WTAMU Drag Ban & First Amendment Battle: Kacsmaryk’s Blackface Comparison

West Texas A&M's ban on a student drag event for LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention sparks a First Amendment legal battle. Judge Kacsmaryk controversially compared drag to blackface, igniting outrage among LGBTQ+ activists and allies, who see drag as vital queer culture.

The Banned Charity Drag Event

In March 2023, the student LGBTQ+ group Spectrum WT intended a drag occasion to increase cash for The Trevor Task, the suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth. The efficiency was scheduled for March 31 and had stringent safety guidelines: no blasphemy, no raunchy content, and participation limited to individuals 18 and older.

“In its modern type, drag communicates suggesting regarding gender identity and expression, intentionally subverting gendered expectations around clothing and efficiency– placing it squarely within the realm of task safeguarded by the First Change.”

Judge Kacsmaryk’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Record

Kacsmaryk isn’t brand-new to this fight. He has a background of decisions versus LGBTQ legal rights, consisting of rulings including Title IX securities, workplace discrimination under Title VII, and federal healthcare defenses for LGBTQ individuals. He also wrote a 2015 short article regarding the weaponization of same-sex marital relationship.

JudgeMatthew Kacsmaryk, known for his traditional record and anti-LGBTQ+ choices, agreed West Texas A&M College Head Of State Walter Wendler, that banned drag shows on school. The decision came after a long-running legal battle triggered by a terminated pupil drag event, and the court’s opinion has become a significant flashpoint for LGBTQ+ protestors and allies.

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A drag program isn’t simply enjoyment. It’s queer culture. It’s presence. It’s defiance. And in a state like Texas, where LGBTQ people already deal with continuous political stress, this situation seems like an indication.

First Amendment & Blackface Controversy

A federal judge in Court recently argued just recently said performances are not protected by the First Amendment, modification in doing so compared drag to blackface. If you have actually ever been to a drag program, you recognize the emotional reality of the art kind: it’s about identification, disobedience, area, and survival. Drag has actually historically been a lifeline for queer people, especially those compelled to conceal their real selves. He has a history of choices against LGBTQ rights, consisting of rulings entailing Title IX defenses, work environment discrimination under Title VII, and federal medical care protections for LGBTQ people. A drag show isn’t simply amusement.

“As an university head of state, I would certainly not sustain “blackface” efficiencies on our university, also if informed the efficiency is a form of cost-free speech or planned as wit. It is incorrect. I do not support any type of show, performance or imaginative expression which denigrates others– in this situation, females– for any type of reason.”

A federal judge in Texas recently argued that drag performances are efficiencies protected by the First Amendment, modification in doing so compared drag to blackface.

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Despite having those safeguards in position, college president Walter Wendler still terminated the occasion and sent out a letter to trainees and team. In it, he defined drag as “derisive, disruptive and demoralizing misogyny, regardless of the mentioned intent” and contrasted the performance style to blackface.

Drag: Culture, Identity, Survival

If you have actually ever been to a drag program, you understand the emotional truth of the art form: it’s about identity, disobedience, neighborhood, and survival. Drag has actually historically been a lifeline for queer people, especially those required to conceal their real selves. So for a court to contrast it to blackface is not just incorrect, it’s traditionally oblivious and disparaging.

Student Lawsuit & Free Speech

That termination really did not simply quit the program, it stimulated a student-led claim arguing the college broke First Modification securities and a Texas state legislation that prohibits universities from restricting trainee companies based upon ideological viewpoints.

In his point of view, Court Matthew Kacsmaryk argued that drag is not secured speech since it allegedly has “no message.” He agreed with Wendler’s framework and took it even further, contrasting drag to blackface by suggesting both “simulated susceptible teams by caricaturing facets of their identification.”