美国国家公共电台 NPR--Why lawmakers in Idaho want to ban public drag shows

Why lawmakers in Idaho want to ban public drag shows

Transcript¹

While Democrats² held off huge Republican gains in the midterm elections, some states swung further to the right. Idaho is set to consider a bill banning public drag shows.

DWANE BROWN, HOST:

While Democrats nationally fended³ off huge Republican gains, it's a very different story in some statehouses. Idaho, for instance, moved even more to the right. Lawmakers there convening⁴ today will consider a bill backed by conservatives that would ban public drag shows. NPR's Kirk Siegler is in Boise.

KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE⁵: A short walk from the Idaho statehouse in one of the nation's most far right controlled states, there's a large, popular queer nightclub. The Balcony, in the heart of Boise's downtown entertainment district, is if nothing else, a symbolic⁶ sign in a corner of the country not long ago labeled the hate state.

DUGAN JACKMAN: And it is funny because everyone has their idea of Idaho. And there is - it is that way to a point.

SIEGLER: The club's event director, Dugan Jackman, says Idaho - mostly its liberal-leaning and fast-growing capital city - has come a long way on LGBT rights.

JACKMAN: When I first moved here, I was scared to walk down the street with my husband holding his hand. And now I don't really give a [expletive]. I don't care who sees me hold my husband's hand. I don't see - who sees me wear nail polish or who knows that I'm queer.

SIEGLER: As in recent years, last summer, Boise's Pride festival drew thousands of people, with hometown companies like Albertsons, Simplot and Boise Cascade⁷ as major corporate⁸ sponsors. But this is a divided America. And in Idaho, there was backlash.

(SOUNDBITE OF CARS DRIVING)

SIEGLER: A short drive into the suburbs is the Idaho Family Policy Center, run by Blaine Conzatti from inside a small evangelical church. The 31-year-old was aghast to learn that recent Pride schedule included a drag and lip sync show with kids, supervised by parents.

BLAINE CONZATTI: You know, this was a huge wake-up call, I think, to many families throughout the state that in our public parks, this type of, you know, deviant sexual behavior is being peddled⁹ to our kids. And through that, our kids are being sexualized.

SIEGLER: In Boise, the state GOP pressured businesses to pull out of Pride. Most didn't, but the kids' event was still canceled. Now Conzatti wants the legislature to ban all public drag shows. And with conservative Republicans holding a supermajority here, there's a chance they will.

CONZATTI: When you realize that drag is inherently sexual to begin with - you have a biological male who's impersonating the sexual characteristics of a woman, doing provocative¹⁰ dancing, you know, simulating masturbation and grabbing their genitals.

SIEGLER: Thirty-year-old drag performer Frida Nightz says Conzatti doesn't know what he's talking about.

FRIDA NIGHTZ: It's ignorance.

SIEGLER: Nightz is a stage name. We're not using her real name because she's concerned about repercussions¹¹.

NIGHTZ: People just coming and, you know, just attacking us and not really knowing what we're doing.

SIEGLER: She's a former Boise State University cheerleader who grew up in Idaho when being gay mostly meant staying underground. She says drag is about art and hope and performances in a public park or a family-friendly event in a library are intended to show kids from small towns especially that it's OK to be different. Twenty-one-and-up shows are geared to adults.

NIGHTZ: You know, they're like, OK, let's hit them here. This might be, you know, a way to try to sort of eliminate them. And it's just awful.

SIEGLER: If Idaho's bill passes, shows at the Balcony Club will go on. It's a private business. But people here are worried they could be the next target.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: How we doing, Balcony Club?

(CHEERING)

SIEGLER: One recent Sunday night, a large crowd cheered and partied at the weekly competition, Boise's Next Drag Superstar. Frida Nightz sat off to one side with her drink, beaming.

NIGHTZ: Drag performance - it's just so powerful. And that's probably why they fear it, you know.

SIEGLER: And conservatives are open about a bigger agenda. Some want to ban shows outright¹² in the near future. At least five other states from Florida to Arizona are considering anti-drag bills. One was introduced in Montana just days after a gunman opened fire in a Colorado Springs queer bar. But Blaine Conzatti is steadfast¹³ Idaho's proposal is not an attack on LGBT rights.

CONZATTI: Ensuring that we protect children from sexualization and sexualizing influences is not the same thing as attacking any group or ginning up violence against any group.

SIEGLER: Still, things are especially tense in Idaho, where last June, 31 men from the far right Patriot¹⁴ Front were arrested and accused of planning to riot at a North Idaho Pride event. And the queer activist¹⁵ community here is itself promising¹⁶ a very organized and public fight at the statehouse. Kirk Siegler, NPR News, Boise.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fended   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的过去式和过去分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He neatly fended off a jab at his chest. 他利落地挡开了当胸的一击。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I fended off his sword thrust with my spear. 他一刀砍来，我拿枪架住。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 convening   

召开( convene的现在分词 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without sounding an alarm. 民10:7但招聚会众的时候、们要吹号、不要吹出大声。
• We warmly welcome the convening of Asia-Europe meeting in London. 热烈欢迎亚欧会议在伦敦召开。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

7 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 peddled   

（沿街）叫卖( peddle的过去式和过去分词 )； 兜售； 宣传； 散播

参考例句：

• He has peddled the myth that he is supporting the local population. 他散布说他支持当地群众。
• The farmer peddled his fruit from house to house. 那个农民挨家挨户兜售他的水果。

10 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

11 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

13 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

14 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

15 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

16 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。