A prominent LGBT group warned this week that “dragphobia” is on the rise in the U.S. as public outcry continues to grow against drag shows in public places that allow children in the audience.
“There is clear and present danger against our community and threats… we really haven’t seen it at this level in over a decade, if ever,” GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said on the “Takeaway” podcast this week in a conversation the group posted on Twitter.
“Dragphobia is on the Rise,” the Twitter post said.
Ellis explained that politicians have been “targeting” LGBT groups with legislation since the beginning of the year and cited “vile rhetoric that we’re seeing that’s amplified on right-wing media and spread across extremist social media sites.”
Drag queen “Pickle” reads from a book during the Drag Queen Story Hour program at the West Valley Regional Branch Library in Los Angeles on July 26, 2019.
(David McNew/Getty Images)
“There’s a real threat against our community right now,” Ellis said.
The Twitter post received criticism from conservatives on social media, including from users who have spoken out against drag shows that perform with kids in the audience, which many have argued contributes to the sexualization of children.
“Wanting to shield children from sexual adult entertainment, whose stated goal is to encourage queerness, is now called ‘dragphobia,'” the popular conservative Twitter account Libs of TikTok posted. “They can make up whatever terms they want and call us all kinds of names but that doesn’t change the fact that drag isn’t appropriate for kids.”
Drag queens Athena Kills, center, and Scalene Onixxx arrive to awaiting adults and children for Drag Queen Story Hour at Cellar Door Books in Riverside, California.
(Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
“Sooo…the groomers are calling anti-groomers ‘dragphobes’ now… got it,” conservative comedian Tim Young posted.
“And with that, drag queens have officially become their very own identity group,” conservative author and commentator Matt Walsh tweeted. “Next they will add it to the LGBT acronym and give them their own color on the flag.”
Drag queen story hours and other drag events involving children have become a point of contention for parents across the country, with many conservatives arguing kids shouldn’t be in the audience at such events due to their sexually explicit nature.
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Drag queen performer Marti Cummings gives a talk in Massachusetts in 2019.
(TEDx Talks/YouTube/Video Screenshot)
GLAAD did not respond to request for comment from Fox News Digital by time of publication.
