Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
André Wade is state director of Silver State Equality, Nevada's statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization.
Editor’s note: As he traditionally does around this time every year, Brian Greenspun is turning over his Where I Stand column to others. Today’s guest is André Wade, state director of Silver State Equality, Nevada’s statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization.
Across the United States, conservatives are leading a culture war that seeks to criminalize drag shows and ban or “recategorize” LGBTQ+ themed books at libraries. These calculated attacks promote discrimination and harm against LGBTQ+ people in order to drive conservative voters to the polls.
Many of these tactics have been tried before, but just as in the past, LGBTQ+ people aren’t going anywhere. We will only grow stronger in our resolve to protect ourselves from lies and misinformation that make LGBTQ+ people scapegoats for all that is wrong with this country.
Every election cycle, there is an attempt to attack LGBTQ+ people. Since public opinion on same-gender marriage has been positively and firmly established for nearly a decade, anti-LGBTQ+ tactics have been aimed at denying transgender people access to bathrooms, banning gender-affirming health care and banning transgender athletes, particularly transgender females, from competition.
Now, among the newest tactics to disparage LGBTQ+ people are attempts to ban drag shows and book readings to children by drag queens, as well as the banning of LGBTQ+ themed books from libraries.
Drag is an art form. Drag is an expression. Drag as we know it has existed for more than 150 years. And its existence has always been fraught with tension — stuck, if you will, between acceptance and dismissal. Queerness and gender bending. Public shame and private joy. The first drag ball dates as far back as 1867, when both males and females dressed up and competed for awards for the best gown or feminine figure at a place called Hamilton Lodge in Harlem, N.Y.
Over time, drag has become popular enough to be part of our national consciousness via “RuPaul’s Drag Race” on television. In recent years, drag has become a tool to engage children in book readings at public libraries with the goal of increasing literacy, interest in reading and an appreciation for storytelling.
All of this dust-up over drag shows is even more peculiar when you learn that according to an Economist/YouGov poll, more than half of the 17% of American adults who believe drag shows should be banned have never attended a drag show. In fact, only 23% of American adults and only 15% of Republicans have attended a drag show. That means that the majority of people advocating to ban drag shows have based their opinions on hearsay or others’ perceptions, not their own experiences.
And for some, banning drag shows and drag queen story hours isn’t enough. They also want to ban or “recategorize” LGBTQ+ themed books at public libraries.
The absurdity of banning books, or recategorizing books because the main character is LGBTQ+, or because there are LGBTQ+ themes, is the epitome of a culture war. LGBTQ+ people are and have long been a part of history, and will, therefore, continue to be represented in books.
According to the American Library Association, “Libraries have a responsibility to provide information for a wide variety of users. If you are a parent or guardian, you have the right and responsibility to make decisions about what materials are suitable for your own family. No one has the right to make rules restricting what other people use, or to make decisions for other families.” Given that individuals can self-police their book choices and the book choices of their children, there is no need for book banning which restricts the freedom of others.
We know that all of this does not happen in isolation. It’s all connected to a larger plan to attack the LGBTQ+ community. We see it with the Supreme Court rulings like the 303 Creative decision, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and far-right paramilitary groups terrorizing people at libraries for going to a drag queen story hour.
Unfortunately, some of these tactics have reared their ugliness in Nevada. In Washoe County, there is an ongoing fight over drag queen story hours at public libraries and attempts to ban certain queer-themed books. In Pahrump, there have been recent discussions by the library board to possibly recategorize certain books. In Douglas County, the school board is attempting to discriminate against transgender students by restricting their access to sports and bathrooms.
Along with our partners and advocates on the ground, we are working to push back against these efforts.
Although LGBTQ+ people are facing unprecedented challenges that harken back to the past, the equality movement has grown stronger with many successes under our belt. We see the success in Nevada through the passage of pro-equality legislation.
During the most recent legislative session Nevada passed laws that provide protections specifically for transgender, nonbinary and gender diverse Nevadans in the areas of health care and criminal justice. And it must be noted that it was a Republican governor, Joe Lombardo, who signed these bills into law during a time when many of his counterparts in other states across the nation are engaging in a senseless culture war against LGBTQ+ people. For that, we are grateful.
Still, while Nevada is still considered one of the best places for LGBTQ+ people to live in the nation, there remains much to do to create a Nevada that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ+ people.
