There is an indecent drag show that should be banned – at the Arizona State Capitol
Based on a law some Republican members of the Arizona Legislature would like to pass, Uncle Miltie would have been a criminal.
Milton Berle, the first big television star in America, perhaps the most well-known celebrity of his day, was also the first nationally known – and loved – drag queen.
From the late-1940s to the mid-1950s, Berle hosted the most-watched TV show of his era, the “Texaco Star Theater,” often appearing in sketches decked out as a character known as Auntie Mildred.
Among the most enthusiastic members of his TV audience were … children.
Did exposure to Berle in drag turn all those Baby Boomers into perverts?
(I’ll let you answer that question.)
Some, apparently, don't like it so hot
What about the late 1950s, when Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon dressed in drag all throughout the movie “Some Like It Hot”?
How many children were corrupted by that sight?
Or, perhaps, did the other star of the movie – Marilyn Monroe – make a somewhat greater impression on adolescent males?
That particular film must have been on TV a dozen times when my generation was growing up. The same generation, strangely, as some of the Republicans in the Arizona Legislature who want to pass a law that would make it illegal for anyone under 18 to attend drag shows in Arizona.
A couple of states have actually done this.
And the wacky Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’ll introduce a bill in Congress that would make it illegal for children to see drag queens anywhere in the nation.
Imagine such a thing.
No Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire or Madea
It could put an end to reruns of “The Flip Wilson Show,” in which the comedian invariably appeared decked out as the flamboyant character Geraldine.
We’d also have to ban from the airways any of those old “Bosom Buddies” TV shows featuring a young Tom Hanks in drag.
And we’d have to purge from all media platforms the many seasons of “M*A*S*H” because of, you know, Klinger.
Another ban: Advocates say ban on surgeries for trans minors is harmful
Republican state Sen. Vince Leach, one of those contemplating the anti-drag bill, said, “In a civil society, you don’t bring your children up like that.”
A statement from Leach’s GOP cohorts said, “We will be damned if we won’t fight like hell to protect the most innocent from these horrifying and disturbing trends” spread by “extremist Democrats.”
Like that horrifying and apparently criminal performance by Robin Williams in “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
Or the disturbing work of lawbreaker Dustin Hoffman in “Tootsie.”
Or the corruptive shenanigans of serial offender Tyler Perry in the many, many movies featuring his drag character Madea.
Homophobes posing as lawmakers
What’s going on, sadly, is another not so subtle right wing attack on the LGBTQ community. Demonizing them in a way that has led to incidents like the 31 members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front being arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiracy to riot at a Pride event.
Imagine if the thugs hadn’t been nabbed first by police.
Male entertainers in drag shows craft elaborate female personas by way of costumes and caricature, then use music, dance and monologue to entertain audiences.
At the Arizona Legislature, on the other hand, kooks, zealots, homophobes and conspiracy nuts dress up as caricatures of normal, rational, well-meaning elected officials, and have the power to craft actual laws.
Now that is a drag.
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ban the indecent drag show put on by the Arizona Legislature
