The Arkansas Senate passed a bill classifying drag performances as an adult-directed business, which limits when and where these types of shows can be held.
Republican Senator Gary Stubblefield and State Rep. Mary Bentley sponsored the bill, which passed by a margin of 29 to six and will now go to the Arkansas House for consideration.
This bill would prohibit drag performances from taking place in public spaces to prevent any underage person from attending.
"I can’t think of any redeeming quality, anything good, that can come from taking children and putting them in front of a bunch of grown men who are dressed like women," Stubblefield said.
By classifying drag performances as adults-only, these types of shows will have to be held in "sex-oriented" establishments and should be classified as such in book and video stores.
The Arkansas Senate passed a bill that would make it a Class A Misdemeanor to host a drag event unless it is at a "sexually oriented business." The bill's definition of drag would apply to trans people performing stand up comedy or singing at karoake. https://t.co/ZmynaMxSJv pic.twitter.com/Wt9NWhVPvy
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) January 24, 2023
The bill defines drag shows as a performance where a performer or performers "sings, lip-synchs, dances, or otherwise performs before an audience of at least two persons for entertainment, whether performed for payment or not."
It also states that the performer "exhibits a gender identity that is different from the performer’s gender assigned at birth using clothing, makeup, or other accessories that are traditionally worn by members of and are meant to exaggerate the gender identity of the performer’s opposite sex."
Other states consider similar bills
The North Dakota House Judiciary Committee reported that it recently recommended passage of a bill criminalizing underage attendance at drag shows.
Some seventeen South Dakota legislators also introduced a bill to prohibit the use of state resources for "lewd" content such as shows where gender identities other than the biological gender of the performers are displayed.
