(Abdul–Rahman Oladimeji Bello, Headline USA) The president of West Texas A&M University canceled a student drag show on campus, explaining in an email to students that the nature of the show was degrading.
University President Walter Wendler also posted the message on his blog with an entry titled “A Harmless Drag Show? No Such Thing.”
The drag show was originally scheduled for March 31 to raise funds for The Trevor Project, a LGBTQ advocacy group that reportedly gives crisis support to teens struggling with suicidal thoughts, the Daily Wire reported.
Though Wendler accepted that the cause was noble, he maintained that drag shows violate human dignity in every possible way.
“Does a drag show preserve a single thread of human dignity? I think not. As a performance exaggerating aspects of womanhood (sexuality, femininity, gender), drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood,” Wendler wrote. “Any event which diminishes an individual or group through such representation is wrong.”
Drag shows are “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny,” Wendler claimed, elevating the LGBT community while mocking other groups. He continued, noting that such shows counter the purpose of an environment that aims to treat all people equally, and he could not let that go on as the University president.
“I would not support ‘blackface’ performances on our campus, even if told the performance is a form of free speech or intended as humor. It is wrong. I do not support any show, performance or artistic expression which denigrates others—in this case, women—for any reason,” Wendler maintained.
Instead of organizing and attending drag shows to support any purported cause, Wendler suggested simply donating to an organization.
“Mocking or objectifying in any way members of any group based on appearance, bias or predisposition is unacceptable,” he wrote. “No amount of fancy rhetorical footwork or legal wordsmithing eludes the fact that drag shows denigrate and demean women—noble goals notwithstanding.”
