FIRST ITEM
The San Jose City Council opened its Tuesday session in a colorful way
BUSINESS DRESS WooWoo Monroe became the first drag queen to deliver an invocation at a San Jose City Council meeting.
THE SAN JOSE City Council chambers took on a splash of color Tuesday afternoon as local performer WooWoo Monroe delivered the meeting’s invocation as the first drag queen ever to perform at a City Council meeting.
Councilmember Omar Torres, who represents District 3 and was sworn in last week, and Project MORE, a local LGBTQ advocacy organization, invited Ms. Monroe to perform as a response and acknowledgement of the current legal attacks on transgender performers across the country.
“Together, we stand against antidrag, anti-gay, anti-trans legislation and the continued injustices towards our LGBTQ community.” Councilmember Torres said as he introduced Monroe before her performance. “Performing drag allows our LGBTQ folks to be their authentic selves. We shouldn’t be making it illegal. We should embrace it.”
Monroe took the floor to sing an a cappella version of “I Am What I Am.” The song comes from the first hit Broadway musical that centered on homosexual characters and became an anthem for the LGBTQ community.
The 1983 musical, La Cage aux Folles, is set in a French nightclub that hosts drag performances.
“It’s important for those of us that can stand up and speak to do so.” Monroe said as she addressed the council and the public. “We need to let the world know that anti-trans and anti-drag legislation and movements are not only wrong, but harmful to so many. When you live in a world where you cannot express your true self, you become a prisoner.”
In Tennessee a bill banning public drag shows or “adult cabaret performances” was signed into law on March 2. This is the most restrictive bill in the country to specifically target drag performance that has passed, but similar anti-drag legislation is currently being considered in more than a dozen other states, including Arizona, Kansas, Idaho and Minnesota.
According to an ACLU mapping project that tracks such legislation, there are more than 350 bills currently being considered across the country that chip away at LGBTQ rights. These bills threaten to criminalize everything from helping a child seek genderaffirming care to schools’ ability to use students’ preferred pronouns to using a bathroom that doesn’t match one’s biological birth sex.
The recent wave of specifically anti-drag bills has seen conservative lawmakers take aim at Drag Queen Story Hour, a San Francisco born tradition of drag queens reading books to children in public libraries and at schools that has grown in popularity since 2015. Many of the bills being considered specifically prohibit drag performances taking place within close proximity to children.
Right-wing politicians “are demonizing our drag queens,” Councilmember Torres opined before Tuesday’s meeting. “They [drag queens] have become a bullseye for the right. So that’s why we’re doing this today.”
After the invocation, Monroe spoke about why she accepted the invitation to perform at City Hall. “We’re very lucky that we live in a bubble here.”
She said, referring to the San Jose area.
“With everything that’s happening in the world today, with anti-trans, antidrag legislation and anti-gay legislation sweeping the country once again, I just felt it was imperative that I be part of this.”
While not the first openly LGBTQ council member elected to serve San Jose, Councilmember Torres ran for office as an openly and proudly gay man. This embrace of his identity as a strength may indicate a shift in local politics towards encouraging rather than tolerating diversity.
“Our city should be the sanctuary where we invest and uplift our LGBTQ and non-binary folks.” Councilmember Torres said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“Investing in our diversity builds a stronger San Jose.”
Amanda Sinwongsa and a few of her coworkers at The Q Corner, a local resource center for LGBTQ community members, attended the council meeting.
“We’re a peer-driven program. We provide gender affirming garments, youth support groups, and social events.”
Sinwongsa and her coworkers attended the meeting to support WooWoo Monroe and see her performance.
“We’ve got to be celebrating everyone’s traditions and culture. And in the LGBTQ community, Drag is art.”
Councilmember Torres said before Tuesday’s meeting. “Drag is art, and it’s love and it’s community.”
After Monroe’s brief time in the limelight of the council chambers floor, the council moved on to address the more run-of-the-mill items of a Tuesday afternoon meeting. It was, however, a friend of Monroe’s noted, the first time in recent memory that the entire city council had given a standing ovation.
Councilmember Omar Torres, who represents District 3 and was sworn in last week, and Project MORE, a local LGBTQ advocacy organization, invited Ms. Monroe to perform as a response and acknowledgement of the current legal attacks on transgender performers across the country.
“Together, we stand against antidrag, anti-gay, anti-trans legislation and the continued injustices towards our LGBTQ community.” Councilmember Torres said as he introduced Monroe before her performance. “Performing drag allows our LGBTQ folks to be their authentic selves. We shouldn’t be making it illegal. We should embrace it.”
Monroe took the floor to sing an a cappella version of “I Am What I Am.” The song comes from the first hit Broadway musical that centered on homosexual characters and became an anthem for the LGBTQ community.
The 1983 musical, La Cage aux Folles, is set in a French nightclub that hosts drag performances.
“It’s important for those of us that can stand up and speak to do so.” Monroe said as she addressed the council and the public. “We need to let the world know that anti-trans and anti-drag legislation and movements are not only wrong, but harmful to so many. When you live in a world where you cannot express your true self, you become a prisoner.”
In Tennessee a bill banning public drag shows or “adult cabaret performances” was signed into law on March 2. This is the most restrictive bill in the country to specifically target drag performance that has passed, but similar anti-drag legislation is currently being considered in more than a dozen other states, including Arizona, Kansas, Idaho and Minnesota.
According to an ACLU mapping project that tracks such legislation, there are more than 350 bills currently being considered across the country that chip away at LGBTQ rights. These bills threaten to criminalize everything from helping a child seek genderaffirming care to schools’ ability to use students’ preferred pronouns to using a bathroom that doesn’t match one’s biological birth sex.
The recent wave of specifically anti-drag bills has seen conservative lawmakers take aim at Drag Queen Story Hour, a San Francisco born tradition of drag queens reading books to children in public libraries and at schools that has grown in popularity since 2015. Many of the bills being considered specifically prohibit drag performances taking place within close proximity to children.
Right-wing politicians “are demonizing our drag queens,” Councilmember Torres opined before Tuesday’s meeting. “They [drag queens] have become a bullseye for the right. So that’s why we’re doing this today.”
After the invocation, Monroe spoke about why she accepted the invitation to perform at City Hall. “We’re very lucky that we live in a bubble here.”
She said, referring to the San Jose area.
“With everything that’s happening in the world today, with anti-trans, antidrag legislation and anti-gay legislation sweeping the country once again, I just felt it was imperative that I be part of this.”
While not the first openly LGBTQ council member elected to serve San Jose, Councilmember Torres ran for office as an openly and proudly gay man. This embrace of his identity as a strength may indicate a shift in local politics towards encouraging rather than tolerating diversity.
“Our city should be the sanctuary where we invest and uplift our LGBTQ and non-binary folks.” Councilmember Torres said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“Investing in our diversity builds a stronger San Jose.”
Amanda Sinwongsa and a few of her coworkers at The Q Corner, a local resource center for LGBTQ community members, attended the council meeting.
“We’re a peer-driven program. We provide gender affirming garments, youth support groups, and social events.”
Sinwongsa and her coworkers attended the meeting to support WooWoo Monroe and see her performance.
“We’ve got to be celebrating everyone’s traditions and culture. And in the LGBTQ community, Drag is art.”
Councilmember Torres said before Tuesday’s meeting. “Drag is art, and it’s love and it’s community.”
After Monroe’s brief time in the limelight of the council chambers floor, the council moved on to address the more run-of-the-mill items of a Tuesday afternoon meeting. It was, however, a friend of Monroe’s noted, the first time in recent memory that the entire city council had given a standing ovation.