For several months, in France, demonstrators have disrupted children’s reading sessions led by drag queens. As they become more visible thanks to the program “Drag Race France”, the main concerned are worried about an increase in violence.
The impression “to be caught in a storm”. La Déliche, drag queen from the Paillettes collective, remembers very well this reading for children in an entertainment center in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, in March. Inside, as the story goes The Parisian (link reserved for subscribers), about sixty children and their parents listen attentively to the storytellers, dressed as princesses, sequins on their eyelids and in their beards. Outside, a dozen demonstrators and the slogans “shame” And “let the kids” tagged on the ground. A few days earlier, far-right groups, including Eric Zemmour’s Reconquest party, had denounced this reading session on social networks.
“It was the third time we had an event of this kind at this place, the first two went very well. We are storytellers and clowns, we are here to make people laugh”, is still surprised La Déliche. Faced with demonstrators who claim to want “save children from great peril”the Parisian entertainment center resists. “We were very supported, by the place, the policies and the LGBT+ community.confirms La Déliche. But I was afraid of being harassed and intimidated, because my face was on the poster.”
Readings threatened, even canceled
Beyond this Parisian episode, a broader movement is taking shape: in recent months, attacks from the far right have multiplied against drag artists. In Lamballe-Armor (Côtes-d’Armor), demonstrators gathered on January 21 to protest against a drag reading organized by the municipal library. “It was strange, stressful and violent”, remembers Léo Roméo, drag king of the Rennes company Broadway French. The modus operandi was the same as in Paris: a controversy on social networks, taken up by media close to the far right and followed by threats against the artists and the place of reception.
“An article on a far-right site mixed it all up, with photos taken out of context, and claimed that we were going to force children to begin gender transitions”, remembers Leo Romeo. The reading was maintained thanks to the support of the mayor of the city, according to West France, which reports the words of a young audience delighted to meet these storytellers “very very beautiful” And “very very large”. But in Toulouse, a few days later, the town hall decided to reserve a reading for adults for 3 to 6 year olds in a media library, which ultimately did not take place, after a campaign also led by Reconquête. In May, it was at the library of Saint-Senoux (Ille-et-Vilaine) that a far-right group disrupted a workshop on gender equality.
These readings, during which drag artists tell children stories that promote equality and respect, have nevertheless been organized frequently in France for several years. In 2019, a similar event in Paris had already provoked hateful reactions. “We are witnessing a reactivation of the phenomenon in recent months”estimates with franceinfo Alex M. Mahoudeau, author of Panic woke. But why now?
Increasingly visible drag artists
Drag, a joyous and exaggerated artistic performance of gender roles, has long been called “transformism”. This art, which developed in particular in cabarets, came out of it several decades ago. “Drag has existed for a long time in France, including in popular culture, as with La Cage aux Folles where the Offers by Elie Semoun”, recalls La Déliche. But the discipline has recently gained visibility with the audience success of the program “Drag Race France” broadcast by France Télévisions during the summer of 2022.
A drag queen competition as touching as it is fierce, the contest is the adaptation of the American show to the international success “RuPaul’s Drag Race”. “All of a sudden, it’s as if they had remembered that we existed and that we had to be attacked directly”, confirms to franceinfo the drag queen La Briochée, who participated in the show. His face was found on a leaflet of Reconquest against “LGBT+ propaganda” distributed in Montpellier, as explained 20 minutes. “I experienced it as an attack, it was very hard… I became a symbolic target”says the one who then filed a complaint. “Symbolics”the attacks of the far right are just that, because “drag queens crystallize a lot of things”summarizes Marion Cazaux, doctoral student in contemporary art history at the University of Pau and specialist in the subject.
“Drag queens are visible in the public space, they practice cross-dressing and challenge gender norms.”
Marion Cazaux, researcherat franceinfo
On the far right, this questioning of standards is disturbing. “Drag Attacks Are Actually Drag Attacks to defend a certain organization of society that values the heterosexual couple and the domination of ‘really feminine’ women by ‘real men’, ideally machos”, completes Alex M. Mahoudeau. For the researcher, “what disturbs [l’extrême droite]is to see deviance from gender norms become something more than an object of mockery.”
A “liberation of transphobic speech”
Opponents’ concern over LGBT+ influence on children reminiscent of arguments “already used during protests against equal marriage in 2012”, emphasizes Marion Cazaux. The actors protesting drag readings today are the same as they were then. “These are people who are used to doing this: former Manif pour tous, relatives of Eric Zemmour or the identity right, points out Alex M. Mahoudeau. They try to capture public opinion by problematizing the issue of the visibility of LGBT+ people in the public space.”
“This is exactly what we experienced ten years ago with marriage for all. We are reliving this same harassment, this same hatred.”
La Briochee, drag queenat franceinfo
These attacks on drag performers also correspond to a time when “we are witnessing a liberation of transphobic speech” in the media, notably documented by a study by the Association of LGBTI Journalists published in March, adds Alex M. Mahoudeau. “Far-right circles use a shift between drag and transidentity to pass off transidentity as a hobby and make drag grotesque”adds Marion Cazaux. However, the two experiences have nothing to do with each other. On the one hand, drag performers of all genders cross-dress for show. On the other hand, transgender people transition from their gender assigned at birth to live according to their identity.
The situation worries in any case the artists concerned. “I’m afraid that with these speeches, the most radical will take action: the real danger is there”, warns La Déliche. In the United States, the Glaad, an organization for the defense of LGBT + people in the media and the entertainment industry, recorded 141 demonstrations, threats and violence against drag performances in 2022.
“I’m worriedalarmed Alex M. Mahoudeau. The drag community in France is small. It is quite easy to identify people and one can imagine that people decide to attack artists. Drag king Léo Romeo shares the same sentiment: “I’m afraid to see direct threats to artists and the public, like what happened with the cancellation of Bilal Hassani’s concert”. The latter was to perform in a desecrated basilica in Metz (Moselle) last April, before giving up in the face of threats.
A “moral panic” imported from the United States
Beyond the occasional attacks in France, Alex M. Mahoudeau also observes what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic. She sees in the actions launched by the French extreme right “an opportunistic importation of moral panics fostered by conservatives in the United States on LGBT+ issues”. American drag artists are facing an offensive that goes through the law in particular. In February, Tennessee became the first state to vote to ban drag performances by children, but the measure has since been blocked by a judge, reports the New York Times. In Oklahoma, a proposed law provides for a fine and a prison sentence for the author of a drag performance in front of a minor, explains Business Insider. Other States are preparing similar texts.
Is France likely to follow this example? The controversies launched by the extreme right have for the moment very little relay among political leaders, “in particular the actors of the more centrist right, contrary to what we have seen in the United States after the defeat of Donald Trump”, says Alex M. Mahoudeau. Marion Cazaux is more pessimistic: “For me, it’s only a matter of time. The broadcast of season 2 of ‘Drag Race France’ is going to be a real test”.
“I was reassured to see that the media wanted to give me the floor”notes however La Briochée. “More visibility is always a win. It’s a chance that an isolated queer person can grab hold of it like an outstretched hand.” Above all, drag artists can count on the support of their community and a large part of the public. La Déliche even claims to receive an increasing number “invitations from libraries” to organize readings for children. Leo Romeo confirms this paradox: “Being more visible means taking more risks, but also having more support”.