'A voluptuous sex symbol.' Judge invokes Dolly Parton in overturning Texas 'drag ban'
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Set us as preferred Dolly Parton may be gone, but her spirit of self-expression is still making waves — this time in a Texas federal court.U.S.
District Judge David Hittner on Tuesday cited the late artist in his decision to strike down Senate Bill 12, a 2023 law that sought to restrict drag shows.His decision, which blocks the Texas attorney general from enforcing the law, noted that the prohibition was “an unconstitutional restriction on speech.” Just as many people “chastised Dolly Parton as a voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure ...
there are erotic elements in countless popular performances that could be subject to both civil and criminal penalties under S.B.12,” Hittner wrote in his decision.And because the law doesn’t specify who determines whether a performance “appeals to the prurient interest” or that the work be considered as a whole, a single sexual or erotic moment in a performance could result in penalties, he wrote.
Those penalties include civil fines up to $10,000 for businesses and a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a year in jail for participating individuals.Dolly Parton loved LGBTQ+ people, and we loved her — in part because she showed us that our country still loves us too.Hittner’s decision came down on the same day Parton, the 80-year-old legendary songwriter, actor and businesswoman, died following a brief battle with cancer.Parton was referenced several times in court records associated with the case.
One of the plaintiffs, Brigitte Bandit, a drag queen and longtime activist, frequently performs as the Grammy-winning artist.In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Bandit wrote that Parton had been a “huge influence” on her life and her drag performances.
She even brought a children’s book about Parton to testify at the Texas C...