During a hearing on Capitol Hill, Republican Representative Nancy Mace claimed that images of drag queens in museums could lead to children being raped. On Tuesday, Mace specifically criticized that photos of RuPaul and other drag queens were on display at the National Museum of American History in New York.
“RuPaul is a man who dresses as a woman, in the literal sense,” the Republican from the conservative state of South Carolina exclaimed during questioning of the director of the criticized history museum. “Do you know how many children in this country are raped by adults?” she asked, without waiting for a reply. She continued: “To put that kind of crap in front of children sexualizes them. It makes them vulnerable to people who want to rape or abuse them.”
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The charge of sexualizing children with drag queens has spread to Germany as well: in particular, the AfD is rallying against the “drag queen swamp” (TheColu.mn reported). Some politicians from the CDU, CSU, and SPD have aligned themselves with this line.
RuPaul Charles is the world’s best-known drag queen today. In the 1990s, RuPaul became a nationally recognized figure in the United States when VH-1 launched “The RuPaul Show” in 1996, a talk show with guests such as Cher, Bea Arthur, Dionne Warwick, Cyndi Lauper, or Olivia Newton-John. Worldwide fame came with the reality show “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which began in 2009. The series has since become one of the most awarded shows — it has earned 29 Primetime Emmy Awards alone.
Republicans push for “patriotic” historiography without slavery and queer people
The Republicans are currently targeting the Smithsonian Institution — the largely publicly funded network of museums, research facilities and libraries — which also runs the New Yorker History Museum. The background is a fundamental dispute over who gets to interpret American history. Trump and others accuse the institution of promoting a “woke ideology” and engaging in historical revisionism.
The White House issued decrees to remove allegedly “anti-American” or “divisive” content from Smithsonian institutions and shift the emphasis toward traditional achievements. Republicans accuse the museums of portraying the United States primarily as a country built on slavery, oppression, and systemic racism. Instead, they demand a “patriotic education” that foregrounds white founding fathers, freedom, and the nation’s historical progress. The history of the oppression of Black people or the fight by queer people for equal rights would have no place in this narrative. Since taking office, the Trump administration has been particularly aggressive in rhetoric against drag queens and transgender people.
The Smithsonian, in response to the accusations, stressed that the history of slavery is not a marginal topic but a central foundation of U.S. history. It also views the history of queer people as an integral, indispensable part of America’s national history. The goal is for every American to see themselves reflected and represented in the national museums.
