Why Children Should Never Be at Drag Shows

Children at drag shows should never be normalized, and the fact that this has become a national debate tells us how disoriented our culture has become.

I lived in the gay scene for many years in my twenties and thirties. I attended drag shows. I am not speaking from theory or assumption. I am speaking from experience. Drag shows are adult entertainment. They are intentionally provocative. Sexual innuendo is central. Exaggerated sexuality is the point.

They were never designed for children, and pretending otherwise is dishonest.

What makes this issue even more disturbing is that when Florida attempted to protect minors from these environments, a federal district court stepped in and blocked the state from enforcing that protection. That should alarm Christians and non Christians alike. According to recent reporting that a federal appeals court allowed Florida to resume enforcement of its law protecting minors, the state is now temporarily permitted to do what never should have been stopped in the first place.

Featured Snippet Takeaway:
Allowing children at drag shows is a moral failure, and any court that prevents states from protecting minors has lost sight of its duty to defend the innocent.

Why children at drag shows is a line that should never be crossed

This is where my lived experience matters.

Drag shows rely on adult humor, sexual suggestion, and exaggerated sexual expression. Audience interaction often crosses lines that no child should witness. These performances exist to shock, entertain, and push boundaries. That is why adults attend them.

They also almost always take place in environments where alcohol is present.

Drag shows are routinely hosted in bars or clubs built around drinking. Alcohol is not incidental to the atmosphere. It is part of the environment. That alone should disqualify these spaces from being considered appropriate for children.

I do not believe children belong in any bar, regardless of the theme or performance. We already recognize that bars are adult spaces because they normalize behavior and substances meant for adults. That standard should not suddenly disappear because the event has been rebranded as inclusive or expressive.

There is no legitimate reason to expose children to sexualized adult entertainment or adult drinking environments.

We already understand this principle when it comes to strip clubs, burlesque shows, and adult cabaret. Drag performances fall into that same category. The only difference is that cultural pressure has relabeled them in softer language to make people feel comfortable ignoring reality.

Changing language does not change content.

The court decision exposed a deeper moral sickness

When a federal court blocks a state from enforcing laws meant to protect minors, it is not acting neutrally. It is choosing ideology over innocence.

This was never about banning adults from attending performances. Adults remain free to make adult choices. This was about whether children should be allowed in environments that are overtly sexualized and centered around adult behavior. Christian media has been warning about this for years, including Christian Post’s coverage documenting laws aimed at protecting minors from sexualized drag performances.

From a Christian perspective, this should not even be controversial.

Scripture consistently places responsibility on parents and governing authorities to protect children. Jesus gave severe warnings about causing little ones to stumble. Government exists to restrain evil and promote good, not to facilitate exposure to harmful environments.

Blocking child protection is not compassion, it is negligence.

The fact that judges even entertained the idea that protecting minors might violate free expression tells us how deeply confused our moral priorities have become. This is exactly why laws matter to Christians when moral boundaries are under attack, especially when courts attempt to override them.

This is not hatred, it is protection

Saying children should not attend drag shows is not hateful. It is not anti anyone. It is pro child.

Adults can live how they choose. Children cannot consent to ideological exposure, sexualized performances, or adult drinking environments. They rely on adults to protect them.

A society that insists on inserting children into adult spaces is not educating them. It is indoctrinating them. If these performances were truly harmless, there would be no urgency to involve minors at all.

The push to normalize this reveals the agenda behind it.

Children should never be used to validate adult identities or ideologies.

Christians should speak clearly and without apology

Christians should not whisper about this issue. We should not soften it to avoid backlash. We should not apologize for drawing boundaries that protect the innocent.

Protecting children from sexualized environments and adult venues is not extreme. It is basic moral responsibility. Even partial restraint is better than none, and believers should support any effort that moves us closer to sanity. This conviction flows directly from a biblical rejection of cultural relativism when it collides with moral truth.

The real scandal is not that Florida tried to protect minors. The real scandal is that it had to fight federal courts to do so.

A culture that debates whether children at drag shows belong there has already lost its moral compass. Christians must be willing to say that plainly, with conviction and clarity.

Arch Kennedy
Bold, Unfiltered, and Unafraid

Watch my full commentary below: