Drag queen bingo. It's not my normal cup of tea. But it was part of a mid-week meetup, and I had nothing better to do this evening. Given that there were 6 of us ladies there (myself included), it was nice to get together for something mindless and entertaining.
Like a typical Hibachi dinner, once you've seen a drag queen's performance, you've seen it all. There is very little variation in the performance from show to show. But, in small doses, it stays a pleasant diversion when you have nothing to do. And I certainly had nothing to do today. I was bored, so I might as well get bored with friendly people. And what is it about these performances that I find so boring? With Hibachi chefs, it is the limit to the routines they can do with food being cooked. With drag queen performances, it is excessive exaggeration combined with lame sexual jokes. It gets boring when one sees the same performer repeat an act with little variation from performance to performance.
Yet, I consider myself lucky. I live in a state which protects the right of a drag performer to put on a show. This is very important to me, as we've already seen several states ban drag performances in the name of public decency. Who is being harmed by drag queen story hours at the local library? The children? I doubt it. I'd rather have my young child read to by a drag queen than be given religious instruction by a Catholic priest. (Yes, I know that 99% and more of the ordained priests are people I can trust. But, in the past, the church has protected that evil 1% and rotated pedophiles from parish to parish and kept them from being held to account in a non-religious court.) I've never heard of any drag queens molesting children, but I have heard of religious leaders doing so.
If I'm back by the time of the next show, I may end up going again. In my way, it is a form of support for these performers, letting them know that they are appreciated. And I hope that more people will join me in supporting their right to perform their craft without interference from the state.
