The student drag show at West Texas A&M University has been canceled by the school’s president, Walter Wendler after he claimed the show’s performances mock women and expresses
“derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny,”
reports the New York Post.
The president wrote in an email to students that the drag show
“stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminates against womanhood.”
He went on to write,
“Does a drag show preserve a single thread of human dignity? I think not.”
He added that the show doesn’t align with the school’s mission to
“treat all people equally.”
“Drag shows are derisive, divisive, and demoralizing misogyny, no matter the stated intent. Such conduct runs counter to the purpose of WT. A person or group should not attempt to elevate itself or a cause by mocking another person or group,”
Wendler said.
Although he admitted that the show’s effort to raise money for the Trevor Project was respectable, Wendler suggested that students donate to them instead. He added that the drag shows violate the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s purpose.
However, students combated against the president’s opinions as some pupils said it goes against their freedom of speech. Over 7,000 students have signed an online petition to save the drag shows.
“Not only is this a gross and abhorrent comparison of two completely different topics, but it is also an extremely distorted and incorrect definition of drag as a culture and form of performance art,”
said the petition.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
