The conservatives are trying a novel twist to banning drag shows… degrading to women.
Down in Texas a campus of Texas A&M University has taken to banning a fundraiser for the Trevor Project.
Has there ever been a protest by women against a drag show saying that it mocks women? Not that I know. However, it his letter he says…My High PlainsBy David Gay and Caden KeenanMarch 20, 2023Update (March 21, 11:20 a.m.)MyHighPlains.com reached out to officials with West Texas A&M University, asking for clarification on how Wendler’s letter lines up with approved expressive activity on campus rules from member academic institutions of the Texas A&M University System.
According to documents found on West Texas A&M University’s website, this comes after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 18, adding a clause of “Protected Expression on Campus” to the Texas Education Code, intending to “insure that all persons may peaceably assemble on campuses of institutions of higher education for expressive activities.”
In section 1.3 of the system’s “Expressive Activity on Campus” document, it states:
“The university may not take action against a student organization or deny the organization any benefit generally available to other student organizations at the university on the basis of a political, religious, philosophical, ideological, or academic viewpoint expressed by the organization or of any expressive activities of the organization.”
[…]
Original Story:
CANYON, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — In a letter sent to students, faculty and staff at West Texas A&M University on Monday that was obtained by MyHighPlains.com, West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler announced that a planned drag show for later this month will not happen, stating his view that drag shows exaggerate and stereotype women in “cartoon-like extremes.”
According to a post on the university’s Spectrum student organization’s Instagram, a student organization for the university’s LGBTQIA+ students and allies, the group, along with a number of other student organizations, was recruiting for an upcoming drag show scheduled for March 31.
[…]
Wendler said in the letter that he believes drag shows do not preserve “a single thread of human dignity,” stating that it discriminates against womanhood.
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Wendler goes on to say that mocking or objectifying members “of any group based on appearance, bias or predisposition is unacceptable.” At the end of the letter, Wendler cites the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s purpose, stating that prejudice in the workplace, which Wendler said he believes drag shows are, is “harmful and wholly inappropriate” even if they are not criminal.
I believe every human being is created in the image of God and, therefore, a person of dignity. Being created in God’s image is basis of Natural Law. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, prisoners of the culture at their time as are we, declared the Creator’s origin as the foundational fiber in the fabric of our nation as they breathed life into it.
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 woman in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood…
… I would not support “blackface” performances on our campus, even if told the performance is form of free speech or intended as humor. It is wrong…
I would have said that he had a point about “blackface” but then he added a quote from the Bible about doing one to others as you would them do it to you. Now it looks like he based his decision not that it mocks women but rather it is against “gods law.”
Of course the students are protesting…
Amarillo Globe-NewsBy Michael CuvielloMarch 21, 2023Students held a protest on campus Tuesday after West Texas A&M University (WT) President Walter Wendler sent out a letter to students, staff and faculty of the university Monday afternoon, announcing that the university would not permit a planned drag show on campus.The drag show was scheduled for March 31, to raise money for the Trevor Project, which according to its website, is a nonprofit organization that focuses on suicide prevention counseling and the mental health of LGBTQIA+ young people. The group also provides other mental health services and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ youth.
WT Spectrum, a student organization for LGBTQIA+ students and allies, was recruiting for the proposed drag show. Open and Affirming Congregations of the Texas Panhandle has started a petition which had more than 3,750 signatures as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, decrying the university’s decision to cancel the drag show. The petition can be found at https://www.change.org/p/save-the-wtamu-drag-show .
According to the statement from the petition, the group states “Not only is this a gross and abhorrent comparison of two completely different topics, but it is also an extremely distorted and incorrect definition of drag as a culture and form of performance art.” They also allege the act by the university president violates university policy by denying a student organization a benefit available to any other organizations based on a political, religious and ideological basis.
That was a novel twist President Walter Wendler tried but it sure looks like he based his decision on religious views and personal prejudices.
An article in the Los Angles Blade said,
His comments and decision to cancel the campus drag show come amid surging uproar over the lively entertainment as far-right extremist groups have recruited conservatives to protest the events, claiming that drag performances are sexualizing kids.
[…]
Wendler argued in his letter that the West Texas A&M drag show goes against the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s purpose, saying it’s inappropriate even if drag shows are not illegal.
A lawyer for the national campus free speech group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression rejected that argument as “nonsense.”
“The only prejudice in play here is his,” said lawyer Alex Morey, arguing that Wendler has violated state and federal law by canceling the show.
And so the struggle for our rights continues...
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