Drag queen discusses importance of drag events

By Francisco Omar Fernandez Rodriguez Arts & Features Editor Arts & Ideas hosted “More Than Glitter and a Good Time: Drag and Community Building” Oct. 8 in the Alumni Room. Xavier Guadalupe-Diaz, professor of criminology, introduced Marc Settembrino, also known on stage as drag queen Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews, as a community builder who works in both scholarship and drag. At Southeastern Louisiana University, Settembrino teaches courses on social movements and focuses on issues of inclusion and justice, Guadalupe-Diaz said. He added Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews is known for her “colorful and unapologetically political performances that embrace drag as a tool for resistance, joy, and solidarity.” Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews said, typically, when people think of drag, they tend to think of female impersonation, but she sees it as a “queer art form that invites both performances and critiques of femininity and masculinity, and even brings in more expansive gender expression.” She said since 2002 there has been a “proxy war” against trans people primarily fought in the South and Southeastern states through bills targeting drag. Some states approached drag as adult entertainment, such as a strip club, she added. The bills often targeted anyone dressing in a way that’s not expected for their assigned gender, meaning it would affect more than just drag queens but also trans people and others who wear that kind of clothing, she said. The Texas A&M University system tried to ban drag shows, arguing that they’re not appropriate for college campuses, she said. But the courts decided that infringes on students’ free speech rights, so it’s technically allowed, she added. However, a faculty member at Texas A&M was fired for teaching about trans people in a children’s literature course, she said. She said as a college professor “living in Louisiana, very close to Texas, it’s a bit scary for me in that sense.” Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews is from Hammond, Louisiana, a small town, and it’s where she started doing drag performances as an act against political hostility toward the LGBTQ+ community, she said. “I decided to start doing drag to push back against these fascist policies and also to begin building community where I live,” she said. She’s the advisor of her campus’ LGBTQ+ organization, so she decided to reserve space for a sexual health drag show, to which over 300 students showed up, she said. A few weeks after graduation they held a drag show to celebrate, she added. She performed along with other entertainers. To get the students involved, they held a costume contest and walk-off, which 70 students took part in, she said. To her, it was obvious why having drag shows on campus was important, she said. The students were showing up and having a good time. But at a conservative institution, she got questions from colleagues and the provost about why the shows were necessary and if they should be done, Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews said. She said their university assumes their students are straight and they don’t have much responsibility to help them. She added because of this environment, it’s not uncommon for students to transfer out so they can feel safe and express themselves. As a professor, she teaches courses on sexuality and social movements, and in the current political environment it leads to situations where she’s not sure if she’s allowed to be teaching it, she said. One of the main reasons for campus drag shows is that they’re fun, she said. “That’s listed first because I think we often don’t associate fun with learning. And I think we need to acknowledge that fun is a big part of what we do as human beings,” Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews said. But they also foster inclusion and provide a space for self-expression and community building, she said. Her campus gets visited by the Consuming Fire Fellowship two or three times a semester, which stages mass demonstrations that harm the university’s LGBTQ+ community, she added. “They’re attacking right to choose. They’re attacking queer people. They’re attacking trans people as well. This is a big point of contention on our campus,” Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews said. Some students have been physically assaulted during these visits, she said. Louisiana state law requires their university to allow any organization to exercise their free speech rights, she said. “Whether or not it’s hate speech is another conversation,” she said. Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews was invited to join the board of Queer Northshore, a regional LGBTQ+ organization in Louisiana, she said. She was involved in planning their first Pride parade, which took place in 2024, she added. At the parade, there were religious protestors, which Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews took several pictures with, she said. She was frequently thanked throughout the parade, she added. “They never expected to see Pride here … It was families, it was queer teenagers, it was elders,” Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews said. They later hosted a Drag Bingo, where over 200 people showed up, she added. They have continued hosting Bingos since then. They always feel like intimate family events where people are able to be themselves, she said. When planning the event in 2025, they decided on the theme “Protesting with Pride,” she said. There was instant backlash, both within and out of the community. They were told they were being divisive, she added. “We weren’t being divisive. What they actually meant to say but they would never say is that we were going to make conservatives uncomfortable,” Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews said. These people were uncomfortable with queer people regardless of if they’re protesting or hiding, she said. She added Pride has always been political, and protests don’t need to be as scary as our American culture makes it feel. “Showing up as your full, most joyful, unapologetically queer self is the protest,” Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews said. Drag can be a tool for fighting fascism, she said. “The very nature of fascism seeks to control and presents a very narrow version of the world that everyone must comply with. Drag queens say ‘f**k you, right?’” Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews said. Living in a red state as an LGBTQ+ person is challenging, particularly when it feels as though everyone hates you, she added. People who aren’t drag queens can still help by showing up to LGBTQ+ events in their communities, she said. It can be difficult to organize events if people don’t show up, she added.