I do very much live in the real world every single day, as a trans woman navigating the complexities of a society that refuses to understand us and outright rejects our existence. I simply refuse to base my life on hateful bigotry or the ignorant misperceptions of others. I will continue to choose to focus my energy on love, joy, and self-expression rather than centering my life around the hatred and ignorance of those who refuse to see our humanity.

Bending to ignorance does not change how people perceive us, any more than denying the validity of nonbinary people has ever benefitted binary trans people, nor has loudly hating on trans people benefitted cis gay people, and TERFs hating us has never furthered the efforts of feminists.Those creating anti-trans narratives are unlikely to see any of us as valid, no matter how much we conform.

Assimilation is a shifting goalpost that will always move further and further away, and running for it has the sole side effect of trampling over other LGBTQIA+ people. We do not fare well as a community when we respond to bigotry by shrinking ourselves into whatever boxes they think we should fit into.

Drag as an art form is vast and inclusive. The drag community, which includes trans, nonbinary, and cisgender people alike, is actively expanding perceptions of what drag can be. We are leaders in our community, and trans drag performers have always been part of moving the dial forward for as long as the queer liberation movement has existed. If you seek to take away drag from the trans community, you seek isolating us from one of the most significant platforms for effecting change that we have access to and remove us from something we created.

We combat harmful narratives not by changing how we live our lives, but by educating and living our lives freely and openly. If I listened to how bigots want me to live my life, I’d never have come out of the closet at all and would die young, depressed, and hopeless.

Drag is not only harmless, it’s a celebration of resilience, creativity, and queer/trans joy. Bigotry is the real harm, and I refuse to shrink myself to fit unattainable expectations. I believe your understanding of drag does not reflect its full diversity and richness. Drag is not simply a caricature, and exploring trans-centered drag spaces might provide insight into its breadth, complexity, and how integral it is to the fabric of our community.

What is it that you want, for trans drag performers to abandon the stage, lose their livelihoods, lose their access to self-expression and joy? Should we shrink into smaller and smaller boxes until we’re invisible? Have you considered the real-world consequences of advocating against trans drag performers?

I hope you’ll take time to consider these closing questions and share your thoughts.