LGBTQ+ Employees at the Smithsonian Say the Institution Is Canceling Drag Events

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Workers at the Smithsonian Institution say they’re concerned about censorship amid an “audit” of drag shows hosted by the organization, following a controversial oversight hearing last year.

The Smithsonian, one of the world’s largest museum and research centers, has hosted several drag performances over the years in its various facilities and in its online programming. But anonymous workers told the New Republic and the Washington Post this past week that leaders have recently canceled multiple drag shows planned for later this year, including some intended for Pride Month in June, raising fear among LGBTQ+ staff of an anti-drag crackdown.

The organization’s apparent reversal of course allegedly stems from a House of Representatives oversight hearing last December, when Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) grilled secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie Bunch III — the first Black person to lead the institution in its history — about funding drag events. Bice accused Bunch of “exposing children to overly sexual material” by offering events such as an online “story time” program for kids and families. But Bice also objected to adult programs, like one last June at the Museum of the American Indian that featured four Indigenous drag performers discussing Two-Spirit identities and their history. “How is that even related to the educational aspect? I mean, even if it’s not to children, why are we talking about that issue?” Bice said, referencing the Indigenous drag event.

“I think it’s not appropriate to expose children to drag shows,” Bunch replied, telling Bice he was “surprised and will look into that.”

In the wake of that hearing, on January 22, the office of Kevin Gover, undersecretary for museums and culture at the Smithsonian, emailed museum directors asking for more information on drag programs within the last three years, leading to what some Smithsonian workers have dubbed a “drag audit,” according to the Post. The canceled shows reportedly include three planned appearances from drag queen Pattie Gonia, a.k.a. Wyn Wiley, an environmental activist who made headlines last November for her climate-conscious anthem “Our Common Nature” with acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. No drag shows appear on the Smithsonian’s public schedules for this year, the New Republic reported as of April 16.

Gonia told the Post that she was informed on December 21 — less than two weeks after the hearing — that a festival in which she was scheduled to appear had been canceled after a “major partner” dropped out. In January, staff said a study day (a type of educational programming for students of various ages) planned to accompany that festival would also be canceled; in March, plans for a social media collaboration were also placed on hold. “Bunch’s testimony does wrong by all of Smithsonian’s queer employees, current and future queer partners,” Gonia told the Post in a statement. (A Smithsonian spokesperson told the Post that those cancelations were due to “budgetary constraints and other resource issues,” rather than the hearing.)

Despite emailed assurances from Bunch that “LGBTQ+ content is welcome at the Smithsonian,” one longtime staffer said they and others view the cancelations as “censorship” of a vital part of U.S. history. “Queer employees and allies don’t know how to proceed. Drag is an integral part of the LGBTQ story,” the anonymous employee told the Post. “Staff don’t know what to do.”

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Right-wing politicians in the U.S. have increasingly seized on drag as a vehicle for anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda, under the false pretense that drag performers are preying on young children. In February 2023, Tennessee became the first U.S. state to ban drag shows in any place they could be viewed by a minor. Other states followed suit, including Montana and Texas, although some have since been struck down in court. But persecution has spiked even for people caught attending drag shows in conservative areas. In January, a coalition of civil rights groups petitioned the United Nations to intervene in Texas, citing anti-drag policies as part of a “systemic discriminatory policy” against LGBTQ+ people violating multiple human rights treaties.

For some Smithsonian staff, this cultural context makes it hard to believe that the cancellations are anything but a capitulation to conservatives. “They want to pretend like this is some sort of review and not a ban,” one worker told the New Republic, “but the fact that these performers are suddenly excluded from all Smithsonian programming amounts to censorship by Lonnie Bunch and his team.”

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Originally Appeared on them.