University President Cancels Texas Drag Show, Calls It ‘Demeaning’ to Women
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By cancelling a planned drag show because it “demeans” women, the president of West Texas A&M University has sparked the ire of student activists.
But some Texas lawmakers have applauded his decision to cancel the event that had been planned for March 31.
University president Walter Wendler addressed the controversy on March 20 in a lengthy letter to staff, faculty, and students of the college in conservative West Texas, near Amarillo.
Wendler’s letter, titled “A harmless drag show, no such thing,” said the event, planned by a student group as a fund raiser for The Trevor Project, wouldn’t be allowed.
Wendler said in the letter that, while he supported The Trevor Project goal of raising money for suicide prevention in the LGBT community, a drag performance isn’t a good way.
“As a performance exaggerating aspects of womanhood (sexuality, femininity, gender), drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against women,” Wendler wrote.
“Drag shows are derisive, divisive, and demoralizing misogyny, no matter the stated intent,” he wrote. “As university president, I would not support ‘blackface’ performances on our campus, even if told the performance is a form of free speech or intended as humor.”
“Demeaning any demeans all.”
Wendler identified himself as a Christian, saying the university seeks to treat everyone equally and respectfully.
“Ideas, not ideology, are the coin of our realm,” he wrote.
The state of Texas charged the university to treat each individual fairly and evaluate students based on achievement and capability, he continued. Also, the campus is a workplace where harassment is inappropriate, even when it comes to actions people may view as humor or art.
“Mocking or objectifying in any way members of any group based on appearance, bias or predisposition is unacceptable,” he wrote.
‘Free Speech’ Fight
Wendler’s stance is rare in the age of “woke” universities, where many top-level administrators remain silent or come out in support of left-wing ideology, embracing LGBT issues and critical race theory (CRT).
CRT embraces the idea of “systemic racism” and divides people into groups of “oppressors” and “victims” based on race, gender, sexual orientation and others. The ideology often is embedded in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies at schools and the workplace.
Earlier this month in New Haven, Connecticut, the co-chairman of DEI at the Graduate School Senate at Yale University welcomed a drag performer on campus for a book reading, according to the LGBT publication Pride.
One of the books read aloud was George Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” which has been banned from many school libraries because of its explicit content, Pride reported.
But Wendler’s decision may put him in the middle of a fight with those who would consider it a breach of free speech rights for students.
The cancellation prompted a letter from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), demanding that he reverse his decision. The foundation litigates free speech issues on college campuses.
The group’s letter said that Wendler’s opinion doesn’t negate the students’ right to “free speech.” So the drag performance should be allowed, the foundation argued.
Wendler should be admired for standing for what he believes is right—but the university president still could find himself facing difficult free speech issues, said Jonathan Hullihan, an attorney and Texas director of legal operations for County Citizens Defending Freedom-USA.
In 2019, the Texas Legislature passed SB 18, which protects campus expressive activities.
However, if the drag show is considered obscene, it could be a type of speech not protected under the U.S. Constitution, Hullihan said.
And if the event is held on campus and security is needed, West Texas A&M could pass along the cost as a fee to the event organizers, he said.
Regardless of the outcome, conservative parents likely will scramble to send their students to West Texas A&M, simply because it isn’t “woke,” Hullihan said.
Petitions and Protests
Meanwhile, the drag show cancellation evoked cries for petitions and protests from university students and LGBT supporters.
The Open and Affirming Congregations of the Texas Panhandle, which bills itself as supporting LGBT people of faith, called for community members to participate with student protests and sign a petition to save the drag show.
Activists at the Amarillo Area Transgender Advocacy Group (AATAG) pleaded on its website for people to join a protest held daily at the campus.
One post on the AATAG site called the university president’s letter “bizarre” and praised the group for offering the students an alternate location.
An Amarillo newspaper reported that about 50 students and activists chanted as they marched around a campus fountain holding signs with slogans such as “We’re here. We’re queer. We won’t disappear.”
Conservative Texas lawmakers, responding to an Epoch Times request for comment, offered encouragement for Wendler. Also praising his efforts were the Young Conservatives of Texas, who launched a counter-petition and posted Wendler’s letter.
‘Woke’ on Campus
Though considered a red state, Texas has been plagued with “woke” ideologies on its campuses. Many say the DEI policies are divisive, push harmful gender ideology, and promote discrimination against whites and others.
People in favor of DEI policies say they’re helping right wrongs committed over hundreds of years.
Conservative lawmakers are in Austin working on legislation that would force entities that allow drag queen shows to register as sexually oriented businesses. State Rep. Steve Toth introduced a bill enabling children and their parents to sue drag performers, if a child is in the audience.
“Finally, a Texas Higher Education leader found their spine,” Toth said in a text message to The Epoch Times. “Yes, in Texas, we believe that real feminism is more than a costume worn by confused men.”
Republican state Reps. Matt Shaheen and Briscoe Cain also supported the university president.
“The West Texas A&M University President is to be applauded for his common sense actions that support females against divisive, anti-women events,” Shaheen wrote in a text message to The Epoch Times.
“I will help him in any way I can,” Cain said. In a text message, he wrote he was grateful for Wendler’s leadership in canceling the drag show on campus.
Wendler did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
