Tennessee Drag Ban Will Reduce LGBTQ-Friendly Spaces and Disrupt Community

Jaquavious Lee describes the last few months of his drag career as the sensation of taking the perfect bite of ice cream after deliberating on your flavor choice for weeks. The 22-year-old is a local drag artist in Memphis, known as Lady Ikora Pluto. Lee has only been performing for about a year and two months, but his career has taken off quickly. He has already earned feature spots in multiple shows and a reputation as a fierce contender in competitions across the city.

Lee says the the experience has been eye-opening. Not only has he healed his inner child through his drag persona, but his elevated platform has given him the opportunity to build up younger, aspiring drag performers.

Lee's rise, however, has also coincided with a backlash against LGBTQ+ rights in general and, in states like Tennessee, drag specifically. According to Time magazine, anti-drag bills are currently being considered in at least 15 states.

Growing up, Lee says, he navigated the world with two identities: Black and closeted. He experienced racism, but not a lot of homophobia. Now, as an out Black man, Lee feels as though he's living in a time when racism isn’t the biggest challenge he faces. As he thinks back to earlier trans activists, like Marsha P. Johnson and Leiomy Maldonado, he tells Teen Vogue that it is disheartening to see all of their work “essentially being undone.”

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/tennessee-drag-ban-lgbtq-youth