{"id":131672,"date":"2026-01-21T08:43:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T08:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/131672\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T08:43:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T08:43:14","slug":"federal-judge-compares-drag-to-blackface-in-texas-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/131672\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal judge compares drag to blackface in Texas ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"

From a courthouse in Texas<\/a>, a familiar figure in America\u2019s culture<\/a> wars delivered another ruling with significant consequences, this time by embracing a comparison that LGBTQ+<\/a> advocates say is both false and deeply offensive.<\/p>\n

Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ<\/a>+ news and politics. Sign up for <\/a>The Advocate’s<\/a> email newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, a Trump<\/a> appointee with a long record of rulings limiting LGBTQ+ protections, upheld West Texas A&M University\u2019s decision to block a student-organized drag<\/a> show on Friday. In doing so, he endorsed language likening drag performances to blackface and described drag not as expression, but as something inherently degrading.<\/p>\n

Related: West Texas A&M University’s drag show ban blocked by appeals court<\/a><\/p>\n

The decision denies relief to Spectrum WT, an LGBTQ+ student organization that sought to hold a drag performance in Legacy Hall, an indoor venue in the university\u2019s student center. Kacsmaryk ruled that the university could lawfully bar the show, concluding it did not qualify as protected speech and conflicted with the school\u2019s stated mission.<\/p>\n

Much of the ruling rests on the words of West Texas A&M President Walter Wendler, which Kacsmaryk adopted throughout his 46-page opinion<\/a>. In a March 2023 email to the campus community, Wendler wrote that drag \u201cdoes not preserve a single thread of human dignity,\u201d describing it as a performance that \u201cexaggerat[es] aspects of womanhood (sexuality, femininity, gender)\u201d and \u201cstereotype[s] women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Supreme Court refuses to lift ban on Texas university drag show, sparking free speech concerns<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Wendler went further, drawing a direct comparison to racist caricature. \u201cI would not support \u2018blackface\u2019 performances on our campus, even if told the performance is a form of free speech or intended as humor,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIt is wrong. \u2026 A harmless drag show? Not possible.\u201d While acknowledging that fundraising for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention was worthwhile, he urged students to \u201cskip the show and send the dough\u201d instead.<\/p>\n

Kacsmaryk accepted that framing in his ruling, repeatedly portraying the proposed drag show as provocative and sexualized rather than expressive. He described the event as \u201ctransgressive\u201d and centered on shock value, concluding that drag, at least as presented in this case, does not communicate a clear message that audiences would understand as speech.<\/p>\n

That conclusion was reinforced by testimony from Spectrum\u2019s current president, who told the court, \u201cWe are not trying to convey a specific message.\u201d Kacsmaryk treated that statement as decisive, rejecting the group\u2019s argument that drag inherently challenges gender norms or conveys social commentary.<\/p>\n

Related: Federal appeals court breathes new life into Texas drag ban previously struck down as unconstitutional<\/a><\/p>\n

The judge also focused heavily on past off-campus performances by invited entertainers, including shows involving simulated sex acts, partial nudity, and audience interaction. He cited those performances to argue that Spectrum could not guarantee the absence of sexual content or minors at future events, even though the students said they had instructed performers to avoid lewd conduct.<\/p>\n

The venue itself was central to the decision. Kacsmaryk found that Legacy Hall is not an open forum but a space the university can control. He accepted Wendler\u2019s testimony that the school would also bar blackface or white supremacist events from the same venue, comparisons the judge treated as proof that the drag ban was reasonable and not discriminatory.<\/p>\n

LGBTQ+ advocates sharply disagreed. Texas drag performers condemned the ruling as an attack on queer art and expression.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis court decision is incredibly disappointing and frustrating,\u201d Texas drag performer Brigitte Bandit told The Advocate. \u201cQueer Texans and queer art deserve to be protected, respected, and celebrated! Drag artistry encompasses much more than the idea of trying to look like a woman, and there is no one way to look like a woman, which is what is suggested by the judge comparing drag to blackface. Both women and drag artists express themselves in many ways, and it is not up to the courts to decide how anyone should be able to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bandit also pointed to what they described as a glaring contradiction in the ruling\u2019s logic. \u201cI also find it interesting that they will compare drag to blackface in their attempts to ban it, but don\u2019t try to ban blackface,\u201d they said. \u201cUltimately, this ruling is a blatant infringement on our constitutional right to free speech and expression. This is yet another example of those in power using the LGBTQ community as a scapegoat for real issues. But no matter what happens in the courts or legislature, queer Texans exist and will continue make space for and celebrate each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Texas A&M’s drag ban blocked by federal court as judge cites free ‘speech rights’ <\/a><\/p>\n

In a statement to The Advocate, a GLAAD<\/a> spokesperson countered the judge\u2019s characterization of the performance art. \u201cDrag is a centuries-old art form performed by cultures around the world and enjoyed by global mainstream audiences of all ages,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cIt emerged from performers from marginalized communities poking fun at power structures, including those that attempt to enforce strict gender expression. Claims comparing it to dehumanizing performances designed to uphold racial supremacy are as inaccurate as they are offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCourt after court has ruled that drag is protected speech under the First Amendment,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cIt should be available on any college campus where free speech is respected and where entertaining social commentary encourages critical thinking and helps unite people of all backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Human Rights Campaign<\/a> Senior Director of Legal Policy Cathryn Oakley also criticized the judge\u2019s ruling. “Since his appointment nearly a decade ago, Judge Kacsmaryk has often stepped beyond reasonable interpretation of the law and wielded it as a cudgel against people \u2014 LGBTQ+ people, people who are pregnant & need access to medication abortion, and immigrants,” she said in a statement to The Advocate. \u201cHe\u2019s a frequent target for extreme-right lawyers who want a friendly courtroom to strip away civil rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oakley added, \u201cHe has chosen to, once again, distort the facts by characterizing drag performances as something they are not. Drag is free expression. Drag is art. And we will always raise our voice to say so.”<\/p>\n

Related: A Texas university president banned drag and compared it to blackface. Students are taking the case to the Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n

The ruling lands amid ongoing legal whiplash over drag bans. Last year, in August, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit blocked Wendler\u2019s drag ban<\/a>, finding that Spectrum was likely to succeed on its free speech claims. That decision was later vacated for rehearing by the full court, leaving the issue unsettled and allowing Kacsmaryk to move forward.<\/p>\n

The case also fits squarely within Kacsmaryk\u2019s broader record. From his single-judge division in Amarillo, he has issued a series of decisions narrowing civil rights protections and limiting federal authority. He became nationally known after attempting to revoke Food and Drug Administration approval of the abortion pill mifepristone and later ruled that federal workplace protections could not be used to block certain forms of discrimination against LGBTQ+ employees, undercutting the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s<\/a> Bostock v. Clayton County decision.<\/p>\n

Kacsmaryk noted that Spectrum is still free to hold drag performances outdoors or off campus. But for LGBTQ+ students and advocates, the ruling\u2019s message goes far beyond venue rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From a courthouse in Texas, a familiar figure in America\u2019s culture wars delivered another ruling with significant consequences,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[56433,38282,30180,48,1183,223,56434,27,297,29,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-131672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-andrew-kacsmaryk","9":"tag-drag","10":"tag-glaad","11":"tag-law","12":"tag-lgbtq","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-spectrum-wt","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-texas-am-university","17":"tag-texas-headlines","18":"tag-texas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}