HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — You can usually find Brianna Summers performing around Tampa Bay.
"This is an art form. And we are expressing ourselves in an artistic way," she said.
Summers is talking about drag. She puts on her makeup, wig, and clothes to perform during the day or night.
"It's my life. Not only one as my income, this is what I do for my job. And it took a long time for me to get here to feel comfortable to be a strictly drag entertainer," she added.
But a bill introduced in the Florida legislature could make it harder to do her job.
House Bill 1432, titled "Protection of Children," seeks to allow the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to fine, suspend, or strip a business license for any venue that will enable children inside an "adult live performance."
The bill says a violation "constitutes immediate, serious danger to public health, safety, or welfare;"
The first violation could result in a $5,000 fine for the business—the fine doubles after the first violation.
It defines "live adult entertainment" as: "any show, exhibition, or other presentation in front of a live audience which, in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, specific sexual activities as those terms are defined in s. 847.001, lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts when it:
- Predominantly appeals to a prurient, shameful, or morbid interest;
- Is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community of this state as a whole with respect to what is suitable material or conduct for the age of the child present; and
- Taken as a whole, is without serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for the age of the child present.
The bill says ignorance of a child's age, a child's misrepresentation of their age, or a bona fide belief of a child's consent may not be raised as a defense in a prosecution for violating this section.
"I feel like right now we're a target. And it's because there are people that do not know what we do; maybe they've seen something on the internet that was pointed out specifically. But as a whole, we're here for the community; we're not here to endanger anybody," Summers said.
If the bill is passed, it will impact businesses like Mixers at Old Key West on St. Pete's Central Avenue.
Mixers regularly host drag shows. However, owner Haley Martz says seeing a child in the audience is rare.
"The parents always step aside, ask us, 'Hey, do you care?' and I say, 'You are the parent; if you are okay with them being here, I'm okay with them being here. That's totally up to you and your parenting."
Summers says she acts accordingly when she's performing and spots a child in the crowd.
"If there is a child in the audience, I really do censor my show," Summers said.
However, Tampa Bay Young Republicans Executive Director Kyle Hoffman believes there's never a place for children during drag shows.
"It's meant for shock and awe. You know, if you've ever been to one of these things, the goal of these shows is to say very raunchy things. I don't really know why parents would want to expose their children to these types of things. I mean, kids aren't allowed to go to strip clubs. These are the kinds of things that we're trying to prevent," Hoffman said.
When asked how the bill would impact children visiting a place like Hooter's or Twin Peaks, Hoffman said the difference lies in the content of the visit.
"I've gone to Hamburger Mary's and seen their drag shows before. They're meant for adults, right? You know, if you go to Hooters or Twin Peaks, they're not twerking in thongs or anything like that for children. They're serving food. It's a big difference," Hoffman said.
To performer Angelique Young, she wants people to realize that not all drag shows are created equal.
"We use drag as an expression of one's self-creativity. So the same way, you would walk into an art museum, and you would not judge a Picasso versus a Rembrandt versus any other artist. You see it, you like it or it is not for you. It's art, and that's the beauty of art. It is something that is transcendent of multiple people in multiple life, size, and centuries of different things, you know,"
Young, Summers, other drag queens and supporters are teaming up to fight against limiting drag shows.
"I've been doing drag for 17 years. I've worked for different governors and mayors and city officials and other states as an impersonator for different types of showcases, so to be in Florida now at the 2023 mark period, to find out that people are so against us," Young said. "Florida is definitely trying to take steps backwards. Considering we have done so much for our communities and our communities recognize this."
But the community is finding support. Within days, drag queens throughout Tampa came together to fundraise. A quick turnaround, putting together a show featuring 14 performers in just a couple of days, yielded big support for them.
"We were like rushing to do this, and when people heard what we were doing, they jumped to this, so we knew we were going to get support, but to say literally, $2,500 before we even started the benefit, and then to hit $5,000 at the end of the benefit. That's literally $5,000 in 48 hours," she said. "That wasn't something I could have ever hoped for. I would have been happy with a $100."
That money will help the drag performer travel to Tallahassee during the legislative session. It's not just the travel costs but makes up for the money they'll lose as they fight to keep their jobs.
"Our job is to go out as much as we can and really let them see us, and not only the marching and the protesting aspect, but see us front and center in the lobbying situation," she added.
They want to make their message clear.
"For them to base this all on one incident and one city and try to take it out completely as if we're all the same is absolutely ridiculous. If that was the case, then all senators and all politicians should be gone because one liar means they all lie," said Young.
While business owners like Martz are doing what they can to help. Another fundraiser is planned for April 9th at Mixers. She told some of the local performers:
"I see everything that's going on; you guys are always there for us, you always support us, we always have a welcoming place for you to come. And I want to be able to host that for you guys and do what you need to do for this fundraiser," she said.
