Drag show supporters hold out hope that North Brookfield officials will reverse denial

NORTH BROOKFIELD — Members of the Rural Justice Network thought the group was all set to move forward with planning its Small Town Pride event in the North Brookfield Town Common after receiving approval from the Select Board last month.

But they were shocked and confused a few weeks later, when the board rescinded its approval, and reapproved it on the condition that no drag performance be included.

“We really still hold out hope that the Select Board will just change their decision and grow some understanding,” said Tashena Marie, president of the organization. “We really do have hope that after this, it will calm down … and they will open their minds and we will be able to continue in a really positive way.”

Members of the group, which operates out of North Brookfield and has held Pride-related events at businesses around town, said they have never really faced pushback until recently.

“We even had drag story time, which was specifically catered to children, and we're still working with the same drag queens like we have worked with for the past three years,” said Rosangeline Fleming, a core member of the organization. “We know these people personally, we've worked with them personally, and it was not an issue of past events.”

Fleming, who is from Oakham but now lives in Boston, said the issue seemingly started coming out of nowhere more recently.

But Rob Orpilla, another core member of the organization, said it might have something to do with people living in rural communities having to face their prejudices more directly.

Rural setting

Orpilla, who hails from Spencer, noted that Pride events were traditionally held in more populated cities like Boston, but now rural Pride events are becoming more commonplace and more difficult for people to ignore.

“A lot of folks who chose to either ignore or remain prejudiced against Pride events are now having to experience it without trying to completely separate from it,” Orpilla said. “I think that scares them. I think that forces them to make a drastic decision on how they truly feel about it, rather than pretending that this community doesn't exist.”

The Rural Justice Network held the last two Small Town Pride events on the West Brookfield Town Common. This year's was set to be the first in North Brookfield, and the plan was to continue having them in other rural towns in Central Massachusetts in the future.

Holding these events in rural areas of Massachusetts is personally important to each member of the organization.

Marie, who grew up and continues to live in North Brookfield, said it was very “isolating” because there was no support for the LGBTQ+ community. That lack of support is why she, and a couple of other friends, decided to start the Rural Justice Network.

“I don't want to drive out to Worcester. That doesn't feel comfortable for me … I don't know that community. I'm not really part of that community. I'm proud of the community here,” Marie said. “Why can't we have something here? Why can't we have representation here? That was the biggest push for me to want to do Small Town Pride.”

By doing so, she said, she and other LGBTQ+ members and supporters throughout the rural towns were able to find each other.

Social media

Fleming said she also felt isolated growing up in a rural area, really only finding LGBTQ+ people and representation through her phone on social media and apps.

As she got older, her desire to meet other LGBTQ+ people and allies grew stronger, which led her to the Rural Justice Network. Since then, she said, she’s been able to grasp how diverse the rural regions of Central Massachusetts truly are.

“Being queer isn't just for Boston, it isn't just for Worcester, it isn't just for Los Angeles, you don't have to go to the big-city Prides to be out and proud,” Fleming said. “There are queer people in our hometown. It's not us bringing queer people to North Brookfield, it is making the people in North Brookfield feel safe that are already there.”

Orpilla said he felt similarly, and that he is sure that other people in the community still feel that way, and that by having Pride in the Town Common, they will become more visible for people seeking community connection.

Previous Small Town Pride events have been well-attended, bringing together hundreds of people with participation from local businesses and vendors.

The Rural Justice Network has also hosted other events in North Brookfield, including a rally to support the Black Lives Matter movement, and it didn’t have many problems from the Select Board at that time when getting a permit, the group said.

That is largely why it found the Select Board’s decision to revise its initial permit approval so surprising, the group said.

It was surprising to some community members as well, including one who reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.

In a letter sent to the board members and published online, the ACLU urged the board to approve the Pride event with the drag performance, stating that not allowing the performance would be an illegal restriction on free speech and expression.

Board chairman stands by decision

In a phone interview with the T&G on Thursday, Select Board Chairman Jason M. Petraitis said he did not agree with the letter, and that the board plans to stand firm in its decision.

He said the Rural Justice Network could request that a private establishment apply for a special permit to host the drag performance, which he said would be considered adult entertainment.

Members of the Rural Justice Network countered that the performers would be fully clothed and dancing to Disney songs.

“The fact that that is getting twisted into something more shows a lack of understanding about queer people in general and queer history in general,” Fleming said. “We just want to clarify that and show this other side of the queer community that is totally wonderful for children to see.”

When asked why they would not want to hold the Pride event without the drag performance, Marie said it is difficult to draw the line between what is and what isn’t drag.

“I think you get into muddy waters when you do that, because there's no real definition of what drag is,” she said. “Drag, by a vague definition, is anyone dressing up in an exaggerated way. Like exaggerated feminine or exaggerated masculine.”

Marie also pointed to the difference between drag performers, and transgender and nonbinary people who may attend the Pride event dressed up, singing and dancing while in attendance.

“When you attack drag performances, you might unintentionally be targeting the trans community in general,” Marie said. “Because how do you define what is just gender-nonconforming drag and what is an actual trans person just trying to exist?”

Marie said she planned on attending the Pride event as a drag king, which is typically when a woman dresses up in a masculine appearance, often to appear as a man.

When asked if the group would still have a Pride event if the Select Board decided to stand firm in its decision and not allow the drag performances, Marie said the group has not made a decision yet.

The group is surveying community members and talking as a team about how it may respond if they don't allow the performances, but are hoping the board will ultimately decide to allow them.

By prohibiting the drag performance, the Select Board is trying to separate the LGBTQ+ community, Fleming said.

“We want to make our stances very clear: You're not going to separate the LGBT community, you're not going to do Pride without drag, you're not going to do Pride without making a safe space for transgender brothers and sisters or queer people who are gender-nonconforming, or dress a certain way,” she said.

When asked about Petraitis' suggestion that the drag performance could be held at a private venue, Marie said the group shouldn’t have to be “forced behind closed doors because of something they don’t understand.”

MassEquality, a nonprofit in Worcester that supports LGBTQ+ initiatives, also published a letter urging the Select Board to rescind its decision.

“Banning a family-friendly drag show is not only discriminatory but also sets a dangerous precedent in redefining adult entertainment to include clothed and costumed performances,” wrote Tanya Neslusan, executive director of MassEquality. “We are very concerned about not only the legality of the vote to rescind but the potential impact of the action on the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.”

For now, the Rural Justice Network members are going to turn their attention to “Queer Prom,” an 18-and-up event at the Timberyard Brewing Co. in East Brookfield.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Drag show supporters hope Select Board in North Brookfield will reverse denial