Governor who dressed in drag backs Tennessee anti-drag bill

Tennessee's governor says he will sign a bill targeting drag performances as a decades-old photo emerged of him wearing women's clothing.

The statute would be the first of its type to be enacted after a recent flurry of similar laws proposed in Republican-run states.

Violators could face nearly a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

Governor Bill Lee rejects allegations he is being hypocritical by backing the bill.

A photo posted over the weekend on Reddit showed a yearbook photo from 1977. In it, Lee is wearing a cheerleader's uniform, curly wig and a pearl necklace.

The Republican governor was asked about the photo earlier this week during a press conference.

"What a ridiculous, ridiculous question that is," he responded. "Conflating something like that to sexualised entertainment in front of children, which is a very serious subject."

His office later issued a statement: "The bill specifically protects children from obscene, sexualised entertainment, and any attempt to conflate this serious issue with light-hearted school traditions is dishonest and disrespectful to Tennessee families."

What exactly the bill will stop is still unclear.

As currently written, the law would ban performances "harmful to minors" by "go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators" in places where they could be viewed by children.

One of the bill's sponsors, state Representative Chris Todd, previously called drag shows "child abuse" no matter what they contain, according to the Tennessean newspaper.

But other Republicans say the law would not broadly affect drag shows that are legal under Tennessee's existing laws on obscenity.

Opponents of the law, which include the state legislature's Democrats, argue that sexualised performances in front of children are already illegal under Tennessee law.

After Mr Lee signs the law, it will come into force on 1 April 2023.

LGBT groups worry about the chilling effect of another measure Mr Lee pledged to sign that will restrict gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

Gender-affirming health care includes a broad spectrum of measures from therapy and counselling to hormone treatment and surgery.

"The legislature is taking life-saving healthcare options away from transgender youth and their families and ignoring the First Amendment," which guarantees free speech, says Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project.

"By passing [the bill], the Tennessee legislature has done nothing but spread hate, misinformation, and extremism," said Sarah Warbelow, legal director of the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ advocacy group.

"Prejudice-inspired bills only rile up an extremist base and normalise violence against the LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender and nonbinary people," she said.

Bills to restrict drag events have been introduced in recent months in at least 14 states, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.

Drag performances at libraries have been the target of protests by religious organisations, right-wing groups, and extremists including the Proud Boys who say such shows are grooming or sexualising young children.

Performers and LGBTQ groups reject those allegations, saying the events are age-appropriate and educate children about being different.