Drag is never appropriate for kids

…Drag queens went from a favorite gif to add to a particularly sassy tweet to the manifestation of everything conservative Americans fear about LGBTQ activism, especially toward children.

It might seem easy to dismiss these concerns as an overreaction or even as an expression of bigotry, but conservatives are right about this one…

Drag queens take on the most absurd sexualized elements of female stereotypes and gay culture… They strut out on stage and without a moment of hesitation or shame, unleash epic poems of intentionally offensive obscenity, all with a smile and a sense of style no audience can resist. Although many have argued this charisma can be redirected into child-appropriate entertainment, education and advocacy, the reality demonstrates otherwise. Drag queens can't turn it off. Whether in front of a cheering crowd in a gay bar or a room full of kids at a library, the performance doesn't change. They cannot translate the magic so many of us enjoy on stage to something children can understand. Worse, far too many have chosen to disregard the concept of appropriateness altogether, performing dance routines, wearing costumes and portraying the same bombastic, and overtly sexual characters in front of kids as they would in front of adults.

By its very nature, drag is already unsuitable for children, based on the culture it flourished in and the way the artform communicates to its audience. It barely translates outside of the LGBTQ cultural bubble. The more you remove these elements, the less it resembles drag and the more it looks like advocacy for something kids just shouldn't be exposed to. You take away the cursing, the sexual inuendo, the revealing clothes, the provocative dress and the sharp political commentary, and you are left with an adult man in a dress mocking women and trying to convince children he is an ambassador for an entire community.