The inseparability of drag and activism in Texas

Drag is first and foremost a form of art and self-expression. It is unbound by binary and can take any shape at the behest of the performer. Drag’s unrestricted nature makes it difficult to control, and consequently a political target.

Though there is a long history of activism, especially alongside trans women, drag is not always intended to send a message. For queer kids and the gender non-conforming, it is an exploration. For the shy, it is a bridge to extroversion.

The art form’s resistance to social norms aligns itself to other queer causes, but at the cost of government involvement. The University of Texas system recently approved an on campus drag performance ban following a similar motion at Texas A&M. However, even after the A&M’s was ruled unconstitutional and lifted, The UT system ban remains.

This comes after years of increased anti-LGBTQ+ policy. Texas leads dramatically with the most anti-trans bills in the 2025 legislative session. First amendment rights are generally under threat on college campuses, especially at public universities that must comply with state law and the presidential administration. Following a crackdown on pro-Palestine demonstrations in April 2024, the University of Texas at Austin ranked among the worst for free speech. 

While Texas is a largely conservative state that mirrors current presidential values, Austin is a blue ship in the red sea, and home to an expansive queer community. For some students, their first exposure to drag were local queens Celia Light and Ritzy Bitz’ annual performances during orientation.

Rio Grande and Carmelle are both alums and drag artists who got their start while attending the University of Texas at Austin. Rio Grande recalled a UT sponsored event as her “first introduction to Austin drag.” Carmelle’s first performance was in West Campus at an event hosted by Celia Light. 

While Carmelle, or Gabe Orellana out of drag, has less time for drag now that he is balancing a full time career, it remains a core part of his identity. When he graduated in spring 2024, he walked the commencement ceremony in drag. As a student, the artform was an activist tool more than a fun hobby. But, it was empowering and worth it. To Orellana, “it really feels like I’m making a difference just by being visible.”

While he was anxiety-stricken at graduation, it was what he felt he needed to do.

“It's like the accumulation of four years of all this hard work that paid off I did as Gabe, but I wanted it to be shown up as Carmelle as well. Because we are intertwined. They're not separate, the same person I am in drag also earned that degree as well,” Orellana said.

Rio Grande, a textiles and apparel student, completed their degree with a capstone collection of drag looks this month. As a performer herself, she commemorated that by bringing it into her fashion for the first time with her final student project. “This is the perfect time to do it,” Rio Grande said about mixing the worlds. “I was able to incorporate that camp of drag into like, some like sleeker designs of gowns and nice jumpsuits. It was just really fun to be able to combine those two.”

Rio Grande works on garments for their senior textiles capstone project on UT's campus on April 5, 2025.

UT Austin had a reputation of making queer representation accessible to the younger crowd who might not be old enough to go to the 21+ night clubs or come from small towns with a limited scene, a sentiment Rio Grande expressed. Austin continues to be a welcoming city for queer people of all ages and backgrounds, but that is no longer reflected at the UT system’s flagship. And further, it sets a precedent that drag and other forms of self expression should be policed.

Of course, students refused to accept it without a fight. Isabella Thomas, a current government and Spanish UT student, organized “UT Day of Drag” to get their peers involved in the cause. 

“I hope that the UT system administration sees this event and either decides to challenge it further and say no drag on campus period, or define what drag is to them, which gives lawyers and different legal advocates a little bit more ammo to fight the ban,” she said. 

The event brought together local drag artists to do students’ make up outside in the center of campus on the last class day. There was a lip sync battle, queer student organizations tabling and a dance workshop. Some of the artists included current and former UT students, St. Edward’s affiliates, activist Brigitte Bandit and other well-established performers. 

“I wanted people just walking by, whether they are queer themselves or homophobic as hell,” Thomas said of the location choice. “Like, no, we're out here. We're here to stay. We're not going anywhere.”

Prior to the planning of Day of Drag, Orellana echoed Thomas’ desire to platform queer art in the face of misconceptions. “We are not the enemy. We are your peers, especially here at UT. I hope to see more drag on campus,” he said. Orellana, as Carmelle, helped do make up at the event.

Thomas initially proposed the idea themselves, but received an overwhelming amount of interest. The positive response was mirrored at the event, with students constantly passing through, many of which did go to class all done up.

“I always think about, like, how different my life would be, and how much more supported I think I would feel if I was at a private university that wasn't having to respond to government priorities every five seconds,” Thomas said. “And, you know, It makes me really sad, too, the university doesn't try to push back at least a little bit.”

Recent St. Edward’s alum Marshall Piel, or Neuratoxin in drag, helped out with the event. He played a big role in trans visibility and queer affirming spaces at his school but faced a very different experience attending a private college. Though there was an issue with the removal of a Pride flag last year, his university responded to protests and has backed LGBTQ+ students since. 

“There's no government breathing down our necks telling us how to hold a drag show,” Piel said. “Drag has always been, you know, at the whims of the performers and the individual spaces where they happen.”

With the help of a friend, Piel founded the Trans Wellness student organization which does everything from host drag events, to socials, to providing gender affirming resources. 

As an alternative drag artist and trans man, Neuratoxin’s experience has been a learning curve. Piel did not realize drag could take the shape of their persona when they first started. While he did not initially feel confident in being a leader for his peers, Piel saw the need and wanted to show that drag and trans identities resist conformity, which in his mind is part of what makes it so special.

“All of that fear of like, cisgender, heteronormative people's judgments of you, which you are so hyper conscious of all the time, it just melts away because you're with people who get it,” Piel said of the importance of queer spaces. “They may not know you, but they don't have to, because it's just a space where the like prerequisite is to be accepting and to care about each other.”

Local drag favorite turned national activist Brigitte Bandit uses their platform to spread awareness. Bandit hosts the largest drag open mic and the beloved Cheer Up Charlie’s, where many amateur performers get their start. When they are not hosting or performing themselves, they are promoting political engagement. 

This legislative session they are running LegiSLAYtion and Liberation, a recap of policy and decisions impacting the queer and other marginalized communities every Tuesday night at Oilcan Harry’s.

With being in the public eye since their viral testimony in 2023, Bandit has had to grapple with negative media attention. “I think that it's so important that we don't allow this kind of rhetoric and these ideas to cause us to start policing ourselves inherently,” Bandit said.

Bandit mentioned that drag is not meant to be restricted to nightclubs and adult-only spaces, rather it is laws that have confined it there. Much like other performers, drag can be both family-friend or mature in content. Banning drag in the presence of minors enforces the stereotype that it is harmful.

“Something that goes so far to demystify bias is just familiarity,” Piel said.

Allowing kids and young adults to grow up around free gender expression and performance — whether that be Brigitte Bandit’s drag storytimes or binging RuPaul’s drag race, can do a lot to destigmatize. 

Regardless of what bills pass through the Texas legislature, Brigitte Bandit and the rest of the drag community refuse to overcomply.

“I'm going to be louder and crazier than ever, because now is the time to do that and not just be quiet, right? Because that's what they want,” Bandit said.