The president of West Texas A&M University has canceled a student drag show after accusing the performances of mocking women and exhibiting “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny.”
Walter Wendler said that drag shows “stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood,” in an email to students and staff on Tuesday.
“Does a drag show preserve a single thread of human dignity? I think not,” he wrote.
He went on to claim that drag shows go against the university’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,” he wrote. “A person or group should not attempt to elevate itself or a cause by mocking another person or group.”
In his email to campus, Wendler admits that the show’s plan to raise money for The Trevor Project is “a noble cause,” but suggests students “skip the show and send the dough” to the organization instead.
Wendler also argued in his letter that the student’s planned drag show would violate the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s purpose since he considers West Texas A&M’s campus a workplace.
But students railed against Wendler’s views, with some arguing the cancellation violates their free speech and grossly misinterprets drag as a performance art.
More than 7,000 people have signed an online petition started to try and save the show, which would’ve donated all of its proceeds to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention in LGBTQ youth.
The petition blasts Wendler for citing his own personal religious beliefs as reasons to cancel the show at a public, non-religiously affiliated university and for comparing drag to blackface and other derogatory works.
“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,” the petition reads.
The petition also argues that Wendler is violating West Texas A&M University’s own policy, which says the university may not take action against a student organization on the basis of religion.
Students have protested the last-minute change outside the Student Union all week, KAMR Local News 4 reported.
President of the Hispanic Student Association Juan Aguinaga told the outlet, “It’s just concerning because the drag show was meant to be for the Trevor Project, which is an organization dealing with the prevention of suicide amongst LGBTQ teens and young adults.”
“It’s just really disheartening to know the basis is in his email, against drag is a threat against womanhood, and he links it towards blackface. So, I don’t really get the point he’s trying to make,” Aguinaga said.
But some students said they supported Wendler’s decision because of their own religious beliefs.
“I’m a Christian myself, I live in the word, and it says that in Leviticus, that they will not enter the kingdom of heaven if they continue to their ways, and I feel bad for them,” Zach Byrd said. “I want them to be with me as I enter into the into heavens. They’re my brothers and sisters, and they are not doing well. They are going to die, that hurts me, because those are Jesus’ kids.”
Kolt Anderson said the university was right in not allowing the event because it’s “not really professional.”
“I know people like me, who think it’s stupid that they’re doing this, and it’s kind of a joke to us,” Anderson said. “A lot of us just see that people are embarrassing the campus as a whole.”