April 8, 2023 Updated: April 9, 2023 1:43 p.m. (SFChronicle.com)
More than 1,000 people joined San Francisco community leaders, elected officials and drag performers Saturday to protest the growing wave of anti-drag and anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country.
The “Drag Up! Fight Back!” march and rally kicked off at 11 a.m. at City Hall, where protesters painted signs and greeted old friends, many dressed in drag.
Activist and drag king Alex U. Inn, one of the event’s organizers, energized the ever-growing group.
“Is it OK to take our joy?” Inn asked the crowd, which shouted back, “No!”
“Then we have to fight to make it right,” Inn said. “We’ve fought for our rights before, and we’ll do it again.”
The rally was organized in response to several bills nationwide that take aim at the LGBTQ community. Tennessee recently passed HB30, which categorizes drag as “adult cabaret” and bans performances in front of children or within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks or places of worship. Fourteen other states are considering bans on drag shows.
More than 450 anti-LGBTQ bills are under review in legislatures across the U.S., according to the ACLU.
The protesters, touting rainbow and pink-and-blue signs reading, “Protect Trans Kids,” “Drag the lawmakers, let the queens read,” and “Drag is an art not a crime,” marched from City Hall to Union Square, at one point stretching along Market Street from Seventh and Grove streets.
“Isn’t the joy here beautiful?” said Merrick, who recently moved to San Francisco from the South. “I went to conversion therapy. I know what they do down there (in the South). I am so happy to be here now.”
The mood was simultaneously joyous and indignant, as marchers celebrated their right to express themselves in drag in San Francisco while fearing for the rights of their counterparts in other parts of the country.
Jen Gripman, who came into San Francisco for the march with her husband, held a sign painted in blue and pink in the pattern of the trans flag reading, “Proud mom who knows that gender affirming care saves lives.” It featured photos of her child as a toddler and young adult, with the captions “I loved him then” and “I love her now”
“I’m out here a lot on Market Street, and this time it’s personal,” she said. “I have to come out for my own kid.”
The mood was also tinged in sadness, as many marchers held signs picturing S.F. drag great Heklina, who died last week while visiting London. The cause of Heklina’s death has not been released.
“Today is tough, because she would have been here,” Inn said, choking up.
Marchers and other spectators filled Union Square to hear from speakers, many renowned drag performers and activists, interspersed with drag dance performances.
Many of the speakers took the moment to recognize how much the LGBTQ community has been through and that the fight is not over.
“A war has been declared on us, the LGBTQ community, by the radical right wing of this nation,” Nicole Murray-Ramirez, an activist and San Diego city commissioner, told the crowd. “But they do not know our history or our resolve.”
“The fact is, we’ve already won. Our community has made such progress,” said activist and performer Sister Roma, who helped organize the event as part of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. “We’ve come to understand that freedom of expression and individuality is beautiful, and we have the youth of our country on our side.”
State Sen. Scott Wiener said politicians pushing anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and agendas are trying to avoid discussing other problems in the nation, including gun violence, income inequality and climate change.
“We’re not going to let them get away with it. And if there’s one thing that I learned over the last 36 years … it’s don’t mess with the drag queens,” he said. “This community has struggled, and we have always come out stronger because that’s how we roll.”
Many speakers emphasized that the movement is not about hating others, but rather using the love and the strength in the community to continue making progress.
“Making art is a protest too. Making our art. So this is the time to sparkle brighter. Be louder. Be more fabulous,” said drag performer D’Arcy Drollinger, owner of the Oasis nightclub “If you live your life a little more fabulous, you inspire other people to be more fabulous just by your existence. And if everyone’s a little more fabulous, there’s that much less room in their heart, in their minds, for hate and prejudice. So don’t stop sparkling.”
Reach Danielle Echeverria: danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @DanielleEchev
Written By Danielle Echeverria
Danielle Echeverria is a reporter for The Chronicle’s Engagement and Breaking News team. She recently completed her Master’s degree in journalism at Stanford University, where she won the Nicholas Roosevelt Environmental Journalism Award for her reporting and covered agriculture, climate change and worker safety. She previously interned The Chronicle on the Business desk, as well as at Big Local News, focusing on data journalism. She is originally from Bakersfield, California.
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