The future of Pride celebrations in Tennessee is uncertain. Summer festivals, drag shows and book displays celebrating LGBTQ Tennesseans have faced pushback throughout the state.
In Middle Tennessee, the organizers of Murfreesboro’s Pride have been told that their permit requests for future events will be denied.
Rutherford County native River is one of the organizers. They’ve requested WPLN only use their first name out of concerns for their safety.
“It’s been nothing short of devastating,” River says. “I’ve lived here my entire life. I first stumbled upon Pride the first year it happened, and I didn’t even know that there were this many queer people in Murfreesboro, let alone enough to have a Pride event. Seeing the younger, queer kids being told that their community isn’t allowed to be celebrated here has been really tough on them.”
River says BoroPride is still trying to move forward with next year’s Pride, but they have yet to hear back on their permit requests.
Pride events in Chattanooga and Jackson City have come under similar threats from their city governments who have taken issue with family-friendly drag shows.
“I could be lip-synching to the song ‘The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round,‘ and they will say it is a perversion and that it is indoctrinating children,” Nashville drag queen Veronika Electronika tells WPLN’s daily show, This Is Nashville. “But they will allow their kids to go to a major league sports game and watch a Titans cheerleader in booty shorts and a crop top jump and gyrate all over the stage in front of thousands of kids and not say a thing.”
In the statehouse, one of the first bills proposed for the upcoming legislative session would make it a felony for adult cabaret performances, including drag shows, to be performed on public property or in front of minors.
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