Ongoing moral panic alleging drag is harmful to minors
Drag panic (also called drag queen panic or anti-drag hysteria) is a moral panic that stems from the belief that drag, especially when exposed to minors, can be harmful, due to its perception as sexual in nature.[1][2][3] Drag panic often includes the belief that drag performances aimed at children are attempts by the LGBTQ+ community to sexualize or recruit children.[4][5][6]
The panic, which had been building for a number of years,[7] became more prominent in 2022,[8] arising in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and in other countries in a series of rallies and counter-rallies related to drag queens reading children's books at storytime events for children.[9] Throughout 2022, there were at least 141 incidents of protests and harassment towards drag events in the United States alone.[6] Drag panic has been blamed for the fire bombing of an Oklahoma doughnut shop[10] and the Club Q mass shooting, among other violent incidents.[11][12]