Texas A&M can’t ban “Draggieland” drag show, federal judge rules

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A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Texas A&M University System from enforcing a ban on drag shows being held at its special event venues.

This means Draggieland will go on as planned on Thursday at the flagship university’s Rudder Theatre in College Station.

Draggieland is an annual pageant where contestants wear clothing or makeup that often, but does not always, run counter to their expected gender identity. The contestants dance and answer questions afterward about what drag and LGBTQ culture means to them. It has repeatedly sold out the 750-seat venue since it started in 2020.

In her ruling, Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment.

“Anyone who finds the performance or performers offensive has a simple remedy: don’t go,” Rosenthal wrote.

The students said while their fight isn’t over, they were overjoyed by the decision and vowed to share that joy by putting on the best show possible Thursday.

Plaintiff’s argument

The Queer Empowerment Council, which organizes Draggieland, sued after the system’s board of regents passed a resolution last month banning drag performances across all 11 campuses. The council argued that the public universities are not allowed to censor student performances based on their personal dislike of its content or perceived ideology.

Defendant’s argument

The regents said they were trying to comply with recent executive orders issued by President Donald J. Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott telling agencies not to promote “gender ideology” or else they could lose funding from the federal and state government.

They’ve also argued drag shows mock and objectify women, which violates federal antidiscrimination law.

Broader impact

This follows previous drag show bans and First Amendment fights in court.

In 2023, Republican state lawmakers portrayed drag performances as inherently sexual and obscene. They passed Senate Bill 12, which prohibited performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics in front of children. But a court struck down the law as unconstitutional.

That same year, West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler cancelled a student drag show, similarly arguing that such performances degrade women.

The students sued, but the judge in that case has so far held that drag shows are not clearly protected under the First Amendment in part because children were expected to attend.

Draggieland is marketed as an event for people 18 and older. No children are expected to attend.

Texas A&M’s resolution also spurred the University of Texas System to prohibit its 14 institutions from sponsoring or hosting drag shows.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

Disclosure: Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University System, University of Texas System and West Texas A&M University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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