A federal judge has blocked a ban on drag shows at Texas universities, ruling in favor of the Queer Empowerment Council.
“Draggieland is a performance that ‘includes conversations between the performer and host about what drag means to the performers,'” Senior U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal wrote. “The theatrical performance and the explicit discussion of the intended message are both protected under the First Amendment.”
“The performance is clearly intended to convey ‘political, social, and cultural messages,” the judge added. “The Board disagrees with the messages expressed and finds them offensive, but they are conveyed through speech and expressive conduct under the First Amendment.”
“Performances by men dressed as women are nothing new. Men have been dressing as women in theater and film for centuries. It is well-established among scholars of Shakespeare’s literary works that, when his plays were written and performed, female characters were played by young men dressed in women’s attire,” Rosenthal explained.
According to the February 28 resolution from the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, “Drag Show Events shall not be held at Special Event Venues on any of the campuses of the Universities.”
The resolution drew upon President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” explaining that because both the “System and the Universities receive significant federal funding, the use of facilities at the Universities for Drag Show Events may be considered promotion of gender ideology in violation of the Executive Order” and Governor Greg Abbott’s directive calling for the state to comply with the “biological reality that there are only two sexes – male and female.”
