Is it acceptable to take children to drag shows?
'PragerU' personality Aldo Buttazzoni reacts to the Los Angeles Zoo hosting an all-ages permitted drag show on 'Fox News @ Night.'
The Arkansas state senate advanced a bill to restrict drag shows and protect children Thursday, prompting some drag performers to complain that the senate was over sexualizing their performances.
The bill may be heard by the full senate as soon as Jan. 23.
The proposal, which the Arkansas state senate approved in committee, would classify drag shows as an "adult-oriented business" and help prevent minors from viewing a drag show performance.
ARKANSAS INTRODUCES NEW BILL DEFINING DRAGS SHOWS AS AN 'ADULT-ORIENTATED BUSINESS' UNDER LEGAL CODE
Drag performer MD Hunter, whose stage name is Athena Sinclair, testifies before a state Senate panel as state Sen. Gary Stubblefield, left, listens, at the Arkansas Capitol in Little Rock, on Jan. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo)
That would put drag performances in the same legal category as an "adult arcade, an adult bookstore or video store, an adult cabaret, an adult live entertainment establishment, an adult motion picture theater, an adult theater, a massage establishment that offers adult services, an escort agency, or a nude model studio," according to the bill.
"I’m not trying to ban anything, I’m not trying to ban adults from anything adults want to do. I simply want to protect our children," Arkansas State Representative Mary Bentley told a local news station.
The bill also includes protections for minors and would restrict drag shows from taking place in a location where any under the age of 18 could see it.
HOW THE LA ZOO IS SEXUALIZING KIDS WITH 'FAMILY FRIENDLY' DRAG SHOWS
One mayor in Knoxville, Tennessee attended an "all ages" drag show in Dec. 2022 and was subsequently criticized after one Twitter shared alleged pictures of the event. ((Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images))
The proposal comes amidst a national debate over whether children should be allowed to attend drag shows. One mayor in Knoxville, Tennessee attended an "all ages" drag show in Dec. 2022 and was subsequently criticized after one Twitter user shared alleged pictures of the event.
"Their shows feature exposed buttholes, simulated sex acts, & oversized fake exposed breasts," popular Twitter account "Libs of TikTok" wrote in a viral post with over 11,000 likes.
Bentley, who describes herself as a "Christian [b]usiness woman" in her official Twitter profile, explained that the bill is not designed to target anyone who dresses like "the opposite sex."
Instead, the standard for restriction in Arkansas would be a show that is "intended to appeal to the prurient interest," if the bill passes.
"This bill is just going to completely destroy what we do as an art form, and make it a sexually oriented thing that it’s not," drag performer MD Hunte reportedly told the senate committee. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Some drag performers were outraged by the news. "This bill is just going to completely destroy what we do as an art form, and make it a sexually oriented thing that it’s not," drag performer MD Hunter, who also goes by the stage name Athena Sinclair, reportedly told the Senate committee.
Fox News Digital has reached out for comment from Bentley and Arkansas State Senator Gary Stubblefield.
Fox News’ Kristine Parks and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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