The president of Chattanooga Pride, an LGBT nonprofit in the Scenic City, said it is considering updating its guidelines for drag events after a weekend event at a brewery spawned a public relations nightmare for the organization.
Noah Corbin told The Tennessee Star in a wide-ranging interview Tuesday that the group is considering ways to alert audiences about the more provocative events that the group hosts.
Chattanooga Pride faced a firestorm after a video showed a child touching the crotch of a Chattanooga Princess Parties performer dressed in a mermaid costume at an event hosted at Wanderling Brewing Company.
Initially, Chris Dial, who owns the brewery, told The Star that the Chattanooga Princess Parties “was hired to support the rest of the show.”
He backtracked Tuesday after Chattanooga Princess Parties clarified that it was hired to perform completely separately from the “family friendly” drag show, at a different time.
Corbin told The Star that the group would consider adding more rules to their drag performances, intended to clarify for audiences how provocative shows might be. He said the group will consider banning some dance moves, as well as adding a movie-style rating system, like “PG-13” or “R” to performances.
Corbin said the group currently does have rules for its shows.
Those rules include no obscene lyrics in the music played, no vulgar gestures, no thong-style leotards or dress, no revealing tops, and no striptease.
Noting that the group also hosts more benign community events, he also said that ultimately, it is up to the audiences to decide what is appropriate for children to view.
Asked why drag queens might need an audience of children, Corbin says he has never met a drag queen who has needed to perform for children, but sometimes it happens.
There was another high-profile drag show set to be hosted at the Memphis Museum of History and Science last week, but that event was canceled at the last minute when protestors showed up.
The Star asked Corbin if there is a coordinated effort among Pride groups in Tennessee to host such shows.
He said there is no coordination and that each group operates independently.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Drag Queen” by cottonbro.
