
Spring 2023 seems like a surreal time to be in Tennessee. In the same month that we are observing strict bans on the rights and freedoms of those in the LGBTQIA+ community, we are also grappling with the aftermath of yet another mass shooting in our state. Our values and power systems during this critical time reflect our correct collective sense of morality and complacency in amplifying the voices of the always heard instead of those who are constantly silenced.
LGBTIA+ communities and their allies were in a state of shock (and in the same vein, not shocked at all) as the state passed a strict ban on public drag shows. The ban’s central arguments for this decision focused on the pseudoscientific narratives of drag shows being a threat to children’s well-being. We listened as politicians and public figures incited fear amongst Tennesseans of the “dangers of drag shows” on the development and socialization of children’s brain development. These arguments extended to narratives of drag shows crumbling the structures of families and forcing sexuality on Tennessee’s youth. These same arguments, however, were not considered in assessing the role of hyper-heteronormativity in Tennessee’s everyday culture, events, traditions, policies, and venues. Tennessee politicians stayed silent, for example, on the existence of Hooters chains remaining open and in business in multiple locations across the states despite the chain’s over sexualization of women and girls for the gaze of cisgender-heterosexual men. Politicians also remained quiet on the issue of discrimination of LGBTQIA+ students in faith-based schools in the state. It also failed to consider the everyday threats to children’s sexual safety and bodily harmony caused by faith based leadership in churches and religious
institutions.
But perhaps the most revealing event of irony was observed when just mere weeks after the ban, the state’s arguments of children’s safety stayed conveniently muted after the shocking events of mass school shooting in Nashville, TN. The March 27th shooting at Covenant school was just one in over 160 mass shootings in the US in 2023 so far. As the city of Nashville and Tennessee as a whole mourned the tragic loss of students and victims, the same voices urging for children’s protection to suppress LGBTQIA+ freedoms remained immobile and silent on the issue of gun safety. From villainizing the gender identity of the shooter to hyper-focusing on mental health, Tennessee’s red leadership continues to evade the demands for comprehensive gun control to safeguard the lives and well-being of children. This has resulted in state-wide protests, marches, and calls to action to hold leadership accountable for their inefficiency and hypocrisy.
It is difficult and exhausting to have this conversation over and over again for America’s youth. Like many, I feel as though our current policies have little to do with their best interests and safety in mind. Particularly for LGTBQIA+ youth in the state of Tennessee, I can imagine that our current events have left them to feel like there is little to no commitment to understanding their struggles and actual threats to safety. I can only imagine what it must feel like to lose your right to express your gender identity in the same several weeks as you have lost your fellow peers as a result of outdated ideologies and inactive leadership.
While I am endlessly impressed and amazed by the work and resilience of our youth in fighting for their rights and speaking up boldly against bigoted voices, I understand that this should not be their burden to bear nor their task to endure. It should be the right of every child to express themselves freely and learn without fear. If the tone of this written piece offers little solace, it is because I, like many others in my state, feel more righteous rage than hope at this moment. Still, I am revived and inspired by the strength and resilience of our activists and community members. Observing the strength of our communities during this difficult time, I know that no amount of restrictive policies can hold back the will of our youth.