Those who were dressed as women that night, however refused to go with the officers. Men began to refuse to produce identification. Some of the police who were frisking the lesbians touched them inappropriately. The police decided to arrest everyone.
As those arrested were loaded into wagons, a woman was struck by an officer on the head with a police baton. She shouted to those still gathered, “”Why don’t you guys do something?” and then was picked up and heaved into the back of the police wagon. The crowd became a mob, and the Stonewall Riots began. During the course of the riots, self-proclaimed drag queens Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera played a central role.
The following year, to mark the anniversary of the riots, the first pride marches were held in several U.S. cities, as LGBTQ people refused to hide in dark illegal bars, subject to persecution by the police and violence by society. They demanded the right simply to be who they were, without shame or fear. The movement spread and on the 30th anniversary of the riots, President Bill Clinton declared “the anniversary of [the] Stonewall [riots] every June in America as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.”
In the years since Stonewall, drag queens have raised millions of dollars with shows and fundraisers. They were particularly active in the early and dark days of the AIDS epidemic, when there were no corporate sponsors or major businesses supporting LGBTQ people.
Anyone who has spent any time around drag performers knows that the average drag queen wears more, not less, clothing than is typical of women in 21st century America. Indeed, one of the most telling comparison to me was a photo of several drag queens performing set next to the performance of several National Football League cheerleaders.
While some drag performances may include raunchy language and jokes, those are at adult performances. Think if it like the art form of standup comedy. Every performer knows the importance of ensuring your act is appropriate to your audience. As for the idea that drag includes nudity or stripping, neither are a part of drag shows.
Finally, the claim being put out there that drag performances are grooming is not only ignorant, but also a harmful misunderstanding of a real reality that does affect children. Grooming refers to the practices that child abusers use to entrap and manipulate children. There is no evidence that children who have attended a drag performance are in any way at a higher risk of abuse than other children. Indeed, by conflating the two, parents are not being accurately taught what real grooming is and how essential recognizing the signs of grooming are important for protecting children.
There is one final piece of drag that is important to know for the parents of kids and teenagers. Drag does not, of course, turn someone gay or transgender (that’s not how sexual orientation or gender identity work). However, seeing a drag performance can be reassuring to a kid who is already questioning their gender identity. In a recent essay in Psychology Today, therapist Joe Kort points out that through drag performances gender-nonconforming kids can have “other templates as they begin to sort out their feelings about who they authentically are.”
And, if they trust their parents (and their parents are safe people to be honest with) they can talk with them about what they see, questions it might provoke in their own mind. In the end, in all questions related to the healthy growth and development of children, having parents who are open and safe for questions is what is most important.
In the end, countless people who thought there was no place for them, that they were somehow wrong or broken, have gone to a Pride festival and (sometimes for the first time in their life) realized that they are not alone. Because no matter who God created you to be – straight, gay, bi, trans, or any of the other diverse and beautiful orientations and identities out there – you should not be afraid to go to a party downtown that celebrates who you know yourself to be.
Creating safe spaces, advocating for human rights locally and globally, in the end, is what all of this is about. And drag queens have long led the way in this congregation. I look forward to the shows this weekend – and I hope that all who come bring love, curiosity, and kindness in their hearts.
The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, Tribune community columnist, serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com. His church is hosting its third annual Pride Worship Service before the Pride Festival begins – all are welcome to join them for worship at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 10, at Waterfront Stadium. The Pride Festival will kick off at noon in the same location.
