A group of Texas drag queens set up their eye shadow palettes and contour kits at the University of Texas at Austin campus on Monday, prepared to help students get ready for their last day of class.
But on this day, what student organizers called the Texas Day of Drag, getting ready for class was also a form of protest against recent anti-drag policies at Texas universities.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to send a statement by sending students to class in drag because, at the end of the day, it鈥檚 just people having fun in makeup and expressing themselves through their art,鈥� said Lilah La Rouge, an Austin-based drag artist who volunteered at Texas Day of Drag.
The University of Texas System in March that its campuses are not allowed to sponsor drag shows or host them within university facilities. Texas A&M tried to enforce a similar ban across its 11 campuses after the board of regents passed a resolution in late February.
The Queer Empowerment Council, a group of A&M students, sued the university after they were told they could not host the annual Draggieland competition on campus. On March 24, Judge Lee H. Rosenthal ruled in the council鈥檚 favor and A&M鈥檚 ban for violating the First Amendment.
As of now, the UT System鈥檚 policy remains unchallenged in court.
UT Austin students used a loophole in the ban鈥檚 language to hold a Day of Drag, which didn鈥檛 actually include any drag performances. Isabella Thomas, the student organizer behind Texas Day of Drag, said she received university approval to host the event after multiple rounds of meetings with the Office of the Dean of Students.
鈥淪pecifically [the ban] says drag shows,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淚 was like, okay, so how far can we push this without actually breaking the drag show thing? Let鈥檚 have drag artists come and do makeup. So we鈥檙e gonna have students in drag, but is that a drag show? We don鈥檛 think it is.鈥�
Thomas said she wanted the Day of Drag to be a positive form of protest where students could connect with the local LGBTQ+ community. Many students stopped by on their way to class to meet local drag performers and get their makeup done. Thomas also invited a dance instructor to give a line dance workshop.
鈥淧rotest all day and dance all night because you have to restore yourself, you have to find joy and fuel yourself moving forward to withstand whatever鈥檚 ahead,鈥� said Nico Osier, who runs the dance group in Austin.
Some of the students at the event were drag performers themselves, and they wanted an opportunity to express their disappointment with the UT System.
鈥淚t can be very up to interpretation with the way that they鈥檝e worded it, and I didn鈥檛 know how that was going to affect trans people on campus,鈥� said one UT Austin student who performs under the stage name Butch Chassidy. 鈥淒rag is an art form. It鈥檚 not something to be banned, and for them to ban it was basically them making a statement saying queer people are no longer accepted here.鈥�
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The Queer Empowerment Council at A&M also hosted a Day of Drag in early March to protest the board of regents resolution. And three days after the judge made her ruling, the council successfully held its , which attracted over 700 attendees to A&M鈥檚 campus.
Natasha Nova, who was crowned this year鈥檚 Queen of Draggieland, attended the Day of Drag at UT Austin because she wanted to keep supporting Texas college students.
鈥淲hen I saw the ban happen, I just felt like College Station wasn鈥檛 protecting its queer students,鈥� Nova said. 鈥淲hen the ban was struck down by the judge, I felt so liberated and thought, 鈥楬ell yeah, we鈥檙e on the right side of history.鈥欌��
Nova wasn鈥檛 the only popular queen at the function, though. Austin favorite Brigitte Bandit, known for events like LegiSLAYtion & Liberation and Drag Storytime, made her way to UT Austin鈥檚 campus to share some Pride history with attendees.
鈥淧art of drag鈥檚 history is that we will always find ways to transform the world around us as well, to make room for one another,鈥� Bandit said to the crowd, reading from a book titled 鈥�.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear at the moment what will come of the UT System鈥檚 ban. The ACLU of Texas and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression issued a last week condemning the policy. If challenged in court, it would likely receive a ruling similar to A&M.
None of the Texas Day of Drag organizers or participants got in trouble with the university, but it鈥檚 clear Texas students will continue to push back against the ban.
鈥淗opefully [the UT System] will either define drag and push back on us a little bit the way we鈥檙e pushing back on them, and that can spark some sort of legal action,鈥� said Thomas, 鈥渙r 鈥� and this is unlikely 鈥� they will shut it down and not implement this ban at all.鈥�
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