The cultural wars on minorities in the United States are also being forced into Finland, writes Nuorgam.
In April, a parody account called RuPublicans appeared on Instagram, posting pictures of US conservative politicians. The account differs from other parody accounts in that the images are created by artificial intelligence and the politicians are portrayed as drag artists in their pots. RuPublicans is named after RuPaul, the American drag icon and creator of the internationally super-popular RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The politicians selected for the account are not random, but represent the rapidly growing anti-sexual minority movement in the US. Conservative politicians in various states have pushed more than 400 bills in recent years.
The bans are based on a misconception by conservative politicians of what drag actually is.
It hardly occurred to anyone in 1998 that a drag artist portraying Katri Helena on the stage of a shopping center would be there to lure children into dark alleys. That’s why it’s absurd that the banning of all drag art from children has now started to be demanded in Finland as well.
In April, the city of Helsinki canceled the screening of the Drag Kids documentary at Malmi-talo due to pressure. The documentary follows children who are into drag and who love flashy make-up, glittery outfits and performances by their idols, such as Lady Gaga.
Since the National Audiovisual Institute had not done an age limit check for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC film, it had to be set to K18. The commotion was ready. People outraged by Drag labeled the documentary as inciting pedophilia and the sexualization of children – even though the explanation for the age limit classification can be found in the bureaucracy. For example, in Sweden, the body responsible for KAVI, Statens medieråd, has given the documentary a classification of *barntillåten*, (suitable for children), in 2021. The documentary is also available for age-restricted distribution on the online service of the Canadian broadcasting company CBC.
The hysteria that floats around drag seems incredible.
As far as I know, no one is upset about these characters. I think it mostly underlines the fact that it’s not really about drag. Not even about children. It’s about the desire to limit the gathering and self-expression of rainbow people.
Therefore, the decision of the city of Helsinki to ban the presentation of the documentary due to threats was wrong. Finland cannot become a country where human rights take steps backwards.
*Emmi Nuorgam*
*The author is a mother who thinks that the responsibility for sexualizing children always lies with adults, and never with the children themselves.*
*The column can be discussed on 26.4. until 23:00.*