Drag and cross-dressing have been a part of British cultural expression for centuries. From Shakespeare plays to pantomime dames, and the late Barry Humphries’ creation Dame Edna Everage; playing with representations of gender in all its forms has long been widely enjoyed by audiences. Drag shows are a modern expression of this tradition, which is now being threatened by a coordinated campaign to silence it.
More than 50 family drag events in the UK were targeted by protesters from June last year to this May, according to data gathered by our researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). Ten shows were cancelled or postponed before they even took place. At the ones that did go ahead, small groups (rarely more than 12) using abusive and confrontational tactics routinely accused parents who were taking their children to the events of supporting paedophilia, or threatened to perform “citizen’s arrests” on the drag queens performing at them. Clashes between protesters and counter protesters or police broke out at a number of them.
The groups spearheading this campaign often have ties to white supremacist movements or far-right extremism and have appropriated for political aims legitimate discussions about what is suitable entertainment and education for children, and at what age. They push a “groomer” narrative, reviving a decades-old attempt to baselessly associate the LGBTQ+ community with paedophilia.
But why now? The extraordinary success of anti-LGBTQ+ narratives and action in the US is providing a febrile backdrop to the UK protests. Last year, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, signed the “Stop Woke” Act, which prevents schools from discussing racism, oppression and LGBTQ+ issues in the classroom. Book bans are also proliferating due to organised far-right efforts to limit access to material with LGBTQ+ and black characters.
Previous analysis by our researchers found US groups had an outsized influence on internet subcultures and activism in many parts of the world. And our latest research confirms this – British anti-drag protesters are repurposing rhetoric and actions spearheaded by US-based extremist groups. In the UK’s anti-drag movement, American actors are approvingly cited by groups in Telegram channels who are inspired by their narrative of pushing back against “grooming” and “queer ideology”.
Beyond the expected far-right extremists, a surprising and diverse range of UK groups are joining forces over a shared aim. Covid deniers, “sovereign citizens” (who believe the UK is not a legitimate state) and various other conspiracy theorists all sought to have drag events cancelled last year.
This mirrors trends in the US, where, in the same period, our researchers found 203 events had been targeted by groups that included far-right extremists, neo-Nazis, parents’ rights groupswho oppose inclusive sex education and promote book bans, Covid sceptics, Christian nationalists and anti-LGBTQ+ groups.
One US anti-drag protest in December 2022 hosted by the self-described “parents’ rights” group Protect Texas Kids was attended by the far-right extremist group Proud Boys, the neo-Nazi Aryan Freedom Network, various Christian nationalist groups, the pro-gun group Open Carry Texas, and white nationalist Groypers. Law enforcement had to intervene to prevent violence.
Alliances of convenience of this kind already seen in the US are now appearing more frequently in the UK and further afield to protest about a range of issues. In the UK, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands, Covid-related activism involved groups with profound ideological differences – from 5G conspiracy theorists, to white supremacists, to sovereign citizens – aligning to agitate against public health measures, which they viewed as an unacceptable incursion on their freedoms by an authoritarian state. Our research showed that Covid conspiracists and white nationalists – who at face value have little in common – organised to protest against Drag Queen Story Hour together, including in Brighton and Leeds in August 2022.
British protesters’ increasing use of intimidation and harassment tactics, mirroring US movements, in their attempts to stop these all-ages drag events have resulted in real harms to people. One drag performer told a court that he had lost work, received death threats and been targeted by “paedophile hunters” after being portrayed as a “groomer” online.
Families attending drag shows in the UK have had abuse hurled at them by protesters. Last year, protesters from the sovereign citizens movement attempted to perform a citizen’s arrest of a drag performer at a library in Reading. Elsewhere, staff at libraries hosting drag events received coordinated abusive phone calls and emails, according to our research, and white nationalist groups such as Patriotic Alternative carried out leafleting campaigns equating drag shows with child abuse.
In the US, attempts to silence have gone even further. In November 2021, five people were killed in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado. In April 2023, a “White Lives Matter” member used molotov cocktails in an attempt to burn an Ohio church to the ground after learning of its plans to host multiple drag events.
In 2021, anti-LGBTQ+ crimes surged by 70% in the US, according to FBI figures. In the UK, the latest Home Office data shows annual increases of 41% in hate crimes targeting people on the basis of sexual orientation, and 56% in those targeting people on the basis of their gender identity.
Public debate about what is appropriate entertainment for children, and at what ages, is absolutely legitimate and deserves a fair hearing. But these tactics only serve to undermine that discussion, with chilling consequences for free expression and create fertile ground for a potential uptick in violence.
Allowing groups to weaponise hate against vulnerable communities unchallenged could have far reaching consequences for human rights and public safety. We must create spaces in which civil debate and challenge can flourish without being hijacked by fringe groups. Governments, especially at the local level, must seek to protect the rights of those who are under attack and build resilience to campaigns that undermine their humanity. There is still time for Britain to wake up to this direction of travel, before the situation worsens in the way it has in the US.
