Drag story events are relatively new, and the right-wing focus on them even newer. e recent backlash has prompted legislative attempts to ban drag performance altogether: Idaho legislators tried to ban drag performances in public facilities during this year’s session, but the bill failed to advance. Tennessee’s Legislature successfully passed a bill limiting drag performance to age-restricted venues, though at the beginning of June that bill was struck down by a federal judge who said it violates First Amendment protections. (Laws against masquerading, or costumed dress, were used to arrest queer-presenting and gender-nonconforming people for much of the th century, and such laws were often a pretense for bar raids like the one that sparked the Stonewall riots.) Even the con ation of queer identity with pedophilia, and rhetoric about indoctrination of children, have a familiar ring. In singer Anita Bryant argued that homosexuals should not be protected from discrimination because they used school teaching positions to “recruit” children into their lifestyle. And in Oregon voters narrowly defeated a ballot measure that would have amended the Oregon constitution to de ne “ homosexuality, pedophilia, sadism or masochism” as “abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse.” In those days, businesses that welcomed queer people were far more di cult to nd, says Jill Nelson, treasurer of Oregon Pride in Business, an LGBTQ+ business alliance connecting queer business owners across industries in Oregon and Washington. “Thirty years ago, if you wanted to find people like us, your two choices were gaya rming churches and the bar. at was it,” Nelson tells OB. Nelson remembers being an out lesbian in the s, and she says the current backlash doesn’t scare her. She is con dent that the LGBTQ+ community is better organized and equipped to ght together against the current backlash. She also thinks the business community is more committed to equality than people may realize. “I think that the business community is leading LGBTQ+ acceptance nationally and culturally. You can see that with Disney,” Nelson says, referring to an ongoing dispute between the Walt Disney Company and the state of Florida, which has culminated in legal action by the latter against Gov. Ron DeSantis. Disney’s suit says Florida’s government has retaliated politically after company o cials publicly criticized Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, colloquially known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. “Politically, we are divided as a country, but in the business world, we are not as divided. “ ere are scal conservatives who run businesses who are de nitely going to look for conservative financial strategies, and that’s going to be important to them. But they realize they have to create environments for their employees and the people they do business with to succeed, and they‘re becoming less biased in who they want to do good business with,” she adds. Nelson acknowledges homophobic and transphobic discrimination against business owners still happens in the United States but believes it to be an overall rare occurrence in the Paci c Northwest, pointing to more than a decade of positive business interactions across three separate nancial institutions her business has used. She believes that the work of LGBTQ+ activists and business owners, supported by the overall accepting spirit of the Paci c Northwest, will make legislation against the community di cult to implement. “I’ve seen the LGBTQ+ news that comes out of Florida, and I’ve seen -plus drag protesters in heels, and it makes me think ‘Yeah, they don’t know what’s coming at them if they keep this up,’” Nelson says. “I think we are better prepared to ght this bigotry and negativity as a community than ever before. And especially in this area, I don’t think we will see it rear its ugly head as much, and if we do, there will be pushback.” Wood says allies from urban cities can support rural LGBTQ+ communities by visiting, even if they don’t have boldly out and proud destinations like gays bars or co ee shops. He recommends Southern Oregon Pride and Yachats Pride. “It is di cult to get something like a Pride celebration going in a rural area, so even though it looks like it might not have a lot to it, it always does. ere’s a lot of heart and thought that went into it,” Wood says. Justus says rural populations especially need people who are both trained for the jobs people like him hire to ll, but also people who can a ord to live in the area without scraping by to make ends meet. Justus says Xanadu proudly pays employees more than minimum wage. He works with Clatsop County Community College’s Small Business Development Center to develop training opportunities for future employees, and to help other queer business owners in Astoria thrive. Even for his immersion in Astoria’s broader community, Justus can’t help but nd comfort in seeing a rainbow flag at businesses like Xanadu. “It’s like when I moved to town and I asked where my people were. I mean, ‘Where are my gay people?’ Because they’re going to understand my life and experiences a lot differently than people from the straight community because of the issues that we deal with,’” Justus says. “It’s not that we don’t want to be part of that community, it’s that we want to be able to relate to someone on that level so we can go out and be ourselves in the broader community.” Jill Nelson, treasurer of Oregon Pride in Business 37
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