The state Senate judiciary committee will vote on a bill that would expand the definition of “adult cabaret” to include drag performances this week. LGBTQ advocates say that even if it doesn’t pass, SB 1028 promotes harmful attitudes toward drag performers and events.

Jeanne Woodbury is the interim executive director of Equality Arizona. She says adult cabaret already has a definition, which shouldn’t include drag.

“It’s complicating the law by including really important cultural and artistic performances in this category that just doesn’t need to be extended in the first place,” Woodbury said.

Woodbury says bills like this aren’t written in a vacuum, and that this bill and others like it promote real-world harassment toward drag performers.

“It disrupts real cultural value,” Woodbury said. “And it legitimizes real harassment that’s happening on an ongoing basis.”

Michelle Miranda-Thorstad is the executive director of Drag Story Hour Arizona. At a panel discussing drag’s history in Arizona, she said their story hours have faced protests and harassment since their start in 2019.

“They make drag seem like an adult thing,” Miranda-Thorstad said. “But really, when we’re in the story hour, it’s 100% for children.”

Woodbury says she hopes to see a broader understanding of drag emerge by platforming more context about its history and what it is today.