Tennessee’s drag ban affecting Purim is not a distraction from trans advocacy

In the face of the dangerous and formidable movement against queer lives, all voices are necessary

Drag performers at JQY (Jewish Queer Youth)’s 2022 Purim Vashti Ball. Courtesy of Jewish Queer Youth

By Mordechai Levovitz March 9, 2023

Re “Bans on drag performers are direct attacks on trans people” by Rabbi Becky Silverstein, Idit Klein and Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg

To the editor:

In a letter to the editor responding to my op-ed about the recent anti-drag laws passed in Tennessee, Rabbis Becky Silverstein, Danya Ruttenberg and Idit Klein accuse me of being “misleading,” “demeaning” and “centering cis gay men.” They pit the plight for trans youth against other potential victims of these regressive laws, minimizing some people’s struggles in order to focus on others.

As a trans and non-binary person, I am aware of the privileges that come with passing as a cis man. But engaging in this kind of oppression Olympics exercise only results in a circular firing squad that undermines progressive politics and sabotages the kind of intersectional advocacy needed to protect the vulnerable people we serve. Additionally, inferring that I am a cis gay man, or am advocating on behalf of cis gay men, shows an incredible lack of queer competence, personal empathy and basic understanding of drag.

Published on Purim, about Purim, in a Jewish publication, my article shed light on an unforeseen threat that the anti-drag law poses to Jewish people of all genders. People of all genders participate in both drag and cross-dressing on Purim. Unforeseen legal consequences are often the most common reason why laws get struck down.

We can and we must fight back against regressive laws like the one passed in Tennessee last week. But we can only prevail if we expand our coalitions, validate all victims of these laws, and take on those who would harm us, not each other.

— Mordechai Levovitz
(she/her, he/him) Founder & Clinical Director, JQY (Jewish Queer Youth)

Mordechai Levovitz is the founder and principal consultant of JQY (Jewish Queer Youth), an organization that supports and empowers LGBTQ+ youth and teens from Orthodox, Hasidic and Sephardi-Mizrahi homes. If you need support, please visit the JQY website or call/text the JQY warmline at 551-JQY-HOPE (551-579-4673).

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO